Live Reports from the Frontlines
Our work is made possible by the hundreds of communist correspondents across the U.S. whose contributions flood into our offices every day.
Here is a glimpse into our activity.
I Don’t Want to Sit Idly By When I Know I Can Do Something
From Helena, MT
I see the terror of imperialism and capitalism every day. I don’t want to sit idly, feeling hopeless when I know I can do something. This system benefits the rich and powerful, while the working class is fed lies and hatred to divide us. The evil is woven into our government and constitution. We’ve been too busy trying to survive and fighting one another. I truly believe we can change this system. It won’t happen overnight, but when we get organized, we have all the pwoer. That’s why the governmnet is scared of communism.
Rigorous Political Discussions at Northwest RCA Summer Camp
Naomi Moss, Seattle, WA
In August we held our first ever Pacific Northwest RCA summer camp!
Over four days, we held rigorous political discussions with 40 attendees from across Washington and Oregon. This was the most advanced political event in the history of the RCA in the Pacific Northwest, with discussions ranging from anarchism in the Russian Civil War, to the Red Scares past and present, to building a mass workers’ party in the US.
My favorite discussion was on the region’s militant labor history. Just like the rest of the US, the Pacific Northwest has a strong tradition of fighting back against the parasitic ruling class, such as in the Seattle general strike of 1919. The bourgeoisie wants us to believe that Americans are powerless to fight against our own oppression, but any serious study of history will tell you the complete opposite.
The intensity of the weekend left every comrade in attendance with a fervent desire to bring the lessons from the weekend back to the rest of our comrades. We plan to hold the camp annually, and it’ll only get bigger from here!
We’re in Lockstep with the Youth
Natalia Myers, Dallas, TX
During a cell meeting, we did a round table called “Are you a Communist? Why or Why Not?” All six new people said they were communists and that we need revolution!
These young comrades are reaching more advanced conclusions than I have ever seen in my three years of party building: that identity politics is reactionary, that mutual aid is not a viable strategy because “it’s like putting a bandaid on a wound”—and that we need revolution.
Impress Them with Answers
Arren Eaves, Arlington, TX
I was nervous at the end of our cell meeting. I worried our arguments for the expropriation of AI—and all other industries—were unconvincing. But when we made our appeal to join the party, every single guest in attendance either joined on the spot or promised to come back next week.
One guest was a long-time follower of the party who praised our well-defined political program and our willingness to answer questions. The RCA has the ability to provide political clarity on a level beyond any other force in America today.
Ten-Year-Olds Imagine 2050
Anonymous
What does the future hold? The New York Times asked a group of 10-year-olds. Here are some of their answers:
“Companies will start using AI instead of human workers. That’s probably going to cause a pretty big job shortage.”
What will happen to people who lose jobs to AI? “Lots of anger. Probably protests. Just lots of outrage.”
Another kid answered: “There’s bound ot be a war. The war against Iran right now is bound to spark a couple more wars. I really hope it doesn’t start World War III.”
What else will be different in 2050? “There’s one more thing I’m thinking about: If there’s going to be more rich people or more poor people. I think I already got the answer to that: more poor people, [because] stuff is going to cost more. The world is becoming more like survival of the fittest.”
Will people still read books? “Rich people are going to read paper books, but not regular people. You know how really old things are more valuable?”
What else will be different? “I think Mount Rushmore is going to fall down.” Why? “Someone’s going to bomb it or something.”
Do you think the world will be better or worse than it is now? “The world is already going kind of downhill, but it’s still a very good place to live … We will still have problems, but we will fix most of them.”
Who Will Buy What They Sell?
While in line at a local restauarant, a man in his fifties mentioned his worries about the future of humanoid robots. I told him how the First Lady already unveiled one such robot at the White House in March.
He turned to me and said: “What confuses me most is, if thye replace us all with robots, who will buy the stuff they sell?” His instinct is absolutely correct.
The man also expressed his worry about what the world will look like when his 15-year-old duaghter reaches his age.
America needs a revolutionary party that can give a conscious political expression to this man’s worries and insights. It is our job to build it!
“Digital” Food Hall: A Kitchen Nightmare
Andy Shi, New York, NY
I’ve been working as a cook at a ghost kitchen for the Wonder “digital” food hall. It’s an app where you can order food from all kinds of restaurants and cuisines in a single transaction.
They claim to provide meals from “celebrity chefs.” In reality, we serve pre-made frozen meals which are reheated on site using an air or deep fryer. The company hilariously dubs it a “proprietary cooking system.” Each kitchen is no more than a glorified TV-dinner dispensary.
The company boasts about using AI for everything from graphic design to recipe creation to planning delivery routes.
Meanwhile, employees are trained to ignore food-safety regulations and get orders out of the kitchen as quickly as possible. A machine beeps at us if we don’t finish an order within five minutes. Our equipment is always dirty or wet, and preventing cross contamination is virtually impossible in the crammed space.
Wonder CEO Marc Lore is simply following the same tired game plan as every other tech bro: offer a too-good-to-be-true service, hype it up with marketing, cut costs behind the scenes, and hope eventually to monopolize the entire market. Really, it’s just the latest tech start-up gimmick—a self-proclaimed “Amazon of food.”
Communists in the Courtroom
Ava and Phil, Los Angeles, CA
I work at a law firm defending tenants.
Before any trial, attorneys question potential jurors to root out “bias.” Word spread quickly around the office about a juror who denounced landlords and private property during jury selection.
