Tendency Dilemma

[Comrade Jandar]

As of right now I'm going through what many young leftists go through, and that is what tendency I identify with. For a while now I have considered myself an anarcho-communist, but recently I have been drawn to other tendencies, namely Marxism-Leninism. I have always been weary of state-communism, but at the time same quick to defend Lenin and the countries associated with this tendency such as the former Soviet Union and Cuba. In addition to this I have been disappointed with the lack of anarchist organizations and groups. The few that do exist have no presence in my area and seem to not be very cohesive. I'm interested in actual action, but as an anarchist there seems to very little opportunity to do that. Currently, I'm debating on joining the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which professes Marxism-Leninism as its ideology, despite my anarchist tendencies. In essence, I'm just looking for some suggestion as to what direction I should take as an anarchist who's thinking of jumping ship, for arguably pragmatic reasons only.

[the Left™]

Whatever happens to you and whatever path you take, you must first learn what sect you belong to,what sectarianism is, and how to call people you see as divorced from the left as sectarian.


After reflection and cognizance of such phenomenon, you must learn to blame the current state of the left on sectarianism.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/archive/7/73/20110128203738!Trollface.png

Also: syndicalism for the win. Read up on IWW goings-on. They are "anarchists" per se but at the same time being involved with them is hands on trade unionism.

[Susurrus]

If you aren't actually an M-L, what will it benefit for you to join an M-L organization?

[Commissar Rykov]

Don't be so eager to jump into a party or a tendency. I would suggest taking your time, study, and pondering over what you think and feel about your political views. I think it is always worth taking your time and spending some serious study before you so quickly adopt a label.

[jake williams]

Have the politics you think is right. Work with people who you think are doing the right thing. Be honest to people you work with about what you think. You don't need to have some specific, pre-defined set of beliefs. If you're doing what you should be doing then other people who are doing what they should be doing will get along with you.

[Kadir Ateş]

Before figuring out Marxism, I would humbly suggest that you go back and read Marx and Engels thoroughly.

[Tablo]

How do you jump from being an ancom to a ml? No trying to be rude, but you sound like someone with a very immature grasp of political theory. You shouldn't worry about labels at all and just spend more time studying political theory. Be an individual rather than just a member of a tendency.

[Rusty Shackleford]

On the issue of the PSL. I would suggest thinking about it first. Membership means defending and promoting the Party's line, actions, and views publicly(internal debate is accepted so long as it is not toxic or anything like that). If there is a branch near by then visit it for one of their events. If it is a big enough branch, it will have weekly public meetings. See what we're about, meet members, talk politics. Hell, even volunteer to help posting stuff or leafleting or whatever if you want.

There is a mandatory candidacy period to help you figure out our politics and stuff. If you have any problems with it you can quit or you can ask for more time for study and what not. Its not something to just jump into though. Read our online newspaper and check out the Party half of the website and read the "who we are and what we stand for" postings too.

I used to consider myself an anarcho communist/syndicalist(bookwise) a little less than 2 years ago but I've been with the PSL for about a year and a half now. But, when I joined, I was already moving towards Marxism-Leninism. It would have probably made me schizophrenic if I joined as a staunch anarchist but still maintained Party discipline :lol:.

If you had any questions about the Party, you can PM me or Manic Expression.

As for readings, I would suggest:

Communist Manifesto (Marx & Engels)
Socialism: Utopian & Scientific (Engels)
Imperialism: The Highest Stage of Capitalism (Lenin)
Left-Wing Communism: An Infantile Disorder (Lenin)

Personal Suggestions:

Wage Labour & Capital (Marx)
The Proletarian Class and the Proletarian Party (Stalin)
Materialism & The Dialectical Method (Maurice Cornforth, UK Communist)

Most if not all of those are available on www.marxists.org (http://www.marxists.org) but, i would suggest printed copies just because its easier.

[Leftsolidarity]

I was (still am a bit) in your same position. I joined the SP-USA because they are a multi-tendency party and will accept you. You will find other comrades in there who identify with Marxism-Leninism and forms of Anarchism (like myself). The PSL isn't a bad choice but I wouldn't jump straight into such a strict party like that.

