Internationalism Publishes its 150th Issue

This is the 150th issue of Internationalism, an historic moment for us as an organization and in a larger sense for the workers' movement in the United States. It represents a continuity in publication that began in 1970, advocating the left communist perspective and political principles in the most powerful capitalist state on the face of the earth. Internationalism's very existence, as modest as it has been these past 39 years, is proof of the revolutionary potential of the workers struggle against capitalist exploitation.

The survival of Internationalism for four decades and 150 issues has not been easy. The key to this longevity, which stands in sharp contrast to the many political expressions of the working class that have arisen and disappeared over the years, is the fact that it is part of an international centralized revolutionary organization, the International Communist Current. The revolutionary Marxist understanding that the working class needs an international political party and that the revolutionary organization plays an indispensable role in contributing to the development of class consciousness has been the basis of Internationalism's ability to maintain a political presence in the US for nearly forty years.

When Internationalism first published in 1970, the comrades were in political correspondence with others of similar political perspective in France and Venezuela. Following a series of political conferences in the early 1970's, Internationalism joined with groups in five other countries -- Revolution Inernationale (France), World Revolution (Britain), Accion Proletaria (Spain), Rivoluzione Internazionale (Italy), and Internacionalismo (Venezuela) to found the ICC. Today the ICC has grown to an organization with sections or nuclei in 16 countries, Turkey and the Philippines being the newest sections. The ICC website publishes in 19 languages and is visited more than 120,000 times per month.

Today as the world economy is gripped by the worst recession since the Great Depression, and a new generation of the working class is turning towards revolutionary political alternatives, Internationalism stands ready to engage in the political dialog necessary to build toward the organization of an international party of proletarian revolutionaries.

Internationalism, April 2009