History of the Communist Party of the United States - Volume II (1933-1951)

History of the Communist Party of the United States - Volume II (1933-1951)In the United States the history we are taught is a linear progression of leaders and events; individuals of note and the movements they were involved with; an important quote here and there. It is a history of the elite; a superficial and basic one at that, with only the requisite nod to some few heroes of the people. What Foster creates here is something different. His materialist rendition of U. S. history from the workers perspective is

In the United States the history we are taught is a linear progression of leaders and events; individuals of note and the movements they were involved with; an important quote here and there. It is a history of the elite; a superficial and basic one at that, with only the requisite nod to some few heroes of the people. What Foster creates here is something different. His materialist rendition of U.S. history from the workersÕ perspective is illuminating and personal in a way that an elitist reading could never achieve.

The reader will soon find that this history is not strictly linear; starting with the period of the American bourgeois revolution it proceeds chronologically in periods, arranged into dialectical sets (The Communists and the War; The Communists and the Capitalist Offensive). In this way the focus stays squarely on the working class; its growth, development and organization; its interaction with the state and the stateÕs agents and toadies; its evolving relationship with its leaders and political parties, most importantly the Communist Party and the groups and parties that preceded it.

Taken as a whole the working class, in all its various sectors, constitutes the broadest masses of the populace of the United States, or any country for that matter; which makes their passing mention in standard histories all the more ridiculous. Through its vanguard, composed of the most advanced elements, representing their attitudes, values and ideologies, promoting their concerns and fighting boldly for their demands, the real conditions of the workers are revealed in detail. The real motive force of society is exposed and the basis of every social movement is explained from its roots to its fruits.

From the birth of the U.S. Proletariat, through the struggle to build a party of the working class and the trials of the international communist movement, Comrade Foster builds to a scathing condemnation of the capitalist system, the state that represents its interests and the imperialist warmongering that keeps the whole corrupt and decayed thing alive. He points unapologetically to the evils and ills inflicted on the people of the United States and the world, places the burden of guilt squarely on the shoulders of whom it belongs. He also voices hope for the future and points the way to a better world. FosterÕs love of the people and militant opposition to their exploitation is clear throughout.