[Redacrouse]

As of right now I'm going through what many young leftists go through, and that is what tendency I identify with. For a while now I have considered myself an anarcho-communist, but recently I have been drawn to other tendencies, namely Marxism-Leninism. I have always been weary of state-communism, but at the time same quick to defend Lenin and the countries associated with this tendency such as the former Soviet Union and Cuba. In addition to this I have been disappointed with the lack of anarchist organizations and groups. The few that do exist have no presence in my area and seem to not be very cohesive. I'm interested in actual action, but as an anarchist there seems to very little opportunity to do that. Currently, I'm debating on joining the Party for Socialism and Liberation, which professes Marxism-Leninism as its ideology, despite my anarchist tendencies. In essence, I'm just looking for some suggestion as to what direction I should take as an anarchist who's thinking of jumping ship, for arguably pragmatic reasons only. Almost the same thing had happened with me. I say that you should not move on to another ideology if you are unhappy with doing so or if you have second thoughts, simply read up on the other ideology (Marxism-Leninism in this case) and if it appeals to you then read more. Eventually you will start to shift your views and leanings and identify yourself with either one of the two. As others have suggested, you should read up on the main tenets of Marxism-Leninism (not necessarily Stalinism, Trotskyism, etc., at first start with Lenin) and the basic ideas of Marxism-Leninism (vanguardism for example) minus the historical implementation (you'll move to that later on) and see if that appeals to you.


How do you jump from being an ancom to a ml? No trying to be rude, but you sound like someone with a very immature grasp of political theory. You shouldn't worry about labels at all and just spend more time studying political theory. Be an individual rather than just a member of a tendency.
I was a strict organizational and staunch Anarcho-Communist before I became disillusioned and moved on to Leninism; same goes for a few of my comrades. And that has nothing to do with having a "very immature grasp of political theory", that is complete nonsense. The reason behind such an action would be either a change in the person's political views or his "enlightenment" on subjects which he had previously shunned.

[Comrade Jandar]

I was (still am a bit) in your same position. I joined the SP-USA because they are a multi-tendency party and will accept you. You will find other comrades in there who identify with Marxism-Leninism and forms of Anarchism (like myself). The PSL isn't a bad choice but I wouldn't jump straight into such a strict party like that.

Is the SP-USA something worth looking into? They define themselves as "democratic socialists," which makes me have second thoughts. They seem to be reformists; something that I'm not at all interested in.

[piet11111]

Its also best to have a good look regarding what certain groups do instead of what they say.

Otherwise you might end up in a group like avakian's RCP.

[Leftsolidarity]

Is the SP-USA something worth looking into? They define themselves as "democratic socialists," which makes me have second thoughts. They seem to be reformists; something that I'm not at all interested in.

Some are reformists and some aren't. It varies from local to local. I think it's worth it and I enjoy being in the party. If you have a small local or don't even have one, you can pretty much make of it as you wish. That's what I do. It's not a super strict party and allows for a lot of freedom. You could get a local going that pushes revolutionary ideals instead of social democratic ones.

[Dzerzhinsky's Ghost]

I was (still am a bit) in your same position. I joined the SP-USA because they are a multi-tendency party and will accept you. You will find other comrades in there who identify with Marxism-Leninism and forms of Anarchism (like myself). The PSL isn't a bad choice but I wouldn't jump straight into such a strict party like that.

If you want strict party discipline the APL is the way to go. :cool:

[Leftsolidarity]

If you want strict party discipline the APL is the way to go. :cool:

A little too tankie for me but I have no problems with them.

[thesadmafioso]

If you seriously considering jumping into Marxism-Leninism, I would suggest that you at least give Trotsky's opposition to Stalinism a fair chance before making such a brash move to the defense of bureaucratic reaction.

http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1936/revbet/index.htm

[The Douche]

If you want activity, be active. What is joining the PSL going to do for you in that regard?

Is there a PSL local in your area? What work are they doing? Why can't you organize around the same issues as an anarchist?

[Magón]

How do you jump from being an ancom to a ml? No trying to be rude, but you sound like someone with a very immature grasp of political theory. You shouldn't worry about labels at all and just spend more time studying political theory. Be an individual rather than just a member of a tendency.

The Man did the same thing.


I was a strict organizational and staunch Anarcho-Communist before I became disillusioned and moved on to Leninism; same goes for a few of my comrades. And that has nothing to do with having a "very immature grasp of political theory", that is complete nonsense. The reason behind such an action would be either a change in the person's political views or his "enlightenment" on subjects which he had previously shunned.

Going from Anarchism to Leninism, is one thing. But going from Anarchism, a theory that refutes all hierarchies, states, etc. to a tendency that embraces all that, is sort of common to people who aren't sure or all knowledgable about political theory (whether you call it immature, something else, or not.)


As for the OP. I think you should just read, not jump into anything, but read about the differences of Anarchism to MLism, and such.

[mosfeld]

How about taking a look at Maoism?