By Abram Lutes, YCL-LJC member in Ottawa
In the novel Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay, a wizard conquers an idyllic peninsula and rules the populace with an iron fist. Despite their oppression, the people of the peninsula do not revolt against the wizard and his mercenaries for nearly a century. Part of the way the wizard maintains his occupation is through a spell which erases all history of resistance from the memories of the people. A key task of the protagonists – revolutionaries against the wizard – is to help the people remember their history.
Capitalists, through their power and influence over the education system, the media, and culture accomplish a similar feat to the evil wizard in Tigana, without resorting to sorcery. As communist historian Michael Parenti writes on mainstream history curricula:
“Little room is left for an honest picture of how the common people of history have struggled for a better life, or how politico-economic elites have ruthlessly pursued a contrary course, doing whatever necessary to maintain and expand their wealth and privileges.”1
This pattern is baked into capitalist media, as identified by numerous scholars and activists. For example, Noam Chomsky and Edward Herman’s famous Manufacturing Consent identifies the profit-based model of news and media production, the dependence on advertising, and control by the capitalist state over information sources as crucial material forces which shape the narrative and bias in media.2 This is as true when it comes to historical events as it is current affairs.
The year 2020 has been chock full of historic events: a novel global pandemic, a once-in-a-century economic recession, and a massive continental revolt against racism and police brutality. Times like ours are as exciting to be a part of as they are frightening. We can draw courage and inspiration to organize and to act from our own history – working-class and peoples’ history.
An example of this appeared recently in Rebel Youth commemorating the 85th anniversary of the On-to-Ottawa Trek, a massive event in Canadian history almost never mentioned in mainstream accounts and initiated and organized by the YCL and Communist Party. Another is the tradition, described in section 8 of the YCL constitution, of YCL clubs naming themselves after local working-class historical figures. Commemorating these heroes of the cause of labour isn’t out of mere nostalgia for past victories, but to help root modern-day comrades in a long historical tradition with a wealth of guidance on the strategy and tactics of actually wining victories.
For example, the YCL Ottawa refers to itself as the Club Charron in memory of union organizer Donalda Charron of Hull, who led a strike of the mostly-female match factory workers. While not a communist, Charron’s tireless commitment to the betterment of the working class and the rights of women even in the crushing conditions of the Great Depression are a timely example for today.
How the history of our time’s momentous events will be written depends crucially on young people and workers organizing. The spell of capitalist domination of history, culture, and media will begin to be broken as we win victories. People who are part of history can also be a part of writing it. Rebel Youth is a crucial tool of the YCL for documenting and maintaining a record of our actions and activities. Communist and other progressive organizations rarely receive coverage in the big capitalist media and even more rarely is that coverage positive. Maintaining and growing our own media institutions is a crucial part of raising consciousness among working-class youth and drawing greater numbers into the cause of socialism and preserving today’s struggles for future generations to learn from.
1Parenti, Michael. 1999. History as Mystery. San Franciso, CA: City Lights Books.
2 Herman, Edward S.; Chomsky, Noam. 1988. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of Mass Media. New York, NY: Pantheon Books.
Photos (L to R): Montreal YCL in 1924, and Ottawa + Toronto YCLers at a protest in Niagara Falls, February 2020