The Editorial on the occasion of the release of the first print issue of ‘New Worker’
Newspapers and other media, such as websites, television and radio programs, podcasts, and so on, provide information about current developments. If we look at the content, we can find coverage that offers more or less good insight into these developments. In general, the news in the bourgeois (capitalist) media is approached from the perspective of the ruling class, the capitalist class. However, this class has a very narrow view of the world, because it does not fundamentally question current economic, social, or political conditions. Therefore, social problems are approached superficially, without revealing their deeper causes. All coverage in bourgeois media of scandals, housing, racism, health, education, the economy, international issues, etc., ignores their essence, the deeper cause that creates the breeding ground from which they arise.
The real cause of all of these issues lies in the policies of successive governments, both Democrat and Republican. Their policies destroy social rights and ignore the fact that basic necessities—healthcare, education, childcare, housing, and jobs, to name a few—are not social rights, not a public service available free of charge to all families. Instead, all of these services are at the mercy of the market, transformed into million-dollar industries at the expense of the majority of the people. From this point of view, the issues we face are not the result of corrupt politicians. The destructive policies of both red and blue governments arise from the fact that the character of the government, the state, is bourgeois. In other words, it serves the interests of big business, of the monopolies, and not of the working class. Big business is directly and indirectly subsidized by the bourgeois state with billions of dollars, while benefits for the working class are considered “too costly.” But you will never find any of this in the shallow coverage and analyses of the bourgeois media.
By contrast, New Worker is not limited by this one-sidedness and superficiality of the bourgeois world-outlook. As a communist newspaper, New Worker is based on scientific socialism, meaning it is able to reveal the social causes of current developments and how their various aspects are related to each other. The difference between the reporting of New Worker and of bourgeois media is that bourgeois media primarily functions as a tool to reproduce bourgeois ideology. This does not mean that all information from the media is untrue, though, only that there is a tendency towards one-sided and superficial reporting, often not from the working-class point of view. As a result, the bourgeois media gives a distorted picture of reality, justifying contemporary relations, with maybe some critical comments on the side.
This also applies to the “independent” or “alternative” media, which express contradictions that exist within the capitalist class such as that between fossil fuel and “green energy” companies. Some media even express unscientific and reactionary views, such as those which promote conspiracy theories, discrimination against minorities, or even fascism.
The fact that bourgeois media reproduces the prevailing ideology does not imply that all media approach developments from precisely the same perspective. Nonetheless, they all share a common characteristic: the capitalist system itself remains unquestioned. This also applies to certain media outlets that identify as ‘left’ or ‘progressive,’ where terms like “capitalism” or “imperialism” have gained popularity. However, these terms often serve merely as indicators for specific policies, presenting capitalism in an alternative guise. A primary example of this is social democracy, as seen in the policies of the Democratic Socialists of America or, in more recent news, the anticipated presidency of Cornell West. The bourgeois critique of capitalism within various ‘left-wing’ media therefore does not go beyond criticism of different mindsets due to their ingrained anti-communism.
In general, the media tends to influence public opinion based on the agenda of capital. After all, the major media are also owned by monopolies. For example, CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, while Fox News and the Fox Corporation are primarily owned by the Murdoch family. Both of these monopolist entities control numerous news sites, magazines, regional newspapers, film and television studios, and many other services. Moreover, despite all the claims of “objective” or “neutral” reporting, various media are often linked to specific political forces, e.g. Fox to the Republican Party, CNN to the Democratic Party, and Jacobin to the DSA.
As a newspaper of the Communist Party, New Worker offers a different view of current events. We highlight developments from the perspective of the interests of the working class, which is precisely how a communist newspaper is able to better reflect current developments. The working class has an interest in changing the world, in properly understanding objective reality and its laws. Thus, this and other press organs are needed to provide the working class with a Marxist view of developments, to oppose bourgeois ideology, and to inform the working class of the positions of the Communist Party.
There are, however, quite a few communist newspapers already in the US. What makes New Worker different? It is possible that picking up our paper may lead the reader to research other newspapers. On the other hand, it may be that the reader is already accustomed to another “communist” paper. New Worker approaches the world from the scientific perspective of the working class, whereas the other newspapers propose, for example, the ideas of “multipolarity” and the “anti-imperialist” character of countries like China and Russia. These ideas drag the working class to supporting one camp of robbers over the other. Others promote false hopes of real change through the ballot box via reformism, the notion that the capitalist government can be used to implement policies that will bring society peacefully to socialism. In this way, capitalist ideologies worm their way into the revolutionary movement, sow confusion, and prevent the working class from completing its historic mission: the overthrow of capitalism and construction of socialism-communism.
But the importance of the Communist Party newspaper goes beyond just explaining the issues of the world. As the publication of the Communist Workers’ Platform USA, New Worker also aims to serve as a practical weapon in the fight for a better society. The newspaper is not just our face to the outside world, it not only serves to inform and provide insight into developments. It is also a collective organizer, agitating and mobilizing for actions and events. It reports on the struggles and experiences of the workers from different regions and sectors, with the aim of making these struggles collective and drawing lessons from them. In this way, the newspaper also guides the Party: to learn from experience, to further develop positions, and to shape the strategy that can provide a guideline for action in the movement. It thus also promotes the political, ideological, and organizational unity of the Party and strengthens our ties with the working class.
As the working class comes to embrace this newspaper as their own organ of revolution, an unbreakable bond shall be forged between them and the Party. Only in this way can we succeed in the overthrow of the capitalist system.
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