Conversation with a comrade.

[Anarcho-Brocialist]

I live in a conservative state, but I found one Communist in my city. We talk occasionally, about current events, tendencies, theory, etc,. We spoke about Das Capital and Revolution. I told him the people aren't class conscious yet, and the conditions aren't right for revolution. He said we should do something. We stand idle too much, and discuss about some world we'll never see. He also said someone has to do something, sometime, sooner or later; why not send a message?

This has me intrigued a bit. Although I'm not going to go outside tomorrow and head to the local Wells Fargo and shoot the bastards up. But it has me thinking; it's time to spread to word, educate our comrades.

I'm at a loss. I don't want to kick up shit because I'll be a lone wolf, with no support; but I don't want to be like everyone else who just talks about it, but actually does something to the cause.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

You make it sound like the revolution is a heroic event to be dramatized in films instead of a slow event which takes time. Anyways, you could always try starting a study group with this comrade and try and attract a few people. This way you would be educating them on an actual topic.

[Anarcho-Brocialist]

You make it sound like the revolution is a heroic event to be dramatized in films instead of a slow event which takes time. Anyways, you could always try starting a study group with this comrade and try and attract a few people. This way you would be educating them on an actual topic.
No... I said I don't want to be a lone wolf. I know it's tedious, but I don't see any progress. Rather just the same-old *****ing about how the system is fucked but no one does nothing about it.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

No... I said I don't want to be a lone wolf. I know it's tedious, but I don't see any progress. Rather just the same-old *****ing about how the system is fucked but no one does nothing about it.

Remainder to not use prejudiced language.

Anyways,I still think a study group would be the most proactive step that you could take right now.Become real knowledgeable about a basic Marxist text and start up an educational seminar type of group.

[Revolution starts with U]

Colonists started organizing people's congresses long before even the Boston Tea Party. Educate, agitate, organize!

[Lokomotive293]

I don't know much about the situation of the left in the US, but find a good revolutionary organization, try to set up a local group, find like-minded people, find topics that are important in your town, try to organize people in your school, college or workplace,... just, the usual. The revolution won't happen tomorrow, or next week, or even next year, but if you sit around and do nothing, it won't happen ever. You can do a lot more than you think.

[campesino]

create class consciousness among everyone, be a preacher for communism. Just talk about and educate people about communism. bring up communism in conversations and change their view of it is from what the propaganda taught them, to what it really is.

[Trap Queen Voxxy]

I would suggest that perhaps you could start slowly but surely discussing the class struggle with your co-workers. Not in explicit words that would attract unwanted attention but subtle conversation, designed to spark thought. That way you can slowly steer the conversation that way. If you're part of a union, you could try talk to others there as well.

[NorwegianCommunist]

You make it sound like the revolution is a heroic event to be dramatized in films instead of a slow event which takes time. Anyways, you could always try starting a study group with this comrade and try and attract a few people. This way you would be educating them on an actual topic.

That is a really good suggestion.
You should try that.
Maybe communists won't come flying to your group, but it would be great if you spread the word and maybe non-political people get interessted in communism after learning about it.

[Zukunftsmusik]

No... I said I don't want to be a lone wolf. I know it's tedious, but I don't see any progress. Rather just the same-old *****ing about how the system is fucked but no one does nothing about it.

which is why setting up a study group is a great idea. It would do much more for spreading class consciousness than "*****ing about how the system is fucked" etc. If you manage to actually get people to come, this is the best action you could take IMO.

[Rooster]

If you truly are a small fish in a big pond then you could use the internet to find more local people. Set up a very broad based group, that's the best way. You have to understand that a lot of people probably sympathise with you, they just don't know it yet. I don't know if you have a job or not, but if you do have a job (or fuck, even if you're in uni) then you can at least set up a group within that or talk to people, and see who turns up. A hardcore of two people would be enough to keep something going for a while until more people join.

[Raúl Duke]

setting up a study group is a great idea.I always thought it was a silly idea, in some respect.

In my uni, there was 2 groups parallel to each other: One was an explicitly leftist group and another was an activist group.

I never heard of the leftist group 'till way later. All they did was do study-groups on Marxist books or whatnot. It seemed more like a clique, everyone was already a friend of each other or a friend of a friend. None of them ever participated with anything that the activist group was doing.

