A recent exchange took place in the Marxist community that I found quite illuminating. A joint declaration was made against the Leading Light Communist Organization (LLCO) and another group which is insignificant. The declaration was signed by, Marxist Leninist Maoist Communist Party of Bangladesh, Marxist Leninist Maoist Center of Belgium, Communist Party of France (marxist leninist maoist) (whom I’ve referred to as Gonzaloists). The document attempted to refute the Third Worldist line, yet failed on the most fundamental of the basics. The LLCO has replied to the group showing that the French Gonzaloists had done no investigation.

Firstly, those who oppose Third Worldism frequently misrepresent its line. A good example of it would be the attacks it receives, claiming that it doesn’t see any proletariat in the First World. This is of course false, it has stated repeated that there is no significant proletariat. Some First World people do live in terrible poverty and oppression. Their numbers however, are simply nothing significant with which to base a revolution off of.

The French Gonzaloists accused the LLCO of not supporting the idea that Third World countries can have colonies. They most certainly do. In fact, they had previously posted an article on it.

“It is important to understand our history in order to know our present. Prior to liberation, Bangladesh existed as an internal colony of Pakistan, which was also a kind of semi-colony of the Western imperialists. Thus Bangladesh was a colony of a colony so to speak. The capitalists and landlords who had the power and wealth were concentrated in Pakistan. They maintained their brutal exploitation through terror, often enforced by the most backward, feudal segments of the population. Often Islamic organizations were enlisted to terrorize the masses…”

The French Gonzaloists simply have not read any LLCO literature. This is a very common case when it comes to debating Third Worldism. People simply do not research or educate themselves on the subject. Essentially, they end up denouncing Third Worldists for a position they do not hold. As a result, the water is muddied. A false criticism is then spread to the rest of the Marxist community where it is taken as truth without an investigation.

As they continue, they make another very ignorant mistake. “Third Worldism” is conflated with Mao’s Zedong’s reactionary “Three Worlds Theory.” It is unfathomable how someone can confuse the two, if they know what they are. Simply put: Third World Worldism recognises the revolutionary potential of the Third World proletariat, and not First World and the continuum of the Second World. By contrast, Three Worlds Theory implies in practice that the people of the First World (Europe, USA) and Third World should ally against the Second World which INCLUDES Soviet Block. This theory places Third World people on the same level as First World – the opposite of Third Worldism.

It is recommend that the reader of this post also read the articles by the LLCO and the French Gonzaloists.