# ***The Founding Documents of the Kansas Socialist Book Club*** # Table of Contents ## Section 1: Bylaws 1. [[#Article I Name|Name]] 2. [[#Article II Objectives|Objectives]] 3. [[#Article III Members|Members]] 4. [[#Article IV Officers|Officers]] 5. [[#Article V Branches|Branches]] 6. [[#Article 5 Meetings|Meetings]] 7. [[#Article VI Reconvening of Bylaws|Reconvening of Bylaws]] 8. [[#Article VII Authority|Authority]] 9. [[#Article VIII Amendments.|Amendments]] ## Section 2: Rules of Order 1. [[#^f5449e|Call to Order]] 2. [[#^da04f7|Quorum]] 3. [[#^1cf2dc|Orders of the Day]] 4. [[#^f2f243|Time Limits]] 5. [[#^dd25a6|Facilitators]] ## Section 3: Points of Unity 1. [[#Article 1. Ideology|Ideology]] 2. [[#Article II. Self-Determination|National Self-Determination]] 3. [[#Article III. Queer and Gender Liberation|Queer and Gender Liberation]] 4. [[#Article IV. Disability Liberation|Disability Liberation]] 5. [[#Article V. Anti-Imperialism|Anti-Imperialism]] 6. [[#Article VI. Study of Errors|Errors]] --- # Bylaws --- ## Article I: Name 1. The name of this organization shall be the Kansas Socialist Book Club (The "KS-SBC"). ## Article II: Objectives 1. The objective of this Club shall be to run and maintain the overall KS-SBC, to run individual study groups under that organization, and to coordinate the activities of the study groups. 2. The object of each constituent study group shall be to study and contribute to the field of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought, as enumerated within the Points of Unity. 3. The objective of this Club shall also be to reproduce Communists by taking class conscious workers, educating them in an ideologically rigorous manner in Marxism-Leninism, and outputting a Communist with a baseline level of understanding. The Baseline shall be judged in accordance with the Points of Unity. ## Article III: Members 1. The general public, in the form of revolutionaries or generally class-conscious workers and students, shall be encouraged to attend meetings of the KS-SBC’s study groups and participate in discussions. The KS-SBC shall endeavor to hold its study groups open to the general public. 2. The general voting membership shall be comprised of the society’s Organizers. 3. All Organizers shall agree to abide by the Points of Unity and to do their best to uphold it. Non-members attending a meeting out of curiosity or a desire to learn more on a specific topic may identify with whatever left tendency they want, so long as it's not a disruption. 5. Any present shall be entitled to be heard at meetings of the general body, of any Branch as laid out in Article V, or at any meeting of any study session or group so long as they agree to the above principles and that their comments are not disruptive. 6. Attendees shall be encouraged to attend meetings for an extended period before they shall be considered for membership as Organizers. 7. Attendees shall be considered for membership as a Candidate upon the motion of any Organizer. The nominating Organizer(s) shall produce a written or recorded testimony which explains why they feel that the nominee would be a good fit. The President and Secretary will then assign a written essay question as well as conduct an interview between the Candidate and all Organizers. 8. Upon completion the President and Secretary will produce a written report to the general membership with their official recommendations. The general membership body will then vote by simple majority to approve or deny the Candidate Organizer membership. 9. Once a Candidate Organizer has been confirmed by the general membership, only a properly-authorized disciplinary procedure can remove that member. The member may also voluntarily choose to resign. 10. Organizers shall treat each other and all attendees with comradely respect at all times, in or out of meetings and shall mediate all disagreements to the best of their capacity. Organizers shall refrain from engaging in chauvinistic behaviors. 11. Attendees of study sessions may hail from any ideological background, but must be willing to study Marxist-Leninist-Mao Zedong Thought revolutionary theory with an open mind. 12. Organizers shall make efforts to attend as many meetings of the general body of the study group as they can. 13. Organizers must maintain an attendance of greater than 50 per-cent of scheduled Business Meetings in any given year to maintain good standing. Exceptions to the rule due to disability, illness, or other extraordinary circumstances may be made to the President and Secretary who can approve on a case by case basis. 14. Any Organizer or Candidate Organizer wishing to resign from this organization shall submit their resignation in writing to the General Membership, who shall record it and act. ## Article IV: Officers 1. At each Quarterly Business Meeting, the general membership shall elect a President and a Secretary. 2. These officers shall persist in their offices until the following Quarterly Business Meeting. 3. The Secretary shall record all minutes of Business Meetings during their term and, at the end of the meeting, ensure that they are available to all Organizers and Candidate Organizers. 