Ted North explains what Communist Students, the newly established national organisation sponsored by the CPGB, has been up to

Communist Students, the newly established national organisation sponsored by the CPGB, has continued its activities aimed at arming students with Marxist ideas and a Marxist organisation.

At Sheffield University’s freshers fair on September 21 we ran a successful stall and gave out a lot of leaflets. From amongst the hordes, including those in search of free goodies from various student societies (including the Neighbours Appreciation Society), we signed up 30 people to Communist Students.

Not as many as we had in Manchester last week, our biggest success so far, but nevertheless healthy. In addition a good number of Weekly Workers, draft programmes and other publications were sold. We are expecting a similar reception at other freshers fairs.

Students we spoke to were highly critical of the fractious nature of the existing revolutionary left and were generally sympathetic to our conception of democratic centralism, with the emphasis on ‘democratic’. With a relatively strong presence of comrades from Socialist Students, Socialist Workers Party/Respect and the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, many newcomers to politics were given an instant lesson in the 57 varieties of the left. ‘So why don’t you all join up in one party?’ was a common question.

An important part of the work of Communist Students is arguing for, and helping to build, a party with the internal democracy (including factional rights) which is sadly lacking in the vast majority of the left as currently constituted. With most groups characterised by bureaucratic and anti-democratic practice and organisation, it is no wonder that not a few leftwing students steer clear of all of them. As part of the process of overcoming this, CPGB national organiser Mark Fischer is speaking on ‘What’s wrong with the left?’ at Communist Students meetings at various universities this week.

On Sunday September 24 founding members of Communist Students met in Manchester following the ‘Time to go’ march to examine progress so far and draw up plans.

We talked about interventions in various campaigns such as the NUS ‘week of action’ (usually marked by the absence of any effective action) and the ‘Feminist Fightback’ conference in October organised by the AWL-sponsored Education Not for Sale.

There was a progress report on the new Communist Students website, which should be up and running within a few days. And, we discussed details of the Communist Students first conference in November, where an accountable leadership will be elected and political platform agreed.

An excellent start had been made and we are optimistic about upcoming events. These include a series of meetings and study sessions on key questions, not least the commodified nature of education in today’s Britain and what it should mean to be a student.

Education, especially under New Labour, has come to resemble a factory production line. With fees and massive debts, that means nowadays students are both money-poor and time-poor. Most of us survive by doing part-time Mcjobs with bad conditions and minimum pay. Unlike the situation in the 1960s and 70s, when most university students still came from a relatively privileged background, but were entitled to a means-tested grant. They were money-poor but time-rich.

Education should be about becoming fully human, not being trained to become exploitable white-collar labour. Communists reject the narrow-job-orientated syllabus that is designed to equip us for the labour market. We want an education system that equips us for what really counts. Transforming the world.

Globally that means the total supercession of capitalism and its replacement with a society based not on production for its own sake, but need. Only with communism – the complete opposite of the vile caricatures created by Stalin and Mao – will it be possible to end wars, poverty, alienation, meet the challenge posed by rapid climate change and really begin human history.

Towards that end we fight in the here and now for genuine democracy in all spheres of life. For example, a democratic republic in Britain instead of the rotten constitutional monarchy system. We also immediately counterpose our principle of need to the principle of the market espoused as common sense by Labour, Tory and Liberal Democrat politicians alike.

Students, for example, ought to have enough income to live a decent life and have sufficient time in which to enjoy themselves, study and learn to think independently.