I need lots of help understanding left-communism.

[CynicalIdealist]

1. What do they do, if anything?

2. How does their approach to revolution and working class power differ from Trotskyists and anarchists?

These are my main questions. I have to admit that the whole "sit around and do nothing" vibe that I get from them is a turn off.

[CommieTroll]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_communism

Basically any communist who doesn't agree with the Bolsheviks or authoritarian trends in socialism, Rosa Luxembourg influenced a lot of Left Communists. That's really all I know which isn't very much.

[HEAD ICE]

What do left coms do? Well, right now I am eating a sandwich and letting the keys to by keyboard get greasy with my filthy potato chip stained finger tips.

[o well this is ok I guess]

What do left coms do? Well, right now I am eating a sandwich and letting the keys to by keyboard get greasy with my filthy potato chip stained finger tips. For a second I thought you were eating a potato chip sandwich.

[HEAD ICE]

For a second I thought you were eating a potato chip sandwich.

Who said I wasn't? :cool:

http://i55.tinypic.com/2dm5qwj.gif

peep the shirt

[Luc]

If I was you I would just read the main concepts part of the series on Left Communism by Wikipedia.

Thats what I did.

As for that "do nothing vibe" I can't really say much but perhaps it has to do with Impossiblists like the Socialist Party of Canada which Wikipedia label as Left Communists.

But I only know that one org. I'm sure they (left Com.s not the SPC) do more, I believe the International Communist Tendency is left Communist and you could probably check what they do. I don't know anything about them just heard of them a week ago.

hope it helps!

edit: Impossiblism is a revolution tactic which could answer your q about how they differ from others but I'm not sure if they all use it. It has a wiki page if you want to read it.

[communard71]

These are my main questions. I have to admit that the whole "sit around and do nothing" vibe that I get from them is a turn off.


Creating the conditions necessary for revolution is not sitting around and doing nothing. If we are to be leaders, we need to know what we are talking about and have the ability to plan for the future. I mean, KM “sat around doing nothing” for 40 years (‘43-‘83 depending how you look at it) and was never alive to see the revolutions that would be his patrimony. Breaking windows is pointless and not revolutionary. Reading, planning, organizing and acting with others is.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Left Communism is a broad church.

It is essentially all those who are to the left of Kautskyist and Bolshevik 'centrist', authoritarian ideologies, but who don't quite see themselves as anarchists for whatever reason.

Left Communism, as I believe, is not a coherent ideology in itself. It influences the broad school of anarchism, Trotskyism and non-doctrinnaire communists who follow some of Bakunin's and Luxemburg's teachings, the latter in particular.

As such, in general left communists do not subscribe to the idea of the vanguard party, of democratic centralism, of State Capitalism and do not hold a positive view of the USSR, GDR, PRC, North Korea etc.

After that, i'm not a massive expert on the subject, even though i'd probably place myself somewhere in the left-communist school. It's a mixed bag of beliefs and so is hard to pin down, but if you were to imagine a spectrum of Socialism, with Social Democracy and Democratic Socialism on the right, Kautskyism and Bolshevism in the centre and anarchism on the left, left-communism would be 'left-of-centre-ish.

[Kosakk]

As such, in general left communists do not subscribe to the idea of the vanguard party, of democratic centralism, of State Capitalism and do not hold a positive view of the USSR, GDR, PRC, North Korea etc.

And, just to add, avoids dogmatism.

[Alf]

Cynical: where did you get this 'sit around and do nothing vibe from', specifically?

On our differences with Trotskyists and anarchists in the matter of revolution. Trotskyism, in the view of left communist groups like the ICT or the ICC, is not in favour of revolution at all. It advocates a modified form of state capitalism. This is why Trotskyist groups generally defend the so-called 'degenerated workers states' or call for nationalisations.