4. The Secretary shall also maintain the Book Club Archive and ensure that the minutes and reports from all committees are available upon request by any Organizer or Candidate Organizer. 5. The Secretary will be responsible for the administration of any money. The Secretary shall maintain receipts for all purchases made on behalf of the Organization. Any organizational purchases that require the contributions of money from other members must be democratically deliberated and voted upon. 6. The President shall serve as the executive leadership of the organization. They shall have the authority to speak on behalf of the organization. 7. The President's role is to provide overall ideological guidance and leadership to the organization. The President shall also be considered to have a tie-breaking vote in the event of a tie. ## Article V: Branches 1. In order to divide labor equitably, encourage local on-the-ground organizing, and build authentic community connections, the primary activities of the KS-SBC will be done in local Branches. 2. All Organizers of the KS-SBC will be assigned to a Branch that corresponds with a geographical location in Kansas. By default this will be on a per-city basis. There will only be one KS-SBC branch per city. 3. Each Branch of the KS-SBC will be composed of at least two KS-SBC Organizers. The Branch shall compose of a Branch Leader at minimum. The Organizers affiliated with a particular Branch may democratically add other positions to meet the needs of their situation, if they so desire. 4. Branch Organizers are expected to be members of the community of their assigned Branch as evidenced by some kind of tangible relationship. Examples of a tangible relationship include living in the Branch community, having a job in the Branch community, organizing locally within the Branch community, or being a student studying at a local school. 5. The responsibility of a KS-SBC Branch is to conduct political education in accordance with the Points of Unity inside of its territorial jurisdiction. IE the Manhattan Branch will be responsible for educating the masses of Manhattan, while the Lawrence Branch will be responsible for educating the masses of Lawrence. 6. Branches **may not** form their own unique curriculums. They will teach lessons from the curriculum democratically decided upon by all Organizers on a state level. However, branches *may* choose which parts of the curriculum they want to teach at a given time. For example, Manhattan may decide to study the issue of the Black Nation while Lawrence may want to study the error of *eclecticism*. 7. For those comrades and community members who live in a smaller, more isolate Kansas community, all in-person lessons of branches shall be rebroadcast via Discord at a minimum as technology permits. If individuals in person are comfortable with and consent to being recorded, then Branches shall record their lessons either on video or audio-only, with the intent to republish them to social media such as YouTube. ## Article VI: Meetings 1. The KS-SBC shall hold Regular Business Meetings in person on the first Sunday of January, April, July, and October, normally to be held at the hour of noon. 2. Meetings of KS-SBC groups which are held solely for educational purposes shall not be subject to quorum requirements or rules of order, and may not take binding actions. 3. The KS-SBC shall also hold Regular Study Sessions on a consistent basis. The precise frequency, location, and length of these sessions shall be determined by consensus of the Organizers. This Consensus decision shall be recorded by the Secretary and maintained as a record. 4. The purpose of Regular Study Meetings shall be to address readings, discuss problems of theory, and advance the understanding and knowledge of all in attendance. 5. Special meetings may be called by promulgation of a “call for meeting” to all Organizers and Prospective Organizers of the KS-SBC so long as the call for meeting is distributed at least two weeks prior to the date selected, unless that two-week notice is waived by all members. The call for meeting shall be distributed according to contact information kept by the Membership Committee or Officer. 6. No special meeting shall be scheduled over the objection of any Organizer in good standing. ## Article VII: Reconvening of Bylaws 1. Upon the approval of the sixth member of the KS-SBC, a Special Meeting shall be automatically triggered. The purpose of the Special Meetings shall be to discuss again the bylaws and account for the expanded size of membership. ## Article VIII: Authority 1. This organization derives its authority from past revolutionary theory and praxis of the past incomplete social revolutions and from its dedication to total liberation for all. 2. This organization is committed to not only the creation of a new social order, but also to the downfall of the existing social order. 3. This organization adopts the Points of Unity appended to these bylaws. 