Communist Party of Lovia (neo-marxist)

The Communist Party of Lovia (neo-marxist), often abbreviated as CPL.nm, is a Lovian neo-marxist political party that was founded in April 2010 as the successor to the long-standing Progressive Democrats. The CPL.nm is the result of a long process of polling among the Progressive Democrats members, of whom 80% chose to make the move to a more leftist approach. Most prominently, the social-liberal Arthur Jefferson resigned from the party when its ideological shift was announced. Later on, Marcus Villanova departed too as he created a center leftist party called the Labor and Liberal Centrist Party.

The CPL.nm is to be positioned on the far-left end of the political spectrum and is not to be confused with the former Lovian Communist Party, which dissolved itself only shortly before the CPL.nm came into existence. The "neo-marxist" index is hinted to respect the diversity of the leftist thoughts and the democratic traditions of the party. Having delivered the Prime Minister and two MOTCs, the party is considered to be rather influential in Congress. All party decisions are to be made by democratic voting, though Yuri Medvedev is still considered as one of the leading figures of the party. Other important figures are Alyssa C. Red, Jon Johnson. The Communist Party is one of the leading forces in the Leftist movement.

Communist party
The CPL.nm is the first Lovian party to declare itself communist in its official statutes. There used to exist another party which had the word 'communist' in its name, the Lovian Communist Party, but this was more of a conservative party with social democrat views on economic issues. The first line of the CPL.nm Party Manifest reads:

''The CPL.nm is a communist party, meaning that its views are build on communist theory and the traditions of the communist movement in general. Its ultimate goal is the peaceful establishment of democratic socialism in which society is no longer enslaved by its own constructs.''

The party clearly doesn't make the history of the movement a taboo and even criticizes other parties which call(ed) themselves communist. She also says to draw 'inspiration from the writings of classical marxism but does allow amendments to the original theory'. The party tries to establish a critical theory of contemporary society based on empirical evidence in stead of on dogma and then uses this theory to develop concrete measures that are ought to be implemented by the government.

The CPL.nm 'borrows' a lot of theoretical concepts from socialism, progressivism and the New Left movement from the '70s. Even though it is a communist party it does accept the democratic traditions and institutions of Lovia and wants to cooperate within a pluralist system.

Party program
The CPL.nm party program corresponded for some time to the one of the Progressive Democrats. Nonetheless some major ideological changes had been made from the start. Recently, a more communist program was written. The Communist Party of Lovia is a neo-marxist party that is inspired by various movements from which the democratic and socialist ones are the most notable. The party officially puts itself on the line of progressivism and wants to move away from dogmatic views. The main ideologist of the party is Yuri Medvedev, who writes most of the in-depth material. The official party line consisted of various publications for while but has now been put into one Party Manifest.

Small overview
The CPL.nm defends the integrity of the civil freedoms but also wants more attention and financial support for social issues. According to the party, discrimination should be regarded as a crime. Nonetheless it defends progressive values and is tolerant towards the legalization of abortion and gay rights. The party also defends a strong social security and accessible education and healthcare, wants to raise spending on education and cultural subsidies and considers a non-commercial broadcasting system as a possible tool for the education of society as a whole.

Economically it wants to find a balance between growth and social justice and defies the neoliberal market dogma. Social security and progressive taxation must be maintained and large capitals need to be taxed at a high rate. The CPL.nm seeks to use nationalized industry and a state bank as tools to guide the economy and financial markets. It also wishes to stimulate consumption of ecological and local products by taxing the import of foreign products. The line of government control is in the party program extended to the environmental issues as the party wants more government involvement in crucial sectors like transportation and energy. It considers quota on fishing and farming as good measures to protect society from high prices and ecological disasters.

The CPL.nm wants to establish a system of democratic socialism and give as much power to the Congress and the people as possible. In foreign politics they want to see a just and consequent Lovia and support for conflict regions.

Propaganda machine
The CPL.nm is one of the most notable parties in election time. When campaigning the party always comes with a lot of material such a posters, banners, etc. The campaigning is known to be divided over two main 'focuses': the party and it's general views and specific candidates. The most notable colors in the promotional materials are of course red and yellow, but there is no real convention or line. All kinds of colors, fonts and styles are used next to each other which strengthens the image of an open and diverse party. The influences on the larger works can be described as modernist, minimalist and constructivist. The CPL.nm also uses a whole bunch of signature slogans such as 'it's your party' or 'a sexy alternative'.

The party also has its own website, called The Comrade. The new site received positive critics upon opening. Especially the figure of Chairman Meow, the imaginary moderated, could win the hearts of both sympathizers and opposers. 'I could only laugh seeing that kitten' and 'that cat is purrrfect' are some of the comments made by website visitors. Comrade Meow is loosely based on Chairman Máo and gives the site a funny touch. Party officials are amazed by his success and are thinking of giving him a role in future campaigning.



From the left to the right: A minimalist election poster, a constructivist election poster and an ad against intolerance

Publications and library
The CPL.nm has an entire department devoted to written publications and even has a 'party library' in its headquarters. Currently the CPL.nm is working on two essays: one with suggestions of a scientific theory on homosexuality and one on the statistical relation between intelligence, social position and political orientation. Both works are examples of the pioneering role the communists wish to take upon themselves. Both essays will consist of evidence, either by example of statistical, and the construction of a possible theory with this evidence using the principle of grounded theory.

The Communist Party also holds the rights on publications that were made by some of its party members before they s founded the CPL.nm. Examples of such works are Yuri Medvedev his defense of the King against Anti-Cabalist extremists, White King/Black King, and the joint publication of Medvedev and Red on the past and future of the socialist ideals, A New Vision on an Old System. Next to its own publications the party library has copies of other works that influenced the party views. Some examples of authors that have a place on the library shelves are K. Marx, V. Lenin, F. Hegel, J.P. Sartre and H. Marcuse. A list of the most important works in the party library :

Party working
Everyone can apply for membership of the party as long as he/she accepts the provisions made in the Party Manifest. A member has the right to drop out of the party at any time without owing anyone an explanation but can also be removed when his or she acts in conflict with the Party Manifest. All party members are responsible for their own actions and statements and thus can cast their vote in any way they like with only a possible removal from party membership as consequence. All party-based decisions are to be made by a democratically voted majority by the party members.

The official views of the party are expressed in the Party Manifest. Members can also express their opinion on the party website, The Comrade. Next to these the party and its members are free to publish articles, books and other documents that might express views of the official party guideline.

Members
When the CPL.nm was founded, most members of the Progressive Democrats made the transition. Official statistics show that about eighty percent of the members kept following the official party directions. Currently, the CPL.nm is one of the larger political parties and also one of the most influential. Two Members of the Congress were delivered by the party, one of them even is the Prime Minister. The CPL.nm hopes to extend its influence by gaining members of the former LCP and by getting members elected in the upcoming mid-term elections.

The CPL.nm has a few specialists in its ranks, such as Alyssa C. Red for justice and Jon Johnson for economy. Yuri Medvedev is the specialist on political strategies and the main party ideologist. The party is always trying to attract more people with knowledge on certain aspects and succeeds quite well in its appeal to the intellectual elite. More recently, Jonathan Frum committed himself to the CPL.nm.

Notable members:
 * Medvedev, Yuri - MOTC, PM
 * Red, Alyssa C. - MOTC
 * Johnson, Jon - MOTC
 * Hengst Smid
 * Jonathan Frum