The Communist Party of Iran (Marxist–Leninist–Maoist) () is an Iranian communist party working for revolution to establish a new socialist republic in place of the

Islamic Republic of Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. The party takes as its political framework the new synthesis of communism, and is a descendant of the

Maoist Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...

Sarbedaran. The party is continuation of Sarbedaran Movement and the

Union of Iranian Communists (Sarbedaran) The Union of Iranian Communists (UIC), unofficially translated as the League of Iranian Communists () and simply known by its former armed branch's name Sarbedaran (; ), was a Maoist organization in Iran. The UIC(S) was formed in 1976 after the a ...

and was officially founded in 2001. CPI (MLM) believes that Iran is a 'semifeudal- semicolonial' country and is trying to launch '

People's war People's war or protracted people's war is a Maoist military strategy. First developed by the Chinese communist revolutionary leader Mao Zedong (1893–1976), the basic concept behind people's war is to maintain the support of the population ...

' in Iran. CPI (MLM) have published several books and publishes regular magazines such as ''Haghighat'' (حقیقت, Persian for 'Truth') and ''Jahani Baraye Fath'' (جهانی برای فتح, a Persian translation of the RIM publication "A world to win"). The party also participates in various demonstrations abroad.

Revolutionary theory

CPI (MLM) subscribes to the

Leninism Leninism (, ) is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the Dictatorship of the proletariat#Vladimir Lenin, dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary Vangu ...

's theory of

Vanguardism Vanguardism, a core concept of Leninism, is the idea that a revolutionary vanguard party, composed of the most conscious and disciplined workers, must lead the proletariat in overthrowing capitalism and establishing socialism, ultimately progre ...

. The party sees itself as guiding the

Proletariat The proletariat (; ) is the social class of wage-earners, those members of a society whose possession of significant economic value is their labour power (their capacity to work). A member of such a class is a proletarian or a . Marxist ph ...

class of Iran through a revolutionary struggle. This

is open to all irrespective of nationality, gender or language. The party itself is open to both men and women and tolerates no antiwomen conduct. CPI (MLM) is an internationalist party that believes in the global

. The primary goal of the party is to eliminate oppression based on class, nationality or gender. This would be achieved by the violent overthrow of the Islamic Republic of Iran and establishing a new democratic and socialist state. This overthrow would be carried out by armed struggle by the masses. The CPI (MLM) believes that the vanguard will prevent reactionary cliques from attaining power after the masses carry out revolution. The new state would follow the Marxist theory of a Dictatorship of the proletariat. This would be the intermediate government between the periods of capitalism and communism. This period of transition would be defined by the change of the economic Base which would allow the reordering of the social system. Within the new social order all class distinctions would be eliminated, relations of productions that promote class distinction would be also be terminated. Social relations that allow oppression under capitalism would be deconstructed. The CPI (MLM) hopes to begin the world revolution and demonstrate an alternative to the system of global capitalism.

Critiques of the Islamic Republic of Iran and foreign governments

Islamic Republic of Iran

CPI (MLM) sees the

as a

Reactionary In politics, a reactionary is a person who favors a return to a previous state of society which they believe possessed positive characteristics absent from contemporary.''The New Fontana Dictionary of Modern Thought'' Third Edition, (1999) p. 729. ...

regime. The regime is viewed the same as the former Iranian Shahs or Imperial powers that have intervened in Iran in the past. These powers all sought to oppress the Iranian people based on ideology, ethnicity or gender. The party objects to the

Regime In politics, a regime (also spelled régime) is a system of government that determines access to public office, and the extent of power held by officials. The two broad categories of regimes are democratic and autocratic. A key similarity acros ...

calling itself revolutionary and instead deems the regime to be Fascistic in nature. The Islamic Republic's efforts to preserve the social order through implementation of

Sharia Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...

law are anti revolutionary and repressive according to the party. The current Islamist policies are opposed by the secular CPI (MLM) as they preserve an ideological superstructure that allows for ultra conservative leaders and groups such as the

Ayatollah Ayatollah (, ; ; ) is an Title of honor, honorific title for high-ranking Twelver Shia clergy. It came into widespread usage in the 20th century. Originally used as a title bestowed by popular/clerical acclaim for a small number of the most di ...

and the

Guardian Council The Guardian Council (also called Council of Guardians or Constitutional Council, ) is an appointed and constitutionally mandated 12-member council that wields considerable power and influence in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The constitution ...

to retain power. The CPI (MLM) demands the complete destruction of the state to overturn the culture and institutions that currently define Iranian thought and politics. The party critiques Iran's Nationalistic repression of Kurdish and Arab populations in the Kurdistan, Khuzestan and Baluchistan regions. These non Persian populations are subjected to prejudice from the state and educational institutions, often on the basis of language. The CPI (MLM) criticizes Iran's involvement in various regional wars which they deem reactionary. The

s excessive spending on military budgets and nuclear development programs is also subject to criticism. Iran's spending is often shunted towards political indoctrination and promotion of religious values while many are forced to live in poor conditions.

