Group / Party Membership

[Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant']

Curious about how many rev-lefters are members or supporters an actual political grouping (be it a party, forum, federation or whatever). No need to post specifics unelss you really want to.

[Igor]

atm im a member only in my trade union

[svenne]

Uhm, i'm pretty sure there exists groups which are marxist, without being a party.

[Brutus]

Workers power...

[ВАЛТЕР]

Party of Labour (Marxist Leninist organization )

[The Garbage Disposal Unit]

I've been an on-and-off card-carrying Wobbly (and generally a practicing workplace shit-disturber along Wobbly-inspired lines) for just under eight years. Unfortunately, I've repeatedly ended up in situations where the Wobbly branch has collapsed due to its own contradictions - essentially being a group of syndicalist activists, rather than having an authentic class base. I figure if I ever end up somewhere where that's not the case, I'll likely start up again.

I've been around the edge of a broad, largely anarchist, anticapitalist organization (http://www.clac-montreal.net/) in Montreal but found participation difficult due to a host of factors, including linguistic barriers (not so much in the organization itself, but in terms of being able to organize effectively "around" it, if that makes sense).

I eventually plan on moving back to my home town and a) joining a small libertarian communist / ultraleft organization there, whose politics resonate with me on most questions (though I'm skeptical vis- their failure to grapple with Imperialism, which manifests in a somewhat vague commitment to "Opposing all discrimination and prejudice by attempting to unite the working class"), and b) "working around" a "non-sectarian, democratic, anti-capitalist organization" that I largely see as opportunist (and quietly dominated by Trotskyists), but who are quite active, and worth challenging / not ignoring.

I'd be really interested to hear other folks' thoughts around working "adjacent" to organizations with whom they find themselves both sympathetic and antagonistic.

[Landsharks eat metal]

None, because I'm not allowed even though I'm 20 years old

[Tim Cornelis]

Uhm, i'm pretty sure there exists groups which are marxist, without being a party.

I think a party is simply a political organisation without it necessarily identifying as such. For instance, I'm a member of the Free Union (anarchist group) and Breakthrough (socialist / communist party (other)), neither would call themselves party but I consider them both to be.

[Quail]

I'm a member of the Anarchist Federation. I intend, at some point, to get involved with the IWW as there is quite an active branch in Sheffield full of nice people.

[svenne]

I think a party is simply a political organisation without it necessarily identifying as such. For instance, I'm a member of the Free Union (anarchist group) and Breakthrough (socialist / communist party (other)), neither would call themselves party but I consider them both to be.

Isn't the word "party" already a bit hard to use, between the idea of the ordinary party (as in Republicans, Democrats, Greens and SPUSA), and the party as the most politically advanced and militant minority of the working class? (It'd be a lot easier to just use the word group, me thinks)

[Ele'ill]

None, not a part of a political organization so I guess it would also be Other, informal.

[Leftsolidarity]

I chose socialist/communist party (other) because we're Trotskyists but Marxist-Leninists as well, I guess you could say. We don't really get into the whole Stalin vs. Trotsky thing.

[Goblin]

A socialist / communist party (marxist-leninist). Though it's marxist-leninist in name, about half of it's members are trots. Fuck sectarianism!

[Kalinin's Facial Hair]

Been looking forward to joining a party but just don't feel ready yet. :crying:

[TheEmancipator]

Anti-fa group.

[Blake's Baby]

I voted 'None' but I'm fairly sure I should have voted 'Other'. I was thinking of a 'proper' political organisation; but I am in a solidarity group, which is a sort of political organisation... ish.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

None. I will join the teachers' trade union out of self-interest soon, but I will never join a political party again, simply because I don't believe in the concept of a political party. Fuck 'em all.

[Blake's Baby]

What do you mean, Boss, that you 'don't believe in the concept of a political party'? I really don't understand what those words mean when put together. To me that's like saying 'I'm a communist, and because I'm a communist, I'll never work with any other communists, because they're communists'.

[Sam_b]

Isn't there a yearly poll for this? Thread seems totally unnecessary.

[Vladimir Innit Lenin]

What do you mean, Boss, that you 'don't believe in the concept of a political party'? I really don't understand what those words mean when put together. To me that's like saying 'I'm a communist, and because I'm a communist, I'll never work with any other communists, because they're communists'.

I mean the actual existence of a political party whose purpose - shared by the overwhelming majority of parties, if not all - is to achieve political power. The problem is that, having studied these things, I cannot see a way that a party can achieve political power (i.e. state power), in whatever form, and fail to substitute the interests of party political power in, for the interests of those who they are meant to represent.

It's different to not wanting to work together with others in unity within a broad movement. But the whole idea that knits a political party together - unless i'm totally ignorant - is that, even for the broadest of political parties, the aim is political power for that party.

So even the most benevolent of parties, with the most working class membership and the reddest flags, have generally shown that once they achieve power, they do one of two things:

1) Bend their actions to the will of the capitalist class. Of their own volition (e.g. UK Labour Party), or by military force exercised by the capitalist class (e.g. Allende and his group in Chile);

2. Set up their own institutions in the name of Socialism, in the name of improving the lives of working people and of revolution, but in reality over time these institutions act as a power base for the party.

[Dennis the 'Bloody Peasant']

Isn't there a yearly poll for this? Thread seems totally unnecessary.

...as is your response :)

[Sam_b]

Doesn't take away at all from what I said. It's still unnecessary.

[Leftsolidarity]

I don't see the harm in it.

[La Guaneña]

In a marxist-leninist youth that is connected to a Pole, something similar to a current (PCLCP).