Provisional Charter of Radencommunisten
Provisional Charter of Radencommunisten
Last updated: 2/19/2026
OUR POSITION
Radencommunisten is distinguished from other publications by its unwavering support of workers' self-emancipation.
Today, the life of the working class is dictated by forces it does not control. At work, its life dictated by the manager, responsible to the executive, responsible to the profit margin. At home, its life is dictated by the price of its labor-power: a price capitalist struggle to keep at the absolute minimum in exchange for an absolute maximum of work.
When a worker agrees to sell their work to a capitalist, they are not selling the quantity of work they perform, but merely the quantity of work which – when its product is sold on the market – will cover the workers basic life expenses. Any additional work which they agree to perform (and it is impossible not to agree to an surplus work: capitalists own the means to produce goods, the worker does not) will generate surplus product which, when sold, becomes the capitalist’s profit. Hence the capitalist’s infamous “surplus value”.
It is this system of wage labor which subjugates the working class. Its exploitative nature is enclosed in the fact that workers has no control over their conditions of life. Workers survive only through selling their labor power for a wage.
Therefore, Radencommunisten calls on the working class to seize control seize means of producing goods for themselves.
OUR OPPONENTS
Currently, various parties have claimed to represent the interests of the workers. In the workplace, the trade unions have claimed to champion workers cause. Outside of the workplace, workers' parties have made the same claim. Is there any truth in the claims of these self-appointed representatives?
No! Instead of fighting in the interests of the working class, the unions and parties have done just the opposite! In the workplace, the trade unions have channeled workers discontent into contractual agreements with capitalists. Outside of the workplace, workers parties have channeled workers discontent into agreements with the state. The fraudulence of these organizations is demonstrated by their parasitic character: they can only exist so long as the working class remains subordinate to the capitalist class. Any gains they make they make in an informal contract of slavery.
Thus, the unions and political parties are not workers organizations.
Therefore, we call on the rest of the working class to take direct control the means of production. This process means overcoming and destroying the trade unions and workers political parties.
In the past, the best tactics and form of organization which workers have used to pursue this goal were the mass action and workers council. This tactic and form gave rise our tendency, council communism.
Thus, the mass action and workers council are best examples of the tactics and organizational forms required for the working class to achieve its goals.
Therefore, we call upon the rest of the working class to to seize the means of production, and destroy the trade unions and political parties with similar forms and tactics.
OUR PURPOSE
Council communism, as it stands, is ambiguous and disorganized. Its sorry state is all the more pitiable because it occurs at a time when interest in council communism - corresponding to its relevance to class struggle - is increasing.
Much of the blame can be placed on the fragmentation of the working class itself. Without a broad working class movement fighting for emancipation, council communism can only exist as a very limited political movement. But even for a limited political movement, its balance sheet is very poor. Over the past 40 years, no local, national or international groups have managed to consistently disseminate their views.
The situation of the working class cannot fully explain the depressed state of council communism. Instead, a majority of the blame lies i in the inability of council communists to form a coherent critique of capitalist society. In the past, militants have consolidated their insights even at times when the workers movement seemed totally dead. Today, we must look back at these examples, as there there is no reason to assume we cannot learn from our previous mistakes.
THE EXAMPLE OF THE KAPD
The bastion of council communism, the Kommunistische Arbeiterpartei Deutschlands (KAPD), was not created overnight. The KAPD was preceded by the Dutch-German Left, which had held since 1910:
that the mass action of the proletariat would be the determining factor of proletarian revolution,
the mass action of the proletariat would find new forms of organization which would overthrow the bourgeois order
and after 1914:
that the first world war had put an end to the possibility of any national wars.
From 1914-1921, these positions would separate the Dutch-German Left from social democracy. In 1914, they would lead to the International Socialists of Germany’s (ISD) split from the SPD. This was followed by the de facto split within the Zimmerwald left between the Dutch-German and Russian currents over the character of revolution, followed by the 1919 split within the Communist Party Germany (KPD) over participation in the parliament and trade unions. This last split would lead to the formation of the KAPD, and finally the KAPD’s withdrawal from the Third International.
None of the splits which led to the KAPD's formation were mere tactical disagreements. Rather, the splits which led to the KAPD’s complete separation from social democracy can only be explained by its strong understanding of the working classes experience which, in turn, lead to its tactical disagreements.
Over the last five years, many have started looking back at the legacy of council communism for inspiration. However, and in almost equal proportion, there have grown one-sided interpretations of its central tenets which ignore the foundation in actuality which created it in the first place. As a consequence, the many recent attempts to turn the growing interest in council communism into organization have rapidly disappeared. In this context, the lesson transmitted to us from the experience of the Dutch-German Left and KAPD is supremely important.
A strong communist movement cannot subsist on its tactical positions alone: it must live and die based on its understanding of the class struggle.
For Radencommunisten, the only way forward is for council communists to formulate a comprehensive critique of capitalist society, one which starts from a strong grasp of the inherited theoretical premise of the KAPD and builds on top of lessons from the class struggle.
