Letter from Andy Zee

 

Dear Friends,

Great needs for fundamental change confront the people and the planet. A thriving Revolution Books is essential to meet this challenge -- we must break out on a much higher level throughout society. Yet at this moment we must get over a serious financial hump. We must raise $70,000 by the end of January 2011, we are currently at $26,000. We also must grow the sustainer base of the store so that we are not operating in the red -- except politically. I write to ask you to donate generously to save, sustain, and expand Revolution Books.

In 2010, Revolution Books came through in crisis after crisis: the poisoning of the Gulf of Mexico... Obama's continuation and escalation of U.S. wars and occupations... his perpetuation of the harsh economics and politics of impoverishment and imprisonment for millions of Blacks and Latinos ... the fascist movements in full swing across the US... the Wikeleaks revelations… People have turned to Revolution Books for analysis, dialogue, solution, and a way to act.

Each day of 2010 has made manifest we need a new and better world -- a radically new state power and social system that truly serves the people. Revolution Books has been meeting this challenge too, becoming ever more fully a vibrant center of a new movement for revolution.

I ask that you take a moment and think about what it means for today and for the future that there is a REVOLUTION BOOKS. What it means that there is a place alive with a defiant spirit that refuses to accept that the horrors of today's world are permanent and have to be. Think again about what it would mean if NYC, if the world, loses this store. There is no other like it.

Think about the positive dynamic and possibility that is set in motion by a bookstore alive with revolution. Think about what it meant to have revolution in the air in the 1960s -- the sense of hope and liberating struggle that such a movement brings. Reflect for a moment on why it is essential that there be a Revolution Books -- not hanging on as vestige of the past, but becoming the major center of revolutionary ferment the world so desperately needs.

At Revolution Books' Emergency Forum on Gaza, one of the panelists pulled me aside afterwards to say RB always put on the best programs -- deep, substantive, with divergent opinions which provoke radical new thinking.

Why is this? Ironically, many who offer similar compliments to RB convey that they value this quality in spite of the fact Revolution Books is a center of revolutionary communism. It is perhaps counter-intuitive, but it is precisely because RB is grounded in a more scientific new synthesis of communism that it is a great bookstore with stellar programs.

Think about this: If you have accepted that capitalism/imperialism is the best humanity can do, that a cooperative society that is overcoming all the inequalities of capitalism violates some intrinsic selfish human nature, you are not only failing to dig deeply enough into the structures of society, and to stretch your political imagination to a whole other way the world could be. You are also turning away from learning from the rich history of human emancipation that was achieved during the socialist revolutions of the last century.

If you are serious about human possibility, then you have to wrestle with these first revolutions -- their great accomplishments, why they were defeated, and how we could do better. This has been done by Bob Avakian who has forged a new synthesis of communism that is at the foundation of Revolution Books. This new synthesis is not a closed system of thought. It is a fearless and scientific approach to the truth and to the world as it actually is and could be. Avakian envisions a radically new society that is overcoming all the terrible inequalities, disparities and horrors in the world while doing so without "turning out the lights" as he has put it -- giving great scope to intellectual work, ferment, and dissent, as essential to the complete emancipation of humanity.

This is why when people come to Revolution Books they experience the vibrancy, the collective ethos, the scientific spirit of critical inquiry, the soul and imagination that foretell a radically new socialist society. Whether you are browsing the shelves, looking at displays about the revolutionary movement or important and cutting-edge artistic and intellectual themes, Revolution Books gives people the space to explore a world of progressive and radical books and literature along with news about and the ways to connect with the growing revolutionary movement.

Think about all that this means. Not only must we not lose Revolution Books, it must expand its reach dramatically. There are many cultural institutions that need your support. But there really is no other whose mission is contributing to forging a whole new world.

We have developed a multifaceted plan for raising the emergency funds and to achieve a financial sustainability. At the foundation of this plan is expanding our sustainer program: "Friends of Revolution Books." Please check out the benefits and join now. Or make a one-time donation here.

Think about what we are facing in the world today, and ask yourself how much you can contribute towards making sure that Revolution Books is able to do even more.


Adelanté,

Andy Zee
Revolution Books

P.S. Please share this letter with friends. If you value Revolution Books, tell them why and ask them to join you in contributing to save this bookstore.