Who We Are
Cincinnati Socialists is an independent, working-class, revolutionary Marxist organization in the Greater Cincinnati area. Our politics are rooted in the Bolshevik tradition based on the Leninist principles of vanguardism and democratic centralism. We strive to bring to the forefront the common interests of the entire international working class (also known as the international proletariat) through the combination of advanced theory and practice (also known as praxis).
Our party is not a mass party. We do not seek to bring in all persons sympathetic to the socialist movement. We are building a dedicated cadre of militant comrades with a higher-than-average revolutionary class consciousness that are eager to be a part of a disciplined organization. While our specific organization may not be for everyone, that doesn't mean that there isn't a place for everyone in the struggle for a socialist future.
"The immediate objective of the class-conscious vanguard of the international working-class movement, i.e., the Communist parties, groups and trends, is to be able to lead the broad masses (who are still, for the most part, apathetic, inert, dormant and convention-ridden) to their new position, or, rather, to be able to lead, not only their own party but also these masses in their advance and transition to the new position. While the first historical objective (that of winning over the class-conscious vanguard of the proletariat to the side of Soviet power and the dictatorship of the working class) could not have been reached without a complete ideological and political victory over opportunism and social-chauvinism, the second and immediate objective, which consists in being able to lead the masses to a new position ensuring the victory of the vanguard in the revolution, cannot be reached without the liquidation of Left doctrinairism, and without a full elimination of its errors.”
- V. I. Lenin, "Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder
For a Socialist Future
Capitalism is a worldwide political and economic system in which the working majority is exploited by a capitalist minority that owns the means of production. Only the international working class, struggling collectively, has the power to oppose it, to permanently eliminate it, and to fashion a new system that democratically meets human needs. We call for a socialist society, a world based on workers’ ownership of and control over the collective product of human activity, paving the way to the abolition of class entirely.
Marxism
We stand in the intellectual tradition of Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Rosa Luxemburg, James Connolly, V.I. Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Antonio Gramsci, C.L.R. James, and Thomas Sankara. Marxism is a growing and evolving body of theory, and we also acknowledge the recent contributions of ecosocialist, socialist feminist, and social-reproduction theories. We ground our theoretical underpinnings in a materialist conception of history, which means that we see real human struggle, not abstract ideas or fate, as the motive force for human liberation and all historical change. We see both natural and historical processes as dialectical, complex, and nonlinear, not mechanistic or preordained.
A Revolutionary Horizon
We support the struggles of workers and oppressed people for economic and social reforms, both for their own sake and to develop the power and effectiveness of workers’ organizations. However, the capitalist state can never fully emancipate the international working class from exploitation, imperialism, ongoing environmental collapse, or the threat of fascism. The working class needs an entirely new and different political form, a democratic workers’ state, that can only be achieved by the abolition of the state in its current form.
No Faith in Electoralism
Elections can help propagate working-class demands, force concessions from the ruling class, and serve as a platform for socialist ideas. However, electoralism is not the primary approach of revolutionary organizations. We do not support candidates of capitalist parties like the Democrats or the Republicans. We do, however, support independent socialist candidates who work to oppose the capitalist state and who actively promote the power of the workers and oppressed in our workplaces, homes, schools, and the streets.
Opposition to Imperialism
The struggle for socialism is international. It requires coordinated struggle of workers and oppressed people across national boundaries. We stand in solidarity with the struggles of the global South and oppressed national groups against imperial interference, particularly by the US and NATO countries. We oppose US military intervention everywhere without exception. We support the defunding and demobilization of the US military and the elimination of the arms industry. We support complete elimination of all weapons of mass destruction. We support self-determination for Puerto Rico and all US colonies. We support current socialist nations in their efforts to withstand the encroachment of neo-colonialism and imperialism. We support cultural and political autonomy for Indigenous peoples, both in North America and abroad, as well as global efforts toward decolonization.
Against Oppressive Structures
Many oppressed groups worldwide are engaged in struggles against structures of inequality and discrimination under capitalism. We maintain that the destruction of these structures of oppression is an essential part of socialist struggle. We oppose white supremacy, misogyny, homophobia, transphobia, national chauvinism, and all forms of oppression. We support the struggle for immigrant rights, and for Black and Indigenous liberation. We oppose cisheteronormativity and fight for the full social equality of women and LGBTQ+ people. We support the right of oppressed groups to self-defense, self-determination, and self-organization. We support dismantling the police and carceral systems and denounce them as inherently white supremacist institutions.
Coalition-Building
We look forward to working in coalition with any group or organization fighting for the emancipation of humankind. We welcome any opportunity to work alongside activists fighting for the rights of women, oppressed minorities, immigrants, and labor. We are dedicated to supporting community organizations combating police violence, gentrification, ecological despoliation, and homelessness. However, we are an autonomous and independent Marxist organization. We are not middle-class liberals. We are not engaged in activism for activism’s sake. We cannot abandon or disguise our Marxist principles in deference to coalition partners.
Towards a Revolutionary Party
The capitalist class is highly organized and disciplined. It controls the courts, the police, the military, the schools and universities, and much of the print and electronic media. To effectively oppose it, we ourselves must respond with discipline and organization. Therefore, we are committed to the task of performing the groundwork for an independent workers’ party. We aim to build an independent militant socialist organization rooted in our communities that, in fighting today’s struggles, also wins larger numbers to the fight for socialism.