Contrary to arguments put forward by the editors of Spectre journal, revolutionaries need to organize now instead of waiting for the spontaneous emergence of a vanguard of the working class. Marxists need to integrate with the vanguard as it develops and influence it in a revolutionary direction from the beginning. As the history of revolution has shown again and again, if we wait until the vanguard has grown to a mass scale it will be too late.

Popular culture is a source of confusion and conflicting views on the left. Some reject mass entertainment as mere corporate manipulation, moralize about its consumption, and overlook its potential as a site of struggle. Others enjoy TV, pop music, and ‘buying stuff’ while feeling guilty about it. But Marx himself was clear that consumption is a good thing, representing freedom and fulfillment for the working class.

The recent coup by a military junta in Niger requires clarity from communists in the US. We must oppose all US and NATO intervention, as well as intervention from rival imperialist nations including Russia and China. Though we recognize why many of the desperately poor population support the junta, ultimately our solidarity is with Nigerien workers and their demands for a workers’ democracy.