4. This organization adopts the rules of order appended to these bylaws. ## Article IX: Amendments 1. These bylaws may be amended at any Business Meeting by a majority vote of the General Membership. # Rules of Order --- ## Rule 1. Call to Order 1.1. Meetings are formally begun by the call to order issued by the President. In the absence of the President, the Secretary shall issue the call to order. ^f5449e ## Rule 2. Quorum 2.1. One half of Organizers in good standing or, if there are fewer than 10 Organizers, two members in good standing, shall constitute a quorum for doing business at all regularly scheduled Business Meetings. 2.2. Quorum requirements may be set on an ad-hoc basis for special meetings if the notice of that meeting has been properly distributed in accordance with these rules. ^da04f7 ## Rule 3. Orders of the Day 3.1. Individuals shall then present any reports. 3.2. The President shall then call for other business. 3.3. The President shall then publish any agenda, including the other business which has been added during the prior order. 3.4. Each agenda item shall be addressed in turn by the President. Formal rules for taking and holding the floor shall be recognized at this time. 3.5. After the Orders of the Day, the meeting shall proceed to the Reading and Discussion Period. 3.6. Reading and Discussion shall follow separate rules of order and these shall be enforced and guided by the Facilitator established under Rule 5 below. 3.6.1. Summary and Clarification. The Facilitator shall provide a brief summary of the reading so far and open the floor to the group for discussion regarding the reading up to that point. 3.6.2. Guided Discussion. The Facilitator shall present two or more prepared questions or prompts based on the reading up to that point to facilitate the ensuing discussion.  3.6.3. Continued Reading. The Facilitator shall continue the reading or ask for a volunteer to do the same; during this period, they shall look for opportunities to further engage in discussion and/or clarification. ^1cf2dc ## Rule 4. Time Limits 4.1. Time limits for holding the floor shall apply only while rules 3.2, 3.3, and 3.4 are in force. 4.2. Each Organizer and Candidate Organizer shall be permitted to hold the floor for a maximum of five minutes. Each Attendee shall be permitted to hold the floor for a maximum of three minutes. 4.3. A majority of Organizers may vote to extend the time limit on the floor for any one individual. ^f2f243 ## Rule 5. Facilitators 5.1. During the reading of each text or portion thereof, there shall be one or more Facilitators who are selected in advance as outlined in Rule 3.8 above. 5.2. Facilitators shall be selected in advance by the Organizers on a volunteer basis. No Attendee shall be required to serve as a Facilitator for any reason. 5.3. Every session will make the utmost effort to ensure a backup Facilitator is available on the event a Facilitator cannot be present. 5.4. Organizers are expected to contribute as facilitators in order to lighten the burden and ensure one person doesn't take on all the work. Additionally, spreading the work load gives all Organizers an opportunity to develop new skills and sharpen their education. ^dd25a6 # Points of Unity --- ## Article I. Ideology 1. We are dedicated to the study of Marxism-Leninism-Mao Zedong Thought (ML-MZT), and the science of socialist revolution. We read this theory not as an idle hobby, but as an instruction manual to change society. 2. Marxism-Leninism is a living body of revolutionary theory and method; it is the culmination of revolutionary experience from the whole history of the class struggle. Mao Zedong added the next stage of development to the theory of Marxism-Leninism by way of the Mass Line and the theory of Protracted People's War. 3. We shall take ideological and practical guidance from the relevant experiences and contributions of revolutionaries from every land and region. We place special emphasis upon studying the works of revolutionaries in the imperial periphery to learn from them as peers and equals. 4. We recognize and affirm the importance of revolutionary thought and class struggle in all things. For this reason, the KS-SBC takes an avowedly anti-revisionist stance. ## Article II. Self-Determination 1. We agree that all peoples have the right to national self-determination.  2. The universal realization of that right within and without the existing U.S. empire and its junior partner Canada, that is, the decolonization of North America, is a precondition for a just society. 3. The anti-colonial and national liberation struggles constitute a special stage of the social revolution. 4. These struggles include the liberation and self-emancipation of the Black nation of New Afrika, all pre-Colombian Indigenous peoples, Hawaiian people, and the U.S. Empire’s colonial territories (Guam, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, etc). 