Blackscare
30th October 2010, 11:08
A note to readers: this is a rather long piece, I apologize that I could not make it more concise, but I am using this as a platform to develop a coherent plan and attempting to get as much written down on the subject as possible. I will be re-visiting this thread often to develop ideas and seek constructive input. Thanks for reading this and please, tell me what you think. This is very exciting stuff for me. And yes, I am fond of commas. Especially while on my prescribed stimulants, which is typically how I write.
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Before I begin with the real core of my idea here, I should give a little background on how this issue came up in the first place.
A friend and I who go back several years and have always shared a radically left-wing bent started to put into action a mid/long-term plan to save 10,000-15,000 collectively. We both work full-time jobs and I work from time to time at a second job. We have very low cost of living, as I am living at home for the time being and he has a deal worked out house sitting a rich world-traveler type's apartment for the rest of the winter (free room and board alone to feed two cats ). We're putting aside money at a steady clip and are currently in the early stages of figuring out what to do with it.
Our plans have shifted over time. First it was to travel to some Bolivarian or otherwise left-wing state where potential political stories abound and start some sort of niche political blog, and do some novice reporting for as long as our combined savings and a favorable exchange rate would allow.
However, we began to realize that we could better serve and attract the interest of the working class by writing inside the US about contemporary issues than about struggles happening in, say, Bolivia, and that our money could be better spent creating some sort of viable platform for broad public Leftist debate in this country, however small it may be in the beginning, than supporting our own lifestyles and funding a small and hopelessly obscure blog.
Founding ideas
Problems regarding the state of the left today:
We identify the main problem with the state of the Left in the United States not as being a lack of decent analysis, but a lack of accessibility to the public. There are a great many voices on the left, and the vast majority of them at least sometimes make accurate observations that are worth reading. However, as time has gone on the endless procession of historical events has compelled us to splinter and define ever-narrower schools of thought. Today there are a multitude of parties, tendencies, and organizations who are variously cooperative, hostile, or operate basically parallel to each other but seemingly ignore each others existence, many putting out their own small newspapers with a generally niche and stagnant audience of party volunteers and the like.
This state of disarray serves to stifle debate of contemporary issues amongst the left as a whole and tends to compartmentalize the subject matter of any debate that does take place either into over-obscure historical bickering or dauntingly in-depth theory.
A possible Answer
The revolutionary foment that occurred during the Left's heydays could not have happened without mass newspapers targeted at average working people, written in terms that were understandable and relevant to daily life. This sort of leftist "neutral ground" upon which various groups may wage a struggle of ideas for the public's favor, deposit dispatches from various campaigns, and to highlight important events overlooked by the mainstream media is the spark needed to catalyze a sense of relevancy, urgency, and vitality in the movement today.
Application
The first step that is required is the creation of a mission statement, constitution, etc, that lays down clearly stated editorial principles of pan-leftist neutrality (within reason, we want to create a forum for all of the socialist left, not a liberal rag) , fairness in exposure, and acceptance only of contemporary and relevant articles along certain pre-defined guidelines. This is useful given that, as newcomers to the world of Leftist publication, we can avoid the burden of assuming the role of ideological directors as some editors are wont to do, and simply function as neutral arbiters of quality.
Once such a document is written, over the course of the next year or so tentative contact can be pursued with as many explicitly left-wing organizations and credible independent socialists as possible, so as to gauge the willingness of possible contributors and familiarize as many people as possible with our aims (this is why having a clear document to provide is essential). During this time we will also try to establish contact with various existing leftist publishing companies/collectives such as AK press to inquire about the finer points of distribution and cost so as to establish a strategy in that regard.
Given the relatively small amount of money we would have to start with, we'd probably attempt to gain the of cooperation of various organizations by securing orders beforehand at a reduced rate, so as to diversify the task of distribution and make back starting capital as quickly as possible to put back into our efforts. When we reach this stage, we will most likely scoop up the cheapest possible office/shop space (with some sort of living area attached) and devote the entirety of our time to the project, getting by on the bare minimum of expenses by making our living area and offices one and the same. The area we have in mind is Detroit, given that it has insanely cheap real estate (so that we could own a relatively nice space outright for cheap and avoid a monthly rent/mortgage bill) and a large population of people squeezed by capitalism and post-industrialism.
