THE INTERNATIONALIST DREAM/ LOTTA COMUNISTA
Imagine that on the same day, from the ports of Genoa to the factories of Mumbai, workers strike together in solidarity, debilitating the global supply chain of capital.
Anti-war demonstration organized by Lotta Comunista in Genoa, 18th of October, 2025
When it comes to overthrowing the global capitalist order, an idea comes to mind: an International Workers Coalition capable of organizing coordinated global strikes.
Such organizations do exist and are active across multiple countries, including the International Communist Current (ICC), the Revolutionary Communist International (RCI), the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), Lotta Comunista (an extra-parliamentary Italian communist group), and other groups labelled League of Communists (LC).
While these groups share the revolutionary objective of uniting the global proletariat, they remain very much divided by ideological differences; being either Marxist-Leninist, council communist, Trotskyist, or syndicalist aligned.
For these organizations to come together under the same internationalist banner, they must not only settle historical disagreements and the endless stagnant inquisitions of who's revisionist, who's bourgeois infiltrated, who's reformist, and who's truly left communist… they must also agree on shared objectives that transcend their ideological differences. Imagine establishing strike funds and mutual aid networks to equalize resources. Imagine how political education exchanges would foster inter-ideological solidarity. No easy task, but it is necessary in order to turn these fragmented revolutionary currents into one coherent force; one that would be capable of coordinating global strikes.
As Rosa Luxemburg observes; strikes have the potential to be transformative political moments that create the conditions for revolutionary change.
Lotta Comunista's headquarters in Rome
In this article, we focus on Lotta Comunista, an extra-parliamentary revolutionary and internationalist party founded by Arrigo Cervetto and Lorenzo Parodi in 1965. A self funded Marxist-Lenninist group that split with the Italian Communist Party (PCI) for their anti-Stalinist stance in the 1950s. Despite accusations of reformism and bourgeois affiliation, they remain a group deeply engaged in grassroots solidarity, migrant support, and political education in Italy. Their efforts exemplify the kind of infrastructure necessary to sustain an international strike front.
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The halls of La Sapienza University in Rome buzz with students, rave flyers, and of course; Lotta Comunista members selling newspapers for two euros. A stark contrast to Oslo's calm campuses, in Italy, radical politics are alive and never far from everyday life.
It is here, at La Sapienza, we met with Lotta Comunista's student adherents who welcomed us into their Rome headquarters; located in the bohemian yet refreshingly ungentrified district of San Lorenzo. Among them was Fadila, a biology student and active member of Lotta, who spoke to us about the organization's philosophy and work.
Fadila Marini in the Lotta office, Rome, October 16th, 2025
What kind of volunteering do you do, specifically? What does a day with Lotta Comunista look like?
The volunteering we do is mainly distributing groceries to families that ask for help. We leave flyers around with our emergency number, and when families call, they're added to a list. Every week, we deliver food to those who need it, usually every afternoon and once in the morning.
We also invite people to help collect food in supermarkets. That's our main activity, but we also run campaigns. Last summer, for example, we did a Sudan campaign, we sent clothes and medicine through a Sudanese association. For Christmas, we collect toys for children, and in September, school materials. So it changes a bit, but groceries are the main thing.
And what's the goal behind these actions? What's the broader mission of Lotta Comunista?
The goal is, of course, the union of the working class, of the population. When we go around neighborhoods, we don't just give material help; we also talk to people, let them know we exist, that we're there for them.
In the current European situation and the humanitarian crises worldwide, things are getting worse, especially for migrants' families. They're usually the first to suffer during economic crises. So it's important that they know our name, that we're there every week. It means we're doing something real that connects people.
Food storage unit inside Lotta headquarters
Concerning Lotta Comunista's methods, you don't advocate armed conflict but instead focus on building community and solidarity. Why is that approach more effective?
An armed conflict today wouldn't be possible, we don't have weapons, of course. Also, because the working class is the largest class in the world. Every country now has a growing working class.It can unite and work together to overthrow the upper class through strength in numbers and not weapons. Even so-called underdeveloped countries are deeply affected by capitalism.
So something like a mass or general strike?
Yes, general strikes can work, but they need to be big, organized, and conscious. People have to know what they're doing and why.
For example, we believe war can be stopped through sabotage, by people simply not participating. You can't wage war without people. If workers realize they don't have to die for the interests of someone above them, they can stop it.
Look at Ukraine, thousands are fleeing the war, but if they were united, if someone organized them, something could be done. The same goes for every country in conflict.
We're living in a time of transition, a new kind of multipolarity where global power is being renegotiated. How is Lotta Comunista using this moment to advance the interests of the working class?
Yes, the old order that came after the world wars, with the U.S. and Russia as the main powers is shifting. China is rising, other powers are declining, and that's creating new tensions.
But it's also an opportunity. People are beginning to see the conflicts behind these international relationships. Things are changing faster, and that means we need to move faster too, to spread our ideas, to grow in numbers and conviction. It's a challenge, but it can be done.
Lotta Comunista has international divisions, how do you coordinate across cities and countries?
Yes, we have groups in places like Paris and Berlin. Even within cities, there are different sections. For example, in San Lorenzo, there's a more adult group, Gruppi Comunisti, usually over thirty, and then there's the younger section under thirty.
We're always in communication. Each city has its clubs, then there are regional coordinators, for example, Rome, Naples, and Puglia form one region. There's also a northern region. Coordinators collect weekly data from the groups, on activities, outreach, everything, and people like Salvatore Poello travel around to update everyone. Once or twice a year, all the clubs from across Italy and Europe meet to review data and progress. We try to keep things very scientific, tracking work across years and comparing results.
Why is internationalism such a central part of Lotta Comunista's work?
Because internationalism is the only way revolution can work. If we want to be stronger than the upper class, we have to unite across borders.
It wouldn't make sense to bring change in one country while others stay oppressed. Strategically, it wouldn't even work, other governments would intervene to crush it. So it has to be done everywhere, together.
In Norway, we don't really have groups like Lotta Comunista that take the streets and organize at this level. What advice would you give radicals in countries like Norway who want to build something similar?
That's a hard question, maybe it's cultural. Italy has a strong communist history, and people still have that awareness.
But even if you start with two people, you have to go out there. Like Lenin said "today we are a hundred, tomorrow we'll be a thousand." You just start. Talk to people. People are aware; they just need a push.
Right now, our biggest enemy isn't fascism or even governments, it's people's inability to move, not because it's their fault, but because society pushes them down and teaches them not to act. All we need is to give them that little push.
Students at anti-war demonstration organized by Lotta Comunista in Genoa, 18th of October, 2025
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It is quite baffling that while groups like Lotta Comunista mobilize on the ground, organizing Italian students to fundraise for migrant families and building grassroots solidarity, other factions of the left choose to instead sit in their offices, cooking multi-page PhD-level critiques of these efforts. Over perceived deviations from some 'correct' theoretical line.
This fixation on ideological purity does not advance the cause. In fact, it is reactionary, setting the movement back by pouring energy into internal disputes instead of collective action. Revolutionary change cannot be won by tearing each other down over subtle disagreements in theory; what we DESPERATELY need is solidarity, mutual respect, and organizing together despite differences.
In a time when migrants face real and urgent struggles, while broke students and exhausted workers are building alternative structures of support, the left's priority must be unity and collaboration. It is through alliance and not stagnant critique that we can hope to build a movement capable of transformative change.