Prometheus Research Library

#OTD 1871 Paris Commune began. “It was the first attempt of the proletariat to govern itself....The establishment of the Commune meant not the replacing of one form of class rule by another, but the abolishing of all class rule.” Eleanor Marx

#OTD 1845: Friedrich Engels' The Condition of the Working Class in England first published. "A knowledge of proletarian conditions is absolutely necessary to be able to provide solid ground for socialist theories." #Marxism #Engels #socialism #workingclass

#OTD 8 March 1917 (23 February old calendar), thousands of working women in Petrograd marched on International Women's Day demanding bread and end to imperialist war, sparking February Revolution that led to overthrow of tsar. #IWD

March 8, proletarian holiday. "'Working Woman's Day' turns from a day of struggle for franchise into an international day of struggle for full and absolute liberation of women, which means struggle for the victory of the soviets and for communism!"-- A. Kollontai, 1920 #IWD

#OTD 5 March 1871 Rosa Luxemburg born. “'Order prevails in Berlin!' You foolish lackeys! Your 'order' is built on sand. Tomorrow the revolution will 'rise up again, clashing its weapons,' and to your horror it will proclaim with trumpets blazing: I was, I am, I shall be!"

#OTD 1848 #Marx and #Engels first published #CommunistManifesto. Not just analysis, the Manifesto provided program for workers struggle against capitalism. 178 years later, PRL is dedicated to help Marxists today study history of workers movement with this aim.

PRL has published collection of his writings in Prometheus Research Bulletin No. 3: We also have archive of Fraser's correspondence and unpublished writings. Contact PRL for more information. prl.org/prs/prs3/promr…

New Black History and the Class Struggle contains excerpt of Richard S. Fraser on black struggle and proletarian revolution. Marxists today should study Fraser's materialist analysis of connection of capitalism and black oppression. #blackhistory iclfi.org/pubs/bh/27/pre…

Just a reminder that you can access our catalog here. Let us know if there is something we should get. librarycat.org/lib/prlarchive… Email: library@prl.org

#Deacons for Defense & Justice founded 1964, defended Southern black #civilrights fighters from cop & Klan terror. For the right of armed self-defense! #OpenthePoliceArchives Read #BlackHistory at Prometheus Research Library

What a real #generalstrike is: #Minneapolis, 1934: "The militancy of the workers needs only to be fused with an authentic leadership which brings organization, consciousness and spirit of determined struggle into the movement. Minneapolis was an example of such a fusion." #Cannon

1905 #BloodySunday massacre spurred Russian workers to oppose rulers, fight for power to run society themselves. #Soviets (workers councils) forged to extend strikes. #Trotsky, Soviet Chairman, called 1905 majestic dress rehearsal for 1917 #SocialistRevolution

#OTD 1919 #Luxemburg & #Liebknecht murdered on orders of social democrats. Trotsky: "We can, with full justification, place our work for the Fourth International under the sign of the 'three L’s', that is, not only under the sign of Lenin, but also of Luxemburg and Liebknecht."

January 1926, first issue of Labor Defender, journal of International Labor Defense. Founded by Communist leader James P. Cannon, ILD pioneered non-sectarian class-struggle defense of leftists, labor militants, and others victimized by capitalist state for struggling for workers.

Santa came early to the PRL. Here are some of the new books we just got and are hoping to read!

“Only union of Latin American peoples, striving towards...a united socialist America and allied in struggle with revolutionary proletariat of United States, would present a force strong enough to contend successfully with North American imperialism.” (1938) #antiimperialism

"The necessity for the defense movement is shown not only by those fighters of the past and those still in prison...but by those who are about to be sent there—or to the electric chair. To defend them is also to defend the labor movement, the working class."--James P. Cannon

Read about it in the December 1926 Labor Defender: marxists.org/history/usa/pu…. The PRL has this and much more on the history of the International Labor Defense, organized by James P. Cannon. Contact us for more information.

#OTD 1926 police raided houses of Communist organizers in steel town of Woodlawn, PA, seizing ABC of Communism, other literature. Three sentenced to five years. Milan Resetar died in prison, Pete Muselin and Tom Zima paroled in 1932. International Labor Defense fought attacks.

See PRL catalogue: librarycat.org/lib/prlarchive…

Commemorate 1917 #RussianRevolution reading PRL's books! Unique collection includes Leon Trotsky's "#Communist International After #Lenin" first edition in Russian we published to stop capitalist counterrevolution, reimplant #Trotsky in homeland of socialist revolution.