5. We support unconditionally the right of colonized people anywhere in the world to conduct their liberation struggles how best they see fit. Our job is not to chastise them or to tell them how to struggle. Our role within the imperialist core is to engage in dialog with the oppressed, treat them as equals and Comrades, and inquire as to how we can best serve their struggles. 6. We recognize that in the specific context of the United States that ***settler colonialism is the primary contradiction with which we must contend.*** Our studies shall reflect our priorities ideologically, ensuring that we center the study of settler-colonialism and anti-colonial liberation movements in our work. ## Article III. Queer and Gender Liberation 1. This group recognizes patriarchy as the oldest form of oppression, and furthermore understands that queer and transgender liberation are inseparably bound with the feminist struggle. In that spirit, we shall study revolutionary materialist feminist theory and work to enumerate and expand it. 2. The materialist feminist theory shall be distinguished from the reformist and unscientific feminist trends by: (i) recognition of gendered oppression as structural and (ii) recognition of the failure of reforms to bring about true emancipation. It also recognizes the validity of resistance to oppression by these groups. 3. We recognize and acknowledge publicly that ***what is happening in Kansas with Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming individuals is rightly classified as an ongoing genocide.*** 4. Therefore we affirm our steadfast commitment to study the topics of queer and transgender liberation as they apply to the particular context of Kansas. ## Article IV. Disability Liberation 1. We uphold the abolition of disability as a social structure and the liberation of disabled persons is a vital component of the social revolution. 2. We also recognize that disabled people fill a disproportionate amount of inmates and prisoners within the US prison system. This is a form of not only extreme labor exploitation and oppression, but also as a form of eugenics and social control. 3. This Group shall ensure that disabled comrades and members are included and empowered to participate in all branches of the Group’s work and study by offering accessibile accommodations when possible. 4. We recognize the COVID-19 pandemic as an ongoing public health crisis and mass disabling event. We also acknowledge that the abject failure of the US government at all levels – to include Kansas and every locality within – is an acute manifestation of the ruling classes inability to see the proletariat as anything except an expendable resource. 5. Therefore, in solidarity with disabled people as well as out of a sense of self preservation, this group commits to offering remote participation options as well as requiring the use of masks at all indoors events. It shall be on the group to provide masks for any community members who do not have them. ## Article V. Anti-Imperialism 1. We stand firmly opposed to the world-system of imperialism. Imperialism creates a parasitic relationship between the global north -- represented primarily by the NATO bloc -- and the exploited global south based on unequal exchange, unbalanced development, military force and financialization. 2. Given the special relationship which Kansas maintains with the Armed Forces of the United States, we affirm our opposition to the US world imperialist system in the strongest of terms. We refuse to compromise on this, and understand that the greatest way that we Americans can contribute to liberation abroad is to do whatever we can to fight empire at home. 3. This group will commit to studying the imperialist armed forces, paying particular attention as to how the repressive strategies forged abroad are unleashed domestically. The intent behind this is to eventually develop a theory of the US Military which can aid Kansas activists on effective antiwar and anti militarist activism which has a meaningful impact, while serving and centering the colonized outside our borders. ## Article VI. Study of Errors 1. This group is committed to improving the state of the socialist movement in Kansas through a rigorous and scientific analysis of its mistakes. At the time of this documents writing, those errors can broadly be classified as **Opportunism, Eclecticism**, and **Tailism.** 2. This group shall make a special effort to study those errors and educate all people about why they are harmful and how they can be corrected. This group affirms it's commitment to helping any groups identify these errors and also working with them to produce solutions. 3. The errors in section 1 , shall be reassessed on a quarterly basis for relevance and applicability. They may be changed with a simple majority vote after allowing for an appropriate period of debate. 4. By **Tailism** we mean the error of uncritically following whatever popular sentiment happens be at the time. By **Opportunism** we mean compromising on revolutionary principles in order to secure short term gains. By **Eclecticism** we mean a lack of ideological rigor and having a “big tent” approach of picking and choosing different unrelated parts of ideologies in an incoherent manner.