Now is a good time to take advantage of the hunger among working-class fighters and politically minded youth for answers to these questions. Campaigning with the two socialist periodicals in this way is needed to make a success of the drive to sell 1,000 subscriptions to the Militant, 350 to Perspectiva Mundial, and 2,000 copies of the pamphlet The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning.

The socialist publications feature on-the-scene reporting on the events unfolding in Yugoslavia since the toppling of the hated bureaucratic regime of Slobodan Milosevic. They provide not only the facts but an explanation of the class dynamics and contradictions of these developments.

Likewise, the coverage in the Militant and Perspectiva Mundial on the Israeli regime’s brutal offensive against the Palestinian people, and the resistance to it, offers a Marxist presentation of these events. They explain why the Israeli state is incompatible with the interests of the Palestinian people and working people inside Israel, Palestinians and Jews alike; the importance of the fight to force the Zionist regime out of the occupied territories; the evolution of the Palestinian leadership; and the conflicting interests of Washington, Tel Aviv, and other imperialist powers.

New subscribers to the Militant have found particularly useful the extensive material that was featured recently on the struggle for a democratic, secular Palestine and imperialism’s role in establishing the Israeli colonial-settler state. Referring to this material can be very effective in convincing others to get a subscription.

"Enclosed are four Militant subscriptions from Washington, D.C., sold at the October 28 march and rally to protest Israeli violence against the Palestinian people," wrote Jane Lyons. "We also sold about 45 copies of the Militant and received a number of donations from several people in appreciation of the Militant’s support to the Palestinian struggle."  
 
‘Election campaign a big help’
The election campaign of Socialist Workers candidates and sales of Pathfinder’s newest title, The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning, have been a central element of the circulation drive. "Since Socialist Workers candidate for vice president, Margaret Trowe, toured the Pittsburgh area, socialist coal miners have sold six Militant subs," wrote Frank Forrestal, himself a socialist candidate for U.S. Senate. "We sold five of those subs to our co-workers in the mines. The other sub was sold to a retired miner at a meeting in Man, West Virginia, where residents gathered to oppose the closure of a local hospital there."

Forrestal noted that with the national election campaign in high gear, "the atmosphere at work is politically charged. Union officials are pushing Albert Gore for president and Ronald Klink for Senate. Posters and flyers are up in the bathhouse. In addition, the owner of the mine is pushing for George W. Bush in a big way. Recently he sent all employees a packet of material in the mail and is organizing ‘awareness meetings’ for the workers."

Forrestal added, "Our write-in campaign has been a big help. Selling the Militant subs was an extension of talking politics to co-workers--about the big events in Yugoslavia, the resistance in Palestine, the Cuban revolution, developments in the labor movement, discussions on our union, black lung, health and safety, forced overtime, and our election campaign."

Forrestal said his co-workers also bought four copies of The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning and one copy of the pamphlet Coal Miners on Strike.  
 
Placing Pathfinder in stores nationwide
Along with campaigning to sell subscriptions to the Militant and Perspectiva Mundial, socialist workers in San Francisco are collaborating with supporters of the communist movement to sell Pathfinder books and pamphlets to bookstores and libraries in that city. This work to place Pathfinder titles in commercial book outlets has been part of the political preparations for a meeting on the Militant and Perspectiva Mundial Fund. The November 11 event will feature a talk by Argiris Malapanis centered on the events in Yugoslavia.

The effort to place orders for Pathfinder titles in bookstores and libraries is part of a range of activities organized by socialist workers and Young Socialists to expand the revolutionary press, which includes selling at plant gates; setting up street tables in working-class areas, and sales on the job. This strengthens the presence of communists in workers districts, and leverages their work toward the industries, workplaces, and unions they are members of. It also aids the recruitment of workers and farmers who can be drawn into the effort to expand the reach of the Militant, PM, and Pathfinder.

The sales campaign can be effectively complemented by organizing class series on the political material in the Militant and Pathfinder books. In some areas, classes have been held on The Working Class and the Transformation of Learning.  
 
 
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