Communist Labor Party

The Communist Labor Party is one of the three major political parties within the United Republics. It was founded by the centre-right wing ("Workers' Party - Labor") of the now defunct Worker's Communist Party of America in 1954 due to unassailable disagreements over foreign policy regarding the Horn War (and military engagement more generally), as well as over how a communist party should be organized (the left-wing would go on to found the Liberation Communist Party that same year).

The CLP considers itself to be the ideological continuation of the original Worker's Party. This is reflected within their chosen symbol: A crossed hammer, sickle and torch that mirrors that of the WCPA's original emblem. As with their precursor, the party officially adheres to the ideology of Marxism-DeLeonism. Where they differ from their forbear is the use of 'Organic Centralism' (first theorized by Italian communist Amadeo Bordiga) in order to organize the day-to-day political affairs. This is in contrast to Liberation, which operates under principals of Councilism and Localism. The CLP are advocates of central planning and centralized government, and in foreign affairs support a combination of muscular diplomacy and pragmatism. Socially, they take a position of neutrality on social affairs.

Today, the CLP is the smallest of the "big three" parties, and is currently in alliance with the Social Ecology Union. The party’s general secretary is actor turned politician Daniel DeVito, Jr. (best known as shrewd delegate Louie De Palma in the 70's sitcom Taxi Drivers and later as Louis C. Fraina in the 1987 miniseries Vanguard), and Indian immigrant and urban planner Nithya Raman is Party leader.

History
Labor grew from “Workers’ Party-Labor”, the anti-Horn War, pro-austerity, pro-vanguard faction of the Workers’ Party, following the lead of such leaders as Earl Browder and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn. After Cannon’s dissolution of the CEC, the faction, led by Eric Hass and Lyndon B. Johnson, formed the “Communist Labor Party”, as one of the two legal successors to the WCPA, with Presidium member and 1928 US vice-presidential nominee James W. Ford as General Secretary of the Party.

Whilst they failed to win in the subsequent 1954 election, the party, under Hass and Detroit delegate Coleman Young, were able to gain control in 1958. Hass’ short-lived government was notable for the announcement of the “Luna Program” in 1959, but was derailed by a scandal involving illegal bribes to two top aides to Secretary-General Young. While Young was cleared, he resigned from office, and the scandal paved the way for the Liberation electoral victory in 1960.

Nixon and Johnson would butt heads through the 60’s over the former’s decentralization and internationalist platform, but the era also saw the two compromise on a number of issues. This policy of semi-cooperation would continue under the Haywood administration. Following the contentious election of 1970, where independent left parties formed a plurality, the CLP and LCP were forced into an alliance, with Johnson as Premier to gain a majority. Despite hopes for the reformation of the Workers’ Party (The “Promise of the Moon” as it was later called, due to the Luna Landing that same year), Johnson’s untimely death in 1971 placed LCP cadre Grace Lee Boggs into office. With that, Liberation was able to gain enough alliances to win in 1972. Labor, now under biologist Stephen Jay Gould and later Betty Friedan, managed to win out in the mid-to-late 70’s, but the rise of the SEU and the aggressive Hampton years would see the CLP decline, only coming into power twice in the next 40 years (1986 under Linda Jenness and 1998 under Ron Dellums).

Still, the party remains a kingmaker, forming alliances as it sees fit between either the LCP or SEU, depending on if it can enact its agenda through either two parties. Currently, the party is considered the smallest of the “major league” parties, and in an alliance with the SEU and even some minor league parties.

Platform and ideology
As one of the two legal successors to the WCP (as indicated by its logo, the old party’s emblem), Communist Labor claims to be the true successor in terms of policy (as does Liberation). While both officially adhere to left communism, Communist Labor leans heavily on a literalist interpretation of Basic Law. As such, it officially considers its doctrine “Marxist-DeLeonist” and “Organic Centralist”, in accordance with the original WCP platform

Named after thinker Daniel DeLeon (whose name also adorns the capital of the United Republics alongside fellow thinker and occasional rival Eugene Debs), DeLeonism, or “Marxism-DeLeonism”, can be seen as a synthesis of Marxist and Syndicalist thought, believing in a strong vanguard party to seize state power and militant industrial unions to both gain power outside the state and to organize democratic power amongst the workplaces. Organicism or organic centralism, a concept originating from Italian American thinker Amadeo Bordiga, is a replacement for the “Democratic Centralism” of the old CPSU, believing that the vanguard party is a key part of the Dictatorship of the Proletariat, but that “every member has a say,” and the idea of fractions is key to ensuring their “true democratic nature”.

