To the adamantine incarnation of all the greatness and vigour of the proletariat; to that which incorporates its heroism, the definiteness of its class-consciousness, its deadly hatred for capitalism, and its splendid impulse towards the creation of a new society - to the great Communist Party - we dedicate this book.
We dedicate it to the Party which commands an army of a million men, dwells in the trenches, administers a vast realm, carts wood on Communist Saturdays, makes ready for the resurrection day of mankind.
We dedicate it alike to the veterans of the Party, steeled in battles and victories, and to the young recruits of the Party, destined to carry our work to its end.
To the warriors and martyrs of the Party, to those who have perished on the numberless fronts, who have been done to death in prison, who have perished under torture, who when doing the Party’s work have been hanged or shot by our enemies, we dedicate this book.
FOREWORD
The ABC of Communism should, in our opinion, be an elementary textbook of communist knowledge. Daily experience of propagandists and agitators has convinced us of the urgent need for such a textbook. There is an unceasing influx of new adherents. The dearth of teachers is great, and we have not even a sufficiency of textbooks for such institutions as the party schools. Obviously, the older Marxist literature, such as The Erfurt Program is largely inapplicable to present needs. Answers to new problems are extremely difficult to find. All that the