Originally posted by
[email protected] 13 2006, 09:54 PM
True, I've never done any party work. The reason: I know of no party that I can work for. Before I joined RevLeft I had never heard of the Free People's Movement (who I plan to join by the way), or any of the other international groups that guys on here belong to. This is why the left, if it is not in decline, then at least has stalled in its aim of gaining the support of the masses.
Well, glad to hear that you're planning to join FPM. But that doesn't mean that we have somehow "stalled". I've no idea what kind of actions the FPM participates in, either, but right now I would seriously recommend you take a look at the RCP and see what they're doing: they're getting more people in more cities to demonstrate against Bush with their "World Can't Wait" organisation every day. Not to say that you should join RCP, but they do clearly point out that more people are getting interested in revolutionary anti-capitalist action.
Does it?? Go into any factory and say "Under Communism things will be better for us all", you'd be likely to get away with just being insulted. Like I said in another post, people don't see leftism as a viable alternative.
Did I say that you should go into a random factory and announce the revolution? No, I said on the streets, on places where you'll actually find people sensitive to your ideas. Don't you have any strikes, unions, elections, or whatever, where you live?
I will do, trust me. I'm glad that you are out there working for the interests of the left, only doing so can increase support. But I hardly think that Communism is out on the streets - so far all I can see is "Duccan iz a big GAY" out there. In decline; perhaps not with guys like you. On the rise; not yet.
It's not about me, I'm just wondering where the defeatist attitude of some people on here come from. Once you -regularly- get out there with your comrades to directly show your support for the struggle of the working class, I doubt you'd still be able to say that the movement is somehow stagnating.
Try talking to general populace and see what they think is going on instead of keeping yourself bottled upinside those elitist leftist attitudes that so many "revolutionary left" have these days. If the general population feels the right is gaining more ground, then you know what..theyre probably right. We gain no ground if the general population doesnt accept or even understand our ideas.
To you, too, I have to ask: what are you doing about it? Also, how is it elitist to say, "get out, join the party and start leafleting"? If the "general population" has no understanding of "real communism", why don't you go tell them? No, you don't go out on the street to speak to rant to total randoms who might not even be interested, but that's where organisation comes in. What is stopping the party from having a stand with leaflets, literature and merchandise(we sell Che posters, Che linen bags, and sometimes shirts) at some kind of fair? We sometimes go around the block trying to sell our newspapers, sometimes with pamphlets about things like the European Constitution(back in June) or the elections inside them.
The Mainstream media isnt afraid of leftist parties (south america may be a differant a story), its laughing at us.
Or rather, they publish nothing, except slanders, and make it look like your resistance doesn't mean anything. It seems to work on you. :)
If the general population doesnt see, hear, or notice anything going on by the left...how the hell are they going to see how corrupt their government is and realize its time for change? Magic revolutionary fairies are suppose to fly down with ak47s and overthrow the government for us? i think not.
Again: why aren't you helping out in making people notice something?
loveme4whoiam is completely right. Most people have NO IDEA what communism or anarchy is at all, they think we're either stalin loving maniacs, or little kids shouting "fuck the government", trying to vent their teenage angst. I live in San Francisco, a haven for leftism..and 3/4 of the people here dont even know what real communism or anarchy is!
Comrades only look like "Stalin loving maniacs" if they get drawn out by petty-bourgeois concerns like "Communism eh? But didn't Stalin kill 600 bajillion of its own people?" that are completely unrelated, yet still causes some comrades to bother arguing with such people, making them look like a bunch of apologetics. A quick, confident answer to such questions works wonders. As for the angsty teenagers part; again, that view is only created by those anarchists who are only interested in rioting with the cops. It won't happen to any comrades who know what they're doing.
Stop chatting in your little party groups and doing your little unimportant demonstrations. Explain to a friend of your who doesnt know what communism is, what it really means. Tell his friend too. The more people that know what we are all really about, the more likely they are to agree with us.
The meetings that you refer to as "chatting in [our] little party groups" matter quite a bit more than you think. How else will a party develop a proper line, decide what actions to participate in, how to handle current events, etc., if it does not meet from time to time? And what's wrong with a demonstration? Demonstrations are a great venue to sell your literature and pass on your ideas if there ever was one. A communist party shows that it stands for the working class when it shows it solidarity for them in both actions and words: by marching there, AND by the pamphlets they've written on the matter at hand. Right now, our communist party is the ONLY party that shows any kind of solidarity for the people whose cheap houses are about to be demolished, as opposed to the passive attitude of the "Socialist" Party and the other parties, which are all in favour.
The right has a tight grip on the general population all throughout the world. North America is rapidly swinging right wing conservative. Western europe is demolishing its civil rights, one law at a time. The Middle east is still caught in a ridiculous religious war. Asia is turning capitalist faster then we can speak(nepal and a few other countries may differ). Africa is still ruled by hunger and ridiculous revolutions that are led by warlords and monarchs. South America may be our only obvious and truly internationaly notible gain in the leftist movement.
Realize that we are trying to change the world for millions of people, not just a few.
I don't give a flying fuck about what the bourgeoisie is doing to restrict civil rights. It does not mean we're somehow "dying". If anything, people are getting more and more tired of it.
i owe you a 100$, i have never belonged to a party. I havnt found any party that i agree with.
Yeah, good luck trying to find a party with which you fully concur on both theory and practice. Or maybe you could take the "redstar2000" approach and point at Leninist parties with the finger while being passive yourself. :lol:
You could join those left parties and groups and stuff but when the masses don't know what the heck you are talking about, or supporting you it is useless. Why would they trust you anyways when most of their lives they have been taught leftism is evil or have never been introduced to lefty thinking? Once people reach old age they are hard to change or teach new ideas.
I haven't met many people who don't know what we're talking about. Of course, the point is to do so as the communist party, not as the "Revolutionary Internationalist Socialist Group of Workers Committed To The 195th International". :lol:
Finally, surely you're able to see the difference between realistically pointing out what's going wrong, and the defeatist attitude of "Oh no, we're dying!"?