MIM 2001 congress successful

The 2001 Congress of the Maoist Internationalist Movement --
the broadest and highest authority in the party -- fleshed 
out MIM's conception of agitation and united front work and 
fine-tuned its line on the class structure of the united 
$tates. Most importantly, MIM declared itself ready to 
"wholeheartedly gain the sympathy of the masses." 

The Congress unanimously ratified the self-criticism previously 
published in MIM Notes which laid out guidelines for work 
around demands winnable under capitalism. It also 
unanimously approved the new MIM Platform, which contains 
specific demands to fight for now and specific measures the 
victorious revolution will implement. 

Of course, in order to 
"gain the sympathy of the masses," one must know who "the 
masses" are. Many opportunists misuse this word -- they use 
it to turn Mao into a bourgeois democratic populist or use 
it to justify their dogmatism. The 2001 MIM Congress passed 
a resolution breaking with these misconceptions and 
rehabilitating Lenin and Mao's use of the term. 

By saying  its main task in the current strategic stage is to "gain the 
sympathy of the masses," MIM is consciously putting polemics 
with other groups with worked out lines on our cardinal 
questions on the back burner. MIM has been putting forward 
its position on Soviet revisionism for over 18 years and its 
position on the labor aristocracy for over 15. Most groups 
domestically and internationally have know of MIM for close 
to a decade. Energetic polemics on MIM's part on cardinal 
questions have not brought about unity. Instead of arguing 
with countless economic nationalists organizing to close 
borders, stop imports, etc., MIM will put its efforts into 
tactics appealing to the masses -- people who for the most 
part consider MIM's line on the labor aristocracy a no-
brainer. MIM is confident that it can agitate around current 
issues in such a way as to preserve its internationalist 
credentials and differentiate itself from social-democrats 
and great-nation chauvinists. 

Over the next few issues MIM 
Notes will be publishing resolutions passed by the 2001 
Congress. In this issue, see the "MIM Platform" on page XXX 
and "Again on the subject of the "masses" in the imperialist 
countries" on page YYY.

--MC206, 7 June 2001