“The Struggle for Trade Union Unity” (Week 2)

1. Why is organizing in trade unions essential? How does Dimitrov’s point here contrast to the with the ways we, and Communists historically, have thought to organize?

2. What critiques does Dimitrov have about the ways that communists have tried to organize the youth? How does he recommend going about this task, and why is it of fundamental importance to bring young people into the struggle for the united front?

3. Why should we look to organize specifically around youth and women’s issues, rather than lump them into the broader struggle against fascism? How does fascism gain the support of these groups if they remain unorganized?

4. How and under what conditions does the proletarian united front develop into a government? What does this government look like and what does it hope to accomplish? What can we learn from the errors of the communist parties of that past? Do we see these same errors playing out today?

5. How does fascism gain traction ideologically, and how must we combat fascism on the ideological front? What is the role of nationalism in the revolutionary movement, and how do we reconcile nationalism with the concept of proletarian internationalism? How do we apply these lessons in our attempts at organizing locally?