Workers Party in America: Possible Third Party or Leftist Club-house?

[Rosa Provokateur]

Mkay, so I just recently discovered the Workers Party in America (http://workers-party.com/). Looking around their website, I figured these guys must be democratic-socialists like the DSA or maybe a blue-collar Green Party; radicalish, not anywhere near the Democrats but not advocating any kind of rebellion either. Then I saw it: communist.


We believe that working people are the only class that can bring about communism and the abolition of classes. Because of the nature of modern class society, the proletariat is an international class and can only bring about its liberation on an international scale; history has shown that it is impossible to achieve a classless society in a single country. Working people have no “homeland” and no common interests with the other classes in society. Because the capitalists are organized on a world scale, so too must working people. A world party of working people is needed to defeat the world system of capitalism.

This surprised me. No mention of Marx, Lenin, or the usual gang of suspects; no hammers and sickles; no "peoples" this or "comrades" that. I'm an anarchist, I don’t consider myself a Marxist, and I try to avoid political parties. That said, I think these guys really have their shit together.

The remnants of the Communist League have re-molded themselves into what looks to me a viable group, down-to-earth enough to engage people instead of patronize them but radical enough to distinguish itself from Democrat wannabees.

[h0m0revolutionary]

You know they're staunch North-Korea, Cuba etc. etc loving Stalinists right?

They call themselves Marxist-Leninist in much of their literature, although I must confess to have never visited their website.

[Kassad]

Talk to Miles. This is his party of choice. I'm pretty sure that their membership requirements are incredibly specific, if I remember correctly. Like Miles, I believe the group doesn't subscribe to any specific tendency, but generally promotes proletarian revolution. I don't really have any animosity towards them, but if Miles is a member, I doubt I'd like them much. I don't think they have electoral plans, though.

Also, h0m0revolutionary, I think you might be mistaking them with Workers World Party (http://www.Workers.org) or the Workers Party (http://workersparty.org/).

[h0m0revolutionary]

Talk to Miles. This is his party of choice. I'm pretty sure that their membership requirements are incredibly specific, if I remember correctly. Like Miles, I believe the group doesn't subscribe to any specific tendency, but generally promotes proletarian revolution. I don't really have any animosity towards them, but if Miles is a member, I doubt I'd like them much. I don't think they have electoral plans, though.

Also, h0m0revolutionary, I think you might be mistaking them with Workers World Party (http://www.Workers.org) or the Workers Party (http://workersparty.org/).

Yeah i'm totally on about Workers Party ;)

apologies :)

[Revy]

They were formed in January 2009, so they're the newest socialist party on the scene.

They believe (and this is a concept they had when they were the Communist League) in creating a workers' republic in the USA called the "Third Republic". Based on the idea that the First Republic was the one created in 1789 (the Constitution is enacted, the first President is "elected"), the Second Republic in 1865 with the defeat of the slaveowning class in the Civil War and the abolition of slavery.

You can read about it in their platform (http://workers-party.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=54:4-our-platform-what-we-fight-for&catid=36:our-program&Itemid=62).

[MarxSchmarx]

Mkay, so I just recently discovered the Workers Party in America (http://workers-party.com/). Looking around their website, I figured these guys must be democratic-socialists like the DSA or maybe a blue-collar Green Party; radicalish, not anywhere near the Democrats but not advocating any kind of rebellion either. Then I saw it: communist.



This surprised me. No mention of Marx, Lenin, or the usual gang of suspects; no hammers and sickles; no "peoples" this or "comrades" that. I'm an anarchist, I don’t consider myself a Marxist, and I try to avoid political parties. That said, I think these guys really have their shit together.

The remnants of the Communist League have re-molded themselves into what looks to me a viable group, down-to-earth enough to engage people instead of patronize them but radical enough to distinguish itself from Democrat wannabees.



As a general rule, I would advise you to be extremely skeptical of any American political party with more than 10 members with flowery language. They all have similar talking points, and a few are less dogmatic than others. Some are genuine multi-tendency orgs with a relatively democratic infrastructure (SPUSA), others are really wolves in sheep's clothing (CPUSA).

Having said this, these folks may be a refreshing exception to the rule. I honestly don't know, but if the last 100 years of North American leftist party building have taught us anything, it's that there are a large number of common traps and that they way too often fail to live up to their lofty ideals.

[KC]

This is Miles' latest pet project. Don't expect it to go very far.

[Bright Banana Beard]

I know about 7 members of this party. Trust me, they are weird on politics but at least they are all cool. Would I join the group? Yes, since they mainly advocate working class revolution, but they are just new and I will put on hold on it until they come to the scene.