Communist Party

[skizzy]

So, I mainly just read and don't post much, but I have a question. I am a communist, I know this, but I am not part of any formal party. I was wondering if this is the case for most of you or are most of you part of some kind of actual communist party. I live in a semi-rural part of Kentucky in the US. There is no party even near me, and I have read several sites of international parties but I am not even sure if I should bother with them. Iv read a lot of negative things about CPUSA, so I wasnt sure if I should even waste my time.

Is there any party actually worth joining? Is there a common party that you guys endorse ?

If there is already a thread about this , I apologize, I couldn't find a straight answer.

[graymouser]

Different people here are in different parties, and have views on what party you should join (most of them think it's their party).

The Communist Party USA was actually communist in its far past, but now is a small reformist party that mostly supports the Democrats. in fact, the CPUSA is not even the left wing of the Democratic Party; at least the non-Communists actually have it in mind that they won't always be there, while the CP basically has a long-term strategic orientation. There's a small opposition that wants to bring back the CP of the 60s and 70s, but even then they were to the right of the whole youth radicalization.

My party, Socialist Action, has a growing branch in Lexington, Kentucky. Not sure how far you are from there. I'm one of very few SA members on this board, but I'd recommend checking out the links in my signature below.

[Q]

Here is a comprehensive list of leftwing parties in the USA (http://en.anarchopedia.org/list_of_Left-Wing_Parties_in_the_United_States_of_America).

[The Idler]

No, most people on revleft are in different parties.

[PhoenixAsh]

Anarchists are not often members (in the traditional sense of the word) of a party...some may be affiliated to or contributor to groups & organisations on a more or less permanent basis or they are alligned with certain unions

Personally I am not affiliated with any official organisation, party, union or whatever. I also rarely operate induvidually. My group consists of people who knew each other back in the late 80's and 90's and work together on the basis of mutual friendship and trust...the group expanded a bit though with younger people.

[Smyg]

Which organisation and ideology that is superior is our constant internal conflict. :rolleyes:

[Binh]

I say join 'em all and pick the one you like most. Personally I don't support any existing socialist organization in the U.S.

The main thing is to do some type of political work even if it's just a study group, or a gay rights activist committee, whatever.

[thesadmafioso]

Well, you're spot on with your analysis of the CPUSA, they have not been a revolutionary party for quite some time. I would strongly suggest that you avoid them if you want to get in touch with any actual revolutionists.

As for the question of other non reformist communist parties in the US, though they don't seem to have a branch in your specific area (as is probably the case with most left wing parties) the Workers International League does have a rather comprehensive plan for working as an at large member in their organization. I'm currently attempting to form a branch in my area and I've received a great deal of support and advice from the party in doing so while also participating in some very informative and invaluable discussions on the state of the current struggle.

It's certainly difficult being a communist in an area which is politically isolated from leftist politics, but not joining an organization or participating in any political action doesn't do you much good. It really does help your state of mind when you are in contact with a members of the larger movement.

If you're interested, here is a link to their program, contact information, and the link to the international site of the International Marxist Tendency, of which the WIL is a branch of.

http://www.socialistappeal.org/wil/our-program
http://www.socialistappeal.org/join
http://www.marxist.com/

There is also an index currently being put together by revleft users on their own organizations which is growing quite rapidly, you could always look that over as well to augment any of the information already posted in this topic.

http://www.revleft.com/vb/index-revolutionary-left-t161867/index.html

[MustCrushCapitalism]

I've mostly heard good things about the PSL, and yes, the CPUSA isn't revolutionary at all. They don't just support the Democrats in elections for being the lesser of two evils, but rather, support them on all levels.

[NoOneIsIllegal]

The IWW has Marxists in its ranks. The GMB (General Membership Branch) I am in has several Marxists who (currently) don't belong to any party, as they don't like the options out there (yes, it's that pathetic, considering how many parties and groups there are). I think it's because a lot of them are Orthodox/Non-Doctrinaire Communists, whereas most parties available subscribe to a particular ideology (PSL=Marxism-Leninism, SA/SWP/SO/many others=Trotskyist, APL=Hoxhaist, SPUSA=clusterfuck, etc. etc.)
A few of them have also mentioned they rather focus on organizing workplaces and making people class conscious, then focusing on party organizing later on.

So yes, I'd hate to sound like that one guy (typically the PSL people do this), but the IWW is always available if you don't like the other options available :rolleyes: lolz @ me

[scarletghoul]

I would just search for any nearby political activity to get directly involved, rather than bothering to join a party, especially if it will only be some far off thing that would just be inconvenient.