This is only the most basic idea of our intentions and I intend to write a follow-up to this tomorrow. To be clear, we are totally aware of the difficulties involved, the financial risks, and the likelihood of failure. Regardless, we are strongly considering this course of action and would appreciate any feedback. Feel free to ask questions or request clarifications. Un-constructive nay-saying is not welcome, however.
################################################## #
Before I begin with the real core of my idea here, I should give a little background on how this issue came up in the first place.
A friend and I who go back several years and have always shared a radically left-wing bent started to put into action a mid/long-term plan to save 10,000-15,000 collectively. We both work full-time jobs and I work from time to time at a second job. We have very low cost of living, as I am living at home for the time being and he has a deal worked out house sitting a rich world-traveler type's apartment for the rest of the winter (free room and board alone to feed two cats ). We're putting aside money at a steady clip and are currently in the early stages of figuring out what to do with it.
Our plans have shifted over time. First it was to travel to some Bolivarian or otherwise left-wing state where potential political stories abound and start some sort of niche political blog, and do some novice reporting for as long as our combined savings and a favorable exchange rate would allow.
However, we began to realize that we could better serve and attract the interest of the working class by writing inside the US about contemporary issues than about struggles happening in, say, Bolivia, and that our money could be better spent creating some sort of viable platform for broad public Leftist debate in this country, however small it may be in the beginning, than supporting our own lifestyles and funding a small and hopelessly obscure blog.
Founding ideas
Problems regarding the state of the left today:
We identify the main problem with the state of the Left in the United States not as being a lack of decent analysis, but a lack of accessibility to the public. There are a great many voices on the left, and the vast majority of them at least sometimes make accurate observations that are worth reading. However, as time has gone on the endless procession of historical events has compelled us to splinter and define ever-narrower schools of thought. Today there are a multitude of parties, tendencies, and organizations who are variously cooperative, hostile, or operate basically parallel to each other but seemingly ignore each others existence, many putting out their own small newspapers with a generally niche and stagnant audience of party volunteers and the like.
This state of disarray serves to stifle debate of contemporary issues amongst the left as a whole and tends to compartmentalize the subject matter of any debate that does take place either into over-obscure historical bickering or dauntingly in-depth theory.
A possible Answer
The revolutionary foment that occurred during the Left's heydays could not have happened without mass newspapers targeted at average working people, written in terms that were understandable and relevant to daily life. This sort of leftist "neutral ground" upon which various groups may wage a struggle of ideas for the public's favor, deposit dispatches from various campaigns, and to highlight important events overlooked by the mainstream media is the spark needed to catalyze a sense of relevancy, urgency, and vitality in the movement today.
Application
The first step that is required is the creation of a mission statement, constitution, etc, that lays down clearly stated editorial principles of pan-leftist neutrality (within reason, we want to create a forum for all of the socialist left, not a liberal rag) , fairness in exposure, and acceptance only of contemporary and relevant articles along certain pre-defined guidelines. This is useful given that, as newcomers to the world of Leftist publication, we can avoid the burden of assuming the role of ideological directors as some editors are wont to do, and simply function as neutral arbiters of quality.
Once such a document is written, over the course of the next year or so tentative contact can be pursued with as many explicitly left-wing organizations and credible independent socialists as possible, so as to gauge the willingness of possible contributors and familiarize as many people as possible with our aims (this is why having a clear document to provide is essential). During this time we will also try to establish contact with various existing leftist publishing companies/collectives such as AK press to inquire about the finer points of distribution and cost so as to establish a strategy in that regard.
Given the relatively small amount of money we would have to start with, we'd probably attempt to gain the of cooperation of various organizations by securing orders beforehand at a reduced rate, so as to diversify the task of distribution and make back starting capital as quickly as possible to put back into our efforts. When we reach this stage, we will most likely scoop up the cheapest possible office/shop space (with some sort of living area attached) and devote the entirety of our time to the project, getting by on the bare minimum of expenses by making our living area and offices one and the same. The area we have in mind is Detroit, given that it has insanely cheap real estate (so that we could own a relatively nice space outright for cheap and avoid a monthly rent/mortgage bill) and a large population of people squeezed by capitalism and post-industrialism.
This is only the most basic idea of our intentions and I intend to write a follow-up to this tomorrow. To be clear, we are totally aware of the difficulties involved, the financial risks, and the likelihood of failure. Regardless, we are strongly considering this course of action and would appreciate any feedback. Feel free to ask questions or request clarifications. Un-constructive nay-saying is not welcome, however.