Tactics Idea

[Tiparith]

Okay so as you all must know by now, it is difficult to woo people to even the most logical socialist policies, so I developed an idea meant to woo people on the sub-concious level. Before I start I would like to say that yes I am a communist and no this idea isn't paticularly revolutionary but you have to start changing peoples minds somewhere and yelling "Revolution Now!" isn't going to do that.

All you need is like eight people or so whose commitment is unchanging. As well this is not meant to be a groups sole action but something to go along with protests and actions. What I'm suggesting is that with those eight people you begin a social public relations campaign. To that end you would do something like pick up garbage, or help at homeless resources centers, or whatever. Now while you are doing this carry with you a stack of manifesto's (photocopied and stapled, cheap to make) and a stack of your groups pamphlets. And when anybody, from the very old to the very young, question why you are {insert your social project here} you hand them a copy of both pamphlet and manifesto.

Now here me out, this is how I envision it. Eight friends and I pick up trash around the city systematically by dividing it up into sectors and doing one sector every week (Victoria, my home has a real garbage problem). We only pick up one bag each so that we can put it into our garbage cans and there will be no dumping cost (goverment will only take two garbage cans every pick up day so one bag each is all a fully functioning household could add to its bins). And every time some bystander asks we give them the literature. Within months a thousand or so people will have witnessed our acts and a quarter will have told somebody about it. Six months down the road six thousand people plus the people that they tell will all see that a communist group is whats keeping the city clean. As well by then you may have more helpers due to the enviro liberals that will get involved.

Systematically within a year you will have told over ten thousand people (directly and indirectly) that communists are willing to do what the goverment isn't). Now after eight months switch to a new project. say helping homeless people with their problems, I could (and am in the process of doing) help a homeless person reintegrate into the capitalist system. And while this is not good in the long run for the short term it means that one more person who has seen what is wrong with capitalism is once again able to speak our against it. Quickly this act of helping the destitute of the street will also attract attention and there will be many people who you can tell about your group.

Now here is the end point, its now a year down the road. You picked up trash for eight months and talked to ten thousand people, you then helped two or so people regain economic rights and got a bit of press and another couple thousand saw what you were doing. All these people will now see that it is communists solving societies problems, not the goverment. This is where you start handing out a program. This program will be revolutionary, talking about the equality that communism ensures, and how a communist democracy will be built. It will talk about how the corporations are fucking everything up, and how we need to mobilize ourselves as citizens and workers. Most of all it will say anyone willing to do anything for the cause can help by talking to you.

Now I truly believe that only those with no life or hightened curiosity will have read all that. I want to know what you all think of this as an expansion campaign. I'm aware its not revolutionary, I'm aware that its not the norm of RevLeft, but after decades of talk kind of action could actually start turning heads. Just leave your opinion.

[finishtherevolution]

'a picture is worth a thousand words', the saying goes and i think that revolutionaries involved in some way resolving or addressing the problems caused by greedy capitalists is effective in a society that is defined by 'media events'. If the people see us doing, they might be more willing to listen to what we are saying.

[RNK]

Well said.

The only problem is, there are already dozens of single-minded social projects and organizations who do a lot of volunteer work. The difficulty lies in trying to "outshine" them. Even then; there are organizations that have been doing that stuff for decades, who are still not very popularly known.

I'd suggest this type of stuff in a smaller town, there it can actually get more attention and become well-known by the majority quite easily. Then move on to bigger and better things.

[Rawthentic]

Just because you are not in brandishing weapons or practicing guerrilla warfare does not mean it is not revolutionary. As far as I am