Come to find out, it was our comrade Phil!
“When the issue of ‘bias’ came up,” Phil said, “I raised my hand and spoke up: ‘I have a bias against landlords and real-estate speculators. I have a bias against anyone who gets in between people and their needs for the sake of profit.’
“The judge then raised a made-up analogy, hoping I would see things from the landlord’s point of view. What if someone came into my home and refused to leave? Wouldn’t that be a crime?
“I told him there’s a difference between owning a home to live in and using one as a means to extract money from someone else.”
The landlord’s lawyer dismissed Phil from the case. He tried to remove everyone who heard his speech, but he couldn’t. My coworkers described how Phil’s words rang through the courtroom, changing the way all the jurors saw the trial.
Phil helped stop that eviction, they say. Many of them are asking about our party and newspaper.
“If not for the party, the readings, one-on-one discussions with comrades, cell meetings, and paper sales,” Phil said, “I would not have developed the confidence or ability to put forward our ideas. These are the opportunities we train for.”
I Nearly Passed Out … for $75
Rowan Smith, Philadelphia, PA
In a matter of minutes, I felt my whole body go numb and my vision cloud over.
Like many workkers scraping by while the rich get richer, I needed to make some quick cash to survive. I turned to donating plasma. I knew the process came with a laundry list of potential side effects—one not listed was feeling humiliated—but I was out of options.
Every day, some 200,000 people in the US donate plasma. Big Pharma companies like CSL or OctaPharma pay for this component of human blood, which is used in medicine manufacturing.
The more frequent the donor, the more they can make over time. I was told that I’d be paid $75 for my first donation and $125 for my second.
Staff quickly unhooked me from the machine and gave me electrolytes. They reassured me that I’d be paid in full despite the incomplete procedure. Through blurred vision, I noticed that most of the donation recliners were occupied that day. Even my nurse had sold her plasma!
Meanwhile, OctaPharma netted $4.27 billion in 2024.
An Encounter with Zohran
Emma W, New York, NY
I was heading uptown on the 1 train. The doors opened at a station on the Upper West Side and in stepped Zohran Mamdani, flanked by an assistant and a bunch of security.
He was standing right next to me, so I introduced myself. He smiled and nodded when I told him I supported his program, and would love to see it implemented.
Then I said, “I’d love to see you break with the Democratic Party and run as an independent working-class candidate. Have you ever considered doing that?”
His smile faltered. All he said was, “Well, I have to make my own decisions.”
“I really think we need our own party that isn’t for the billionaires.” I continue talking, and he’s back to nodding—and not answering.
Meanwhile, his assistant is giving me the dirtiest look on the planet. Eventually, she physically put her arm between him and me, so I stopped talking to him, because I didn’t want to make a scene on the crowded train. People in the car started to realize who had gotten on and began snapping selfies with him.
Every bit of the interaction—from the smiling and the nodding to the evasive non-answer he gave me—was typical “politician” behavior.
There are a lot of videos on social media that show Zohran talking to people in town hall meetings or out on the street. Often, they disagree with him. Some are very angry with him, but he always manages to find common ground and disarm them.
Sure, maybe some of that’s staged. But I doubt that’s the only reason Zohran acted differently here. I think it’s because he doesn’t have a ready-made answer to this decisive question.
There’s majority support for a third party, or even a workers’ party. There’s a general hatred for the Democrats, Republicans, and the Epstein class. But it remains an amorphous sentiment.
There’s no other organized tendency besides the RCA putting forward the need for class independence. So right now, it’s not really a question people like Zohran have to contend with. But that will change as the class struggle develops and we build up the forces of communism.
Meeting with YDSA Comrades
Kate Witiak, Philadelphia, PA
As communists, we are always happy to engage in common work with other left organizations on points of agreement, and to discuss the best way forward for the movement. In this spirit, I met up with two YDSA members: one was a national staffer with a paid internship position, and the other the co-chair of a university chapter.
They told me they were disillusioned with their organization. Our conversation kept coming back to the need for ideological clarity. They explained that, like DSA, its youth wing does not have consistent political education, instead relegating it to a subcommittee with very few active participants. As a result, many YDSA members don’t take ownership of the work, because they do not know what they are fighting for, and many chapters lack a sense of direction.
I said that, in my opinion, these organizational problems arise from lack of political clarity and homogeneity. Rather than addressing them by forming this or that committee, political discussion and agreement on a clear, unified vision are needed to motivate the new generation of class fighters.
At the end of our meeting, the co-chair confessed that he had only joined YDSA because it was the only organization on campus. He said that he would have rather joined a disciplined communist organization like the RCA!
How Marxism Helped Me Talk to My MAGA Dad
My dad and I have argued about Trumpism for years with no real progress. I’ve shown him articles, videos, and evidence to no effect. My angry responses only drove him further away.
The Marxist method, however, gave me a different way in: instead of telling him he was wrong, I acted in a patient, systematic, and persistent way.
I asked him:
- Why did you choose to support Trump? The economy.
- Why do you think he’s good for the economy? He’s kicking China out.
- How has that helped workers? —
The conversation went on for over an hour—the longest we’ve spoken since 2016.
I was able to walk him through the contradictions of capitalism and the relationship between a commodity’s price and the labor embodied in it. By the end of the call, he used the exact phrase “crisis of overproduction.”
Patiently explaining and being curious was the key to reopening a door that had been closed for a decade.