Turkey

The CPI (MLM) believes Turkey's government is Fascist. Turkeys invasion of

Rojava Rojava may refer to: * Syrian Kurdistan, also known as Rojava, the geographical region where Kurds historically settled within present-day Syria * Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Democratic Autonomous Administ ...

and YPG controlled territories that are majority Kurdish in Syria is seen as genocidal by the CPI (MLM). They believe the Turkish efforts to establish a "safe zone" on Turkeys border with Syria is an attempt to weaken Kurdish movements in Turkey as well as abroad.

The United States of America

Liberal democracies Liberal democracy, also called Western-style democracy, or substantive democracy, is a form of government that combines the organization of a democracy with ideas of liberal political philosophy. Common elements within a liberal democracy are: ...

such as the United States are criticized at large for their police presences, prohibition on certain forms of political thought and the domination of a capitalist elite. These Capitalists have turned to fascist ideas in order to preserve their position. These ideas include racism, prejudice towards immigrants, xenophobia, cultures of misogyny and religious dogmatism. These are the mechanisms of response to the problems created by the capitalist society itself.

Internationalism

Communist party of Iran's (Marxist, Leninist, Maoist) theory of internationalism

The CPIs theory of internationalism is an alternative to the dominant global system of capitalism. Capitalisms domination is asserted to have made a "great portion of people around the world have increasingly become proletarians who in fact work 'to survive for the next day, even without having an hour to think'". In addition, the relations of production are said to produce “social faults” such as patriarchy and imperial domination of some nations by those that are more powerful. Capitalisms drastic and irreversible effects on the environment and the numerous wars over the drive for profit are also critiqued by the CPI (MLM). These myriad factors prove that much of the world would stand to benefit from a revolution that would overturn the current capitalist world order. CPI (MLM) aspires to be the launching point of a world revolution where the masses at large can see an alternative to the current systems of oppression. In order to truly lead a revolutionary movement a movement must not align itself with Imperial powers such as the United States, China, Russia and The European Union. Interaction with local reactionary governments (Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Syria and Iraq, etc...) is to be avoided as well. Interactions with outside powers disrupts the parties true goals of revolution and establishment of a communist social system. Imperial and reactionary states would never assist a global revolution as their interest are diametrically opposed. The CPI (MLM) sees the global capitalist system as dictating the policies of countries such as the United States. They are much more likely to support nation states as opposed to non government actors. The nation state fits into the system of global capitalism much easier than movements such as the CPI (MLM) or the

Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria The Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (DAANES), also known as Rojava, is a ''de facto'' Autonomous administrative division, autonomous region in northeastern Syria. It consists of self-governing Regions of North and E ...

. The current system as well allows for the domination of some states economically by imperialist powers. The essential weakness that all reactionary states and imperialist have is that they are exploiters. This trait is essential to the character of these nations, even if they find mass support or aid from petty bourgeoise these oppressors are an outside force with no sovereignty over those they control.

Revolutionary Internationalist Movement

The CPI works with various other Leninist Maoist parties in a larger organization known as the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement (RIM). The CPI (MLM) participates in the RIM with Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan and the two organizations were critical of the United States military presence in the Middle east at large and specifically Afghanistan. The Revolutionary Internationalist Movement seeks to spearhead the world revolution against imperialist oppression such as the United States former presence in Afghanistan. The RIM believes that Proletariat must be equipped with certain tools in order to oppose imperialism. The communist party, the peoples army and a revolutionary united front are all necessary in order to overturn the current world order.

Environmentalism

The CPI (MLM) views climate change as an imminent threat. Iran's production of fossil fuels is seen as an essential part of the economy. However the CPI questions this view, the effects of its production and use are strongly negative for the people of Iran. Under a capitalist economy these troubles could not be addressed as profit is the driver behind all decisions. To address this the values behind our system must be questioned and private ownership of the means of production must come to an end.

References

External links

* https://cpimlm.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Communist Party Of Iran (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist) 2001 establishments in Iran Banned communist parties Banned political parties in Iran Communist militant groups Communist parties in Iran Maoist organisations in Iran Left-wing militant groups in Iran Maoist parties Militant opposition to the Islamic Republic of Iran Political parties established in 2001 Marxism–Leninism–Maoism