When the activist group was running, we did a lot of outreach and got people to think by hosting events, working with the CIW campaigns, etc. Our work with CIW brought the issue of poverty, exploitation, etc to a mainstream crowd. Allegedly, our organization/university played a small yet pivotal role in getting Aramark, et.al to capitulate to CIW demands. We also put to the general student body and even the regular community issues about poverty, immigration, and worker exploitation; all the while the leftist study group barely did any outreach.

All I'm saying is, be weary of turning this little group into a clique that barely does anything but recruit friends into Marxism or where already leftist friends discuss theory (I already do that, here, on revleft, online; why would I want to do that in real life?). Try to find a way to highlight the problems of capitalism to a wider audience.

[Zukunftsmusik]

Raúl Duke: yeah, you raise fair points. Perhaps not a study-group where you exclusivly discuss theory is the best alternative, but a general discussion group that could be open to discuss a relatively wide range of things could be a better idea. Also, nothing keeps said discussion group from also doing activity. A focus on local problems could generate some interest from local people relatively quick I guess.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

Perhaps a study group in the sense of a general education session about communism instead of a specific text.

[Magón]

No... I said I don't want to be a lone wolf. I know it's tedious, but I don't see any progress. Rather just the same-old *****ing about how the system is fucked but no one does nothing about it.

You can't just expect people to take your side on something if you don't explain to them in the first place what it is, and think they'll take up revolution. Talking about how the system is fucked, is what you have to do, it's apart of bringing people into the fold of what it is you're talking about, and where you're coming from when you talk about whatever it is you're talking about. Whether it's the banks, consumerism, exploitation of them this or that way, or whatever it might be, talking and laying out your platform is what comes first.

Do you know how many people in the past, and now, have just started by themselves on something, trying to bring their point of view to people? A hell of a lot, and more will continue to do so if they want to enough. Sometimes if you start out as a "lone wolf", you won't be alone for very long. You have to open up a discussion before you can start changing people to your side. Maybe you'll get lucky and some people at a discussion who you thought were conservatives, really aren't, so you won't as I said, be alone for very long and you'll have some numbers to spread out and take more ground than if it was just you.

[Raúl Duke]

Raúl Duke: yeah, you raise fair points. Perhaps not a study-group where you exclusivly discuss theory is the best alternative, but a general discussion group that could be open to discuss a relatively wide range of things could be a better idea. Also, nothing keeps said discussion group from also doing activity. A focus on local problems could generate some interest from local people relatively quick I guess.

This is a better idea.

The thing is, people aren't so keen in talking pure political theory.
This doesn't mean that people are not open to discuss politics, but they prefer to discuss in specifics, whether it be local or national/international.

If possible, I always suggest trying to be proactive/take action. However, sometimes this is difficult or not advisable.

[The Cheshire Cat]

I don't want to sound like some smarty-pants, but it's Das Kapital.

[Questionable]

Aside from the emotional pleas to not be a lone wolf (Which are valid, don't misunderstand me), your question is more than that; it is a question of tactics.

If you wait until the situation becomes "revolutionary" enough for your own personal tastes, you give our enemies a window of opportunity to influence the working class. The rightists, the fascists, the reformists, they will not wait for things to get bad enough. They will be at the worker's doorstep every day, trying to win him over at the slightest hint of discomfort. Even if your efforts at educating the masses won't result in the next October Revolution, you're still sowing the seed of leftism, keeping it in the mass consciousness of the proletariat.

Any comrades who say it is pointless to act until the situation becomes "revolutionary enough" subscribe to economic fatalism, that socialism will invariably appear somewhere down the line, so we shouldn't get upset when reactionary ideas are winning over more numbers than us. This is intellectual suicide. No matter what the economic situation is, the ruling-class will not rest, so why should we rest? We're only giving them time to strengthen themselves.

Do not kid yourself into thinking that you can spark a revolution all by yourself, but always battle to keep the proletariat enlightened against reactionary ideas, even in times of peace. If you don't do so, when the situation does finally become revolutionary, the ideals of the ruling-class will be so firmly embedded that we'll be throwing ourselves against barricades that we should have never allowed to be built.