Hi from Minneapolis

[Twin City Lines]

The Leftist scene here is dominated by a duopoly of FRSO and Socialist Aternative. Socialist Action and the SWP also have some presence. The Workers' International League doesn't do much but they sell a lot of literature, pins, and stickers. The Communist Party USA is even more moribund here than in the rest of the country, and there is one RCP member in town. The former New Union Party is now called Campaign for a Working Democracy and holds meetings at Mayday Books.

Of the major branches of Leftism, I'm closest to the CPUSA. Have been a fellow traveller since 1981, officially joined in 2006 only to get expelled the next year for being too radical. :laugh: That said, my political/religious beliefs don't fit any ready-made category, my personal and political Web pages would be more instructive (see my profile for details).

I converted to Communism in September 1981, after finding a copy of the Daily World on my doorstep. I was emotionally touched by an article about a day care centre in New York City that had to cut back on food for the kids due to Reagan's budget cuts. A 3-year-old boy asked the teacher for a cookie at what used to be snack time, and the teacher said, "The President doesn't want you to have a cookie." Poor kid cried himself to sleep. Reagan was the second worst President the US has ever had IMHO.

[red cat]

Welcome :)

[Q]

Welcome, you're an old fart already :p

How were you "too radical"?

[Twin City Lines]

Welcome, you're an old fart already :p

How were you "too radical"?

Well, there were issues the CP leadership knew about and those they didn't know about till after they kicked me out.

The former: I joined about the same time as three other comrades, and we, along with three long-timers, constituted the left wing of the Minnesota CP. We did a lot of work on the issue of saving the Ford Plant in Saint Paul. We issued public statements to the media about the I-35W bridge collapse. We praised a local Black newspaper for its mention of the positive work the CP did in the Rondo neighbourhood of Saint Paul back in the 1930s. Unfortunately, the district leadership objected:confused: to all the positive attention we were bringing the CP, accusing us of "factionalism", and the one comrade who was supposed to be "action coordinator" had his position abolished and was later expelled as his reward for doing good work. Later, more heads rolled. All told, 8 people (the "Gus Hall 8" as we call ourselves) were expelled and at least 2 quit out of disgust. This was about 1/3 of the Party membership in the state.

The remains of the Gus Hall 8 exist as the Gus Hall Action Club, which can be Googled.

Now, for the latter: I have some unorthodox ideas, and have had them almost, but not quite, as long as I've been a Communist. They are the reason I didn't officially join the Party until 2006. I was, apparently mistakenly, given the impression at that time that I could pursue my unique beliefs and ambitions while still being a CP member. I won't go into detail here, instead I'll just say I founded my own political party whose name is in my profile. That will tell you all you need to know.

[Q]

About that "Edgertonite National Party": That's indeed an odd group :)

Why strive to secede? Don't you agree with the need to grow into one worldcommunity? I'm not familiar with "Lauraism", so I won't comment on that.

As for your experiences in the CPUSA: I think they prove well enough that this party has zero appeal to normal workers. I mean, if they have 24 members within a state of about 5 million people, they must clearly be doing something wrong. Which is a tragedy for a party with such a history.

Anyway, enjoy your stay :)

[Lacrimi de Chiciură]

Welcome from Saint Paul ! It's nice to have more twin cities people on the board.

[Twin City Lines]

@Q: I believe the "one world community" you speak of is a long way off. Specifically speaking, I think it's not even possible until Marx's second stage of communism when "the state shall wither away". We have to deal with the first stage, socialism, first, in which states and nations will still exist. I also believe that the first stage will require several hundred years (the USSR proved 75 years isn't enough). At this stage of the game, we have to fight for every piece of land we can get. Obviously, smaller pieces are easier than larger ones. Also, the USA is a large country with culturally/mentally diverse regions. It should be obvious the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast will probably be ready for socialism before the South and the Intermountain West. Hence my belief in secession. I also believe that small socialist fiefdoms can inspire revolutions elsewhere....

[Q]

@Q: I believe the "one world community" you speak of is a long way off. Specifically speaking, I think it's not even possible until Marx's second stage of communism when "the state shall wither away". We have to deal with the first stage, socialism, first, in which states and nations will still exist. I also believe that the first stage will require several hundred years (the USSR proved 75 years isn't enough). At this stage of the game, we have to fight for every piece of land we can get. Obviously, smaller pieces are easier than larger ones. Also, the USA is a large country with culturally/mentally diverse regions. It should be obvious the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast will probably be ready for socialism before the South and the Intermountain West. Hence my belief in secession. I also believe that small socialist fiefdoms can inspire revolutions elsewhere....
I disagree here on several parts:
1. Socialism has to take "several hundred years". You seem to regard socialism as some sort of "in between" stop on the road to communism, a form of society in its own right. I don't think this is a correct way to look at it, but it is a popular view on the far left. You bring forward the argument that the USSR's 75 year history is proof of this statement, but the USSR was never socialist to begin with in my view.

Anyway, socialism is by its definition a transitional society, an intermediary step between capitalism and communism. It doesn't make sense to talk about socialism for whole historical epochs. I believe we now life in a society in which we can globally strive towards an economy that is based on "each according to need and each according to ability", that is communism, within a decade in the West, and perhaps two or three decades in even the most backward parts of the planet.

2. We have to take every piece of land that what we can. This is reminiscent to the Maoist idea of the "peoples war", based on the peasant class of taking over power. The working class however is by its very nature a global class and as such communists should strive to overcome the national divides that only act as a reactionary obstacle to our goal of communism.

That is not to say that communists shouldn't support the right of secession. If the awareness lives among the masses that a particular group sees itself as a separate "nationality", communists should respect this and the communists from the "oppressor" nation should defend the full rights of the workers of the "oppressed" national to self-determination, including the right to form their own state. On the other hand, communists in the "oppressed" nation should emphasize the need of unity among all of the working class in as great a body as possible. Unity can only last on a voluntary basis.

That said, while the world is riddled with national questions, I don't believe the USA has any of them and this is rather artificial.

[Jimmie Higgins]

Welcome comrade,
I think the main obstacle for the left in your part of the country is that they haven't purified themselves in the waters of Lake Minnetonka.:laugh:


Sorry, couldn't resist making the Prince reference.

[AK]

That is not to say that communists shouldn't support the right of secession. If the awareness lives among the masses that a particular group sees itself as a separate "nationality", communists should respect this and the communists from the "oppressor" nation should defend the full rights of the workers of the "oppressed" national to self-determination, including the right to form their own state. On the other hand, communists in the "oppressed" nation should emphasize the need of unity among all of the working class in as great a body as possible. Unity can only last on a voluntary basis.
I've said it before and I'll say it again:

National determination? Try proletarian determination.Well, in an older thread, anyway. http://www.revleft.com/vb/showpost.php?p=1683133&postcount=12

And you will notice that in that "self-determined nation" that, after they get their independence, it will just incite hatred towards the nation of the nation-state that they seceeded from - as well as believing that they are superior to every other nation. This has always been the case with nationalism - and it always will be.

[red cat]

2. We have to take every piece of land that what we can. This is reminiscent to the Maoist idea of the "peoples war", based on the peasant class of taking over power. The working class however is by its very nature a global class and as such communists should strive to overcome the national divides that only act as a reactionary obstacle to our goal of communism.


What if the revolutionary conditions ripen in one country? Will the working class of that country wait for the proletariat of other countries to catch up, instead of making the revolution ?