In practice, Labor attempts to strengthen the power of the All-Union Government, representative of the Vanguard Party, and heavily integrate the workplace-unions and communes that elect it. Labor believes that the Party and the workplaces should be interdependent, with one electing and empowering the other, in accordance with DeLeonist thought. As opposed to Liberation’s and the SEU’s doctrine of independent workplaces and less state involvement, the CLP believes that the workers and the state are fundamentally linked and should be united into a single entity, as opposed to workers working outside the system.

As opposed to Liberation or SEU’s strong sense of cultural libertinism, Communist Labor views itself as “culturally neutral”, largely continuing to adhere to the ideals of the First Cultural Revolution and even some of the Second Cultural Revolution in recent years. Communist Labor believes in remunerative justice; not punitive or rehabilitative. Labor opposed Liberation’s steady dismantling of the security state, including the abolition of the civilian death penalty in 1955, the steady de-escalation of the MDSS under Morris Childs and George Bush, and the closings of Alcatraz, Leavenworth, and Joliet (the last remaining “high security” prisons run by the Special Prison Administration from the revolution) in 1978. They are also largely hostile to the nuclear family and view larger communities like “communes” as the basic units of society, in accordance with the First Cultural Revolution.

Contrary to critics, Labor is not “anti-Internationalist.” Indeed, it views America as a “nation of nations” (dating back to Langston Hughes’ “Brave New World” radio address in 1934) by virtue of its immigrant population, its indigenous peoples and its role in spearheading both the major liberal and socialist revolutions across the world throughout history. “Fundamentally Internationalist”, the now cosmopolitan populace of America would be a proving ground for the inevitable future of world communism.

However, as opposed to Liberation’s “militarized internationalism” that proposes immediate confrontation with the Franco-British Union via “rollback” or the pacifistic radicalism of the SEU, Communist Labor instead upholds the policy of “containment” in terms of foreign policy. Containment, largely the brainchild of diplomat George Kennan, is a form of a “beachhead” doctrine that prioritizes the further entrenching the dictatorship of the proletariat in the newly-liberated countries and strengthening the Comintern bloc of states in preparation for the “Final Conflict” through furthering the “development of productive forces”. Building the conditions for lower-stage communism is necessary for the continued success of Communist states and prevents any reversions.

Labor thus holds that military forces should “contain” capitalist states, preventing their expansion, and let the conditions of capitalism bring them down, instead of fighting to “rollback” capitalism. Labor believes a combination of strong military presence in already existing communist states and “muscular diplomacy” aimed at delegitimizing and weakening the capitalist states is the best way for containment to work.

Fractions
The CLP holds that its fractions are an integral function of the party. Per Bordiga, they are parts of a whole, a movement dedicated to the cause, regardless of its internal differences. The fractions are officially recognized by the party.


 * DeLeonist - Considered the “core” of the party. Largely follows Marxism-DeLeonism and cultural moderation. Firmly believes in the “dual vanguard” and the further integration of workplace-unions into the government. GenSec DeVito and Leader Raman are members


 * Leninist - Also called the “Vanguard faction”, has a similar platform to the CPSU, with a particular focus on emphasizing the “vanguard party” as the main organ of the proletariat, instead of merely part of a larger “party-union” dual rule arrangement.


 * Internationalist - Also called “Hampton Labor” or “Red Dog Labor”, firmly follows the DeLeonist line of the party, but otherwise aligns with Liberation on foreign policy and cultural issues. However, as opposed to Liberation’s mass organization, they believe that rollback is better served by a vanguard party-union pressuring the state.


 * Environmentalist - Also called “Green Labor”, believes that the vanguard party-union should push for more environmental regulations. Often caucuses with the SEU on environmental regulations.