Some anarchists are certainly revolutionary (standing for the destruction of the bourgeois state, calling for all power to the workers' councils, rejecting the monopoly of power by a particular group). But they would usually disagree with us about whether there is a role for a communist party in the revolution, whether
a transitional state will emerge after the revolution, or even whether there will be a transitional period (between capitalism and communism) at all.

Our basic positions can be found here:
http://en.internationalism.org/basic-positions

[Kornilios Sunshine]

I can't really understand what is the difference between communism and left-communism.Can someone explain me?

[ZeroNowhere]

And, just to add, avoids dogmatism.

Bordiga.

[Zanthorus]

To answer the question of what Left Communists actually 'do', I'm fairly sure that most Left Communists are human beings who at a base level need to engage in activities like eating, drinking and sleeping to stay alive. Of course you seem to be referring to the kind of 'activity' which is intended to 'create the conditions for revolution' or something like that. We don't do that kind of 'activity' because it goes against the overarching critique of voluntarism which most Left Communists adhere to, which is to say that we don't believe revolutions are produced through the accumulation of adherents to pro-revolutionary theory, nor through the engagement of pro-revolutionaries in all kinds of activity meant to 'spread the message' like some form of christian evangelism. If that's the kind of 'activity' you're into you should probably forget Left Communism and join some Marcyite/Trotskyist/Anarchist activist group (Although I don't think not liking the 'vibe' of that message is a very good reason to reject it, although it does seem to be popular among some circles to reject that kind of talk as 'mechanicalism' without a second thought. I suppose some people just don't like hearing about their own irrelevance in the scheme of things).

As for what Left Communists groups do 'do', well the ICC and ICT have both involved themselves in various workers' struggles that have sprung up, and also every Left Communist groups produces various reviews, papers, books and other theoretical material. They also sometimes attempt to engage with other groups which are seen as being part of the 'proletarian milieu' (Well the ICC anyway, I have no idea how the ICT chooses to engage with other groups).


As for that "do nothing vibe" I can't really say much but perhaps it has to do with Impossiblists like the Socialist Party of Canada which Wikipedia label as Left Communists.

Actually the WSM's 'impossibilism' is marked by it's distinctive rejection of the communist position on consciousness and voluntarism, such that their approach is modelled around convincing the 'immense majority' of workers of the truth of their communist credo. There is a fairly good debate between the ICT/CWO and the SPGB on that subject here (http://www.theoryandpractice.org.uk/wsmtemp/audio/can-majority-workers-develop-socialist-conciousness-under-capitalism).


And, just to add, avoids dogmatism.

I should hope not.


I can't really understand what is the difference between communism and left-communism.Can someone explain me?

Well, if you listen to some Left Communists at least, there really isn't much of a difference, since most of the positions Left Communists take are fairly essential to having proper communist politics. This is why you hear some LC's talk about the 'communist position on consciousness' or the 'communist position on trade unions' etc, since groups which don't hold these positions are considered to be excluded from the realm of communist politics proper.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

Zanthorus this topic has gotten me thinking, and you might be the person to answer, so i'm going to raid you for knowledge!

Libertarian Socialism and Left Communism, as theoretical Marxist concepts, overlap hugely, correct? What areas, though, do they differ, if any?

[Kosakk]

Bordiga.

?
Never heard of.


I should hope not.

I meant to adress a "personal dogmatic attitude".
I won't dismiss other theories or ideas because they don't fit in with my world view.
But, maybe that's just me (?)

[Luc]

Actually the WSM's 'impossibilism' is marked by it's distinctive rejection of the communist position on consciousness and voluntarism, such that their approach is modelled around convincing the 'immense majority' of workers of the truth of their communist credo. There is a fairly good debate between the ICT/CWO and the SPGB on that subject here (http://www.theoryandpractice.org.uk/wsmtemp/audio/can-majority-workers-develop-socialist-conciousness-under-capitalism).

Ah thank you, I thought it was just a sorta of mass democratic election type thing:lol:and now that I go back to read the wiki article I don't see it (my def) anywhere. I wonder where I got that from:confused:

o well, thanks for the link!