Reformism???

[SpiritiualMarxist]

I know different tendencies have different standings on this issue. My thing is that I grew up in an inner city area and lived in bad parts of town and fact of the matter is because of the capitalistic society, people get murdered every day for seemingly petty reason, kids growing up in poverty statistically have very little chance to make it out due to the terrible social mobility in America, and there's a general feeling of hopelessness in a lot of neighborhoods due to the living conditions and seemingly lack of progress, the vibe is so thick in a lot of areas you'd have to be a sociopath not to feel it.

So even though reforms can seem like they won't bring about a revolution, some things are literally a life or death situation, frankly innocent kids are getting killed. My sentiment is that some stuff like ending the war on drugs especially decriminalizing drugs, social programs that can provide some sort of opportunity for kids and maybe a little economic opportunity for adults is vitally needed. Even if fighting for these things may not lead to an end to capitalism, I feel that some of this stuff is immediately needed just to save lives and are goals by themselves.

My question is basically to people who bash people who fight for social reforms and call them liberal and whats the logic behind it? I know I'm probably missing something.

[Aurora]

Most socialist groups do fight for reforms that benefit working class people but theres a difference between this and reformism.

Reformism is the belief that capitalist society can be reformed to be better or become socialist, socialists shouldn't have any illusions that the bourgeois state can play a positive role, on the contrary the state is the executive for managing the affairs of all capitalists no matter who uses it, socialist or liberal.
Some reforms can be won from capitalism though but only as a result of a mass movement of working people, that is a grassroots movement not one applied from above.
Although in out current times of capitalist crisis i think it's fair to say that winning reforms will be much more difficult if not impossible and any struggle by workers will most likely be defensive, resisting austerity measures and cutbacks. Any socialist program must put forward that it is capitalism itself that holds back progress and creates social problems and only through the revolutionary transformation of society can we move forward and solve these problems.

[citizen of industry]

Luxemburg's Reform or Revolution is a good piece on this topic: http://www.marxists.org/archive/luxemburg/1900/reform-revolution/index.htm

As Aurora said, we do fight for necessary reforms that benefit the working class like you mentioned, "ending the war on drugs especially decriminalizing drugs, social programs that can provide some sort of opportunity for kids and maybe a little economic opportunity for adults."

What makes a fight for reforms into reformism is abandoning a revolutionary program with the philosophy that capitalism can be reformed. It's important not to stop when a reform is won, but to use it as a stepping stone for the next, adding popularity and membership to the movement in the process, with the goal of revolution as the end. Nor should a party degenerate into parliamentary politics exclusively and attempt to subordinate the labor movement to that.

I find unions are quite similar. Ideally, you want large locals with active memberships that make gains through direct action. But often you have small locals that aren't a majority, the membership isn't terribly active, management attempts to bust the union. Fighting for a collective bargaining agreement with short-term goals, going through labor commissions, etc. help to keep the branch together, build solidarity and grow the local. But the end goal should be a militant majority in the workplace, never a court mediated settlement and a minimal collective bargaining agreement.