As a publication, Radencommunisten's main task is to establish the practical basis for such a critique – a unified discussion organ where the many-sided insights of contributors can be exchanged and clarified.
Starting from this premise, it considers:
the commitment proletarian internationalism,
the rejection of working within the state and trade unions,
the insistence of the primacy of mass-action and workers councils in revolution and
the commitment to cooperation within the communist movement
to be its minimum points of agreement.
Among the key topics which it considers urgent to clarify:
the nature of imperialism,
the nature of crisis within the capitalist system,
the nature of class consciousness and the relationship between communists and the class
and the evaluation of the historical currents which comprise council communism.
Radencommunisten's position as a publication does not mean that it is content with mere reflection. Its position is based on the understanding that critique is an intervention into the existing state of affairs. Critical consciousness can only occur from and lead to lived action. Radencommunisten’s ultimate goal can only be the creation of a politically dedicated group of revolutionaries whose work consists in expanding the clear and conscious self-organization of the working class.
Articles in agreement with the general premise of the publication (see purpose statement) are not signed. Critiques or different perspectives or dialogues are signed by initials.
Historical translations and transcriptions are published at the end of each issue. Translations into English will go through the standard editorial process; Translations from English into other languages will be handled on a case by case basis in cooperation native speakers.
Full submissions carry a minimum of 2000 words. Submissions shorter than 2000 words may be published as letters or otherwise produced as pamphlets.
Georgia, 12 pt. font, 1.25 spacing, Chicago Footnote Style citations preferred.
All written submission to Radencommunisten will go to: radencommunisten@gmail.com
At the end of each month, all new submissions will be rounded up by the chief editor, at which point the editorial committee will convene to review them.
The agenda for each meeting will comprise a discussion of each written submission. After every submission has been discussed, the editorial committee will vote to either accept or reject each submission. For a submission to be voted on, it must be sponsored by at least one editor. A simple majority is required to accept a written submission. Rejections will come with a justification.
If a submission passes the vote, it becomes accepted, at which point it will be delegated to an editor. The editor will cooperate with the writer(s) to edit the writing until it is of acceptable quality. In special instances, the editor will also coordinate with a graphic designer to add visuals. After an accepted piece is of acceptable quality, the editor will forward it to a copy editor.
After the copy editor finalizes the accepted piece, it will be published in the next issue of Raddencommunisten.
The entire review process is illustrated below:
Submission → Editorial Review → Editing → Copy editing → Publication.
The entire life of a piece is illustrated below:
Written Submission → Accepted Submission → Published Article.
Raddencommunisten is published quarterly. Issues have a deadline of January 1st, April 1st, July 1st and October 1st.
If there is not sufficient content for an issue, Raddencommunisten will not be published that quarter.
The body of Raddencommunisten is divided into two sections, with an additional section for additional translations of the content in either section. The first section comprises all novel content (written submissions, letters, pamphlets, etc). The second comprises all historical content (translations, transcriptions, etc).
The translation section comprises various mini-sections, organized by language.
The provisional editorial committee is tasked with managing the collective’s publication. Within the committee, responsibility is divided between three roles: chief editor, editor and copy editor.
The editorial committee convenes quarterly to assess the state of the publication. Additionally, the editorial committee convenes monthly to assess that month's submissions.
(as of 2026) Until all roles can be filled out, the editorial committee consists of M.S. and S.S..
The chief editor is generally responsible for ensuring that the editorial committee acts in accordance with the publication charter. They also have unique executive responsibilities in keeping with their role as the ‘general manager’ of the publication.
These responsibilities include:
managing the website,
running the email,
and managing exchanges with other publications, especially cross-publications.
Additionally, they bear the full responsibilities of being an editor.
Each editor is responsible for ensuring that their submissions are of a high quality, both in terms of content and organization. They are permitted a certain degree of creative liberty, including full discretion over editors notes. In the case of translation/transcription, they are also permitted to write an introduction to the piece as they see fit.
The responsibilities of an editor include:
balancing the creative considerations of the author with the needs of the publication,
editing articles in a timely manner,
and voting in accordance with the needs of the collective and the charter.
Each copy editor is responsible for ensuring that the publication is free of grammatical errors and that footnotes are properly formatted. A copy editor may also be an editor, and at the level of the publication receive the same rights and responsibilities.
Copy editors are responsible for:
ensuring the publication is grammatically perfect,
ensuring footnotes are accurate to their references,
and balancing stylistic considerations with their responsibilities.
Due to the limitations of the publication, english is the lingua franca of Radencommunisten. However, translation both into and out english is a high priority for Radencommunisten, and which cannot be handled by the main editors.
For translation into other languages, each language has a provisional editor-in-chief. They are responsible for the translation of pieces in their respective language into English, as well as the translation of English material into their respective language, which is delegated to them by the main editorial committee.
Because of current limitations, the only material to be translated into other languages is historical material.
The structure of a language committee is much less formal than the main committee. Committees are composed of the editor in chief for the language and native speakers, as needed. No revision process is needed for translation, other than for grammatical issues.