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dsaly1969
2nd July 2013, 05:21
Greetings all!

I'm just posting a quick introduction. I have had socialist convictions for a long time (30 years or so) and have some academic and professional background in Marxist analysis and social justice / advocacy. My own Marxist approach tends to be nonsectarian but I have appreciation for some of the theoretical contributions of historical and current Marxist leaders like Trotsky, DeLeon, Mao, and even Avakian (!) - but that we should not be necessarily locked into the past and need to arrive perhaps at a new synthesis, strategies, approach, and possibly even labels to meet the needs of current developments.

I was first introduced to Marxism through the Socialist Labor Party (which made me more familiar with Daniel DeLeon) as they had a cell in my hometown. This made it easy to get their newspaper. Later I started going to a Unitarian Universalist church (which was mostly humanist) in Long Beach that had a lot of former and current (at the time) CPUSA members. I do tend more towards a revolutionary rather than a reformist / social democratic approach ultimately but do not mind democratic reform efforts to alleviate suffering and to move towards the goal of a communist society.

I work in the field of social work so I am familiar with social justice and advocacy activities. Most of my socialist/communist expression and helping to expand revolutionary consciousness has been done professionally and "covertly" in my "professional role". But I am look to connect more with other comrades. I am registered with the Peace and Freedom Party in California which provides ballot access to a wide spectrum of socialist/leftist candidates, but am looking for a like-minded party for further Marxist study and collaborative activities.

Q
2nd July 2013, 09:38
Welcome :)

If you have political questions, you can ask them in the Learning forum. That's why it's there after all!

If you have questions about your account, don't hesitate to send me a PM or ask here.

Communists don't mind reforms, many of them are indeed necessary to alleviate the burden of our class and to let us form into a class-collective, with our own political agenda. However, reformism is where another goal entirely appears, which is the continuation of the current system.

ВАЛТЕР
2nd July 2013, 10:02
Welcome to the forum. We're glad to have you and feel free to jump into the discussions if you feel you have something to add. :grin:

GiantMonkeyMan
2nd July 2013, 15:40
Welcome to revleft! I'm a fan of the first three theorists you mentioned but Avakian comes across as a man with delusions of grandeur and seems to do more to hinder the movement by being an object of ridicule than he does to help it. Though admittedly I've not read any of his work.

I hope you enjoy your stay here and learn as much as I have. :)

Fourth Internationalist
2nd July 2013, 16:23
Welcome to RevLeft! :D

dsaly1969
2nd July 2013, 21:46
Welcome to revleft! I'm a fan of the first three theorists you mentioned but Avakian comes across as a man with delusions of grandeur and seems to do more to hinder the movement by being an object of ridicule than he does to help it. Though admittedly I've not read any of his work.

I hope you enjoy your stay here and learn as much as I have. :)

I do agree quite a bit with that assessment of Avakian's RCP-USA which comes across as a cultic fan club (or even a "religious Marxist" sect if you will with Avakian as a prophet). That being said - Avakian does have some gifts as an orator and some interesting points. I basically just take the useful nuggets and dispose of the rest.

That and I knew just bringing up his name would at least provoke a response in someone. ;)1

I'm looking at the various party options and am considering the PSL - would love to hear pros and cons perceptions of that org.

The Idler
7th July 2013, 12:40
Focusing more on De Leon and less on Mao would be a good idea.

Quail
7th July 2013, 13:27
Hi, welcome to Revleft :)