The Communist is produced to arm workers and youth with Marxist ideas in a period of deepening capitalist crisis. War, austerity and environmental destruction are not policy failures, but the inevitable outcome of a system based on profit and exploitation. Against reformism and despair, we argue for the independent organisation of the working class and the revolutionary transformation of society. This paper is part of the struggle to build a disciplined communist organisation capable of overthrowing based on democratic planning and human need.
The launch of The Communist in August marked an important milestone for revolutionary Marxism in paper was met with tremendous anticipation and enthusiasm, reflecting a real hunger for serious ideas and organisation amid a deepening capitalist crisis.
From the moment the first copies appeared on the streets, the response was unmistakable. Across Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Newcastle, supporters of the Revolutionary Communist International sold the paper, discussed its ideas, and made contact with workers and youth searching for an explanation of the chaos unfolding around them. In just the first weeks after publication, dozens of copies were sold and many new readers expressed interest in joining the rapidly developing forces of revolutionary communism in Australia.
At demonstrations and street stalls the paper sparked conversations that went beyond agreement or curiosity. As one reader put it after purchasing the first issue at a Gaza solidarity demonstration in Sydney: “Excellent discussion. Thanks comrades- glad you have made it to Australia.” Such reactions confirm what experience has long shown: when Marxist ideas are presented clearly and confidently, they resonate.
This response is no accident. Australia is being drawn ever more sharply into the global crisis of capitalism and imperialism, caught between rival powers and facing the consequences at home through rising living costs, insecurity, and political instability. The space for reformist illusions is narrowing. The need for an organisation capable of explaining events, drawing lessons, and preparing the working class for struggle has never been greater.
The Communist was launched to meet this need. It is not a neutral publication, nor a platform for individual opinions, but a collective political instrument. As Lenin explained, a revolutionary newspaper is not only a means of propaganda and agitation, but a collective organiser- a framework through which ideas are clarified and a unified organisation is forged.
The success of Issue 1 confirms the correctness of this approach. But it also brings new responsibilities. A newspaper that finds an audience must deepen its analysis, sharpen its political line, and raise the level of its intervention. Issue 2 therefore represents not a repetition of the launch, but a step forward. It develops a sharper analysis of the capitalist crisis, Australian imperialism, and the limits of reformist politics at a time of mounting international tensions and social instability. Above all, it continues the work of clarifying what is required to transform anger and resistance into organised revolutionary force.
With Issue 2, The Communist continues this work. It does so with confidence drawn from experience, clarity drawn from Marxist theory, and a firm orientation toward the struggles that lie ahead. The launch was only the beginning. The task now is to build.
10-point programme
- No faith in Labor! No trust in Albanese’s government of bosses and bankers!
- No to militarism, war, and AUKUS
- Nationalise the banks, mines, and monopolies, without compensation!
- Housing is a right, not a commodity!
- Free, universal education from cradle to grave!
- Health before profit!
- Smash all anti-union laws! Fight for a real living wage!
- Unite to end all oppression!
- Expropriate the billionaires, plan the economy to save the planet!
- Workers of Australia and the world: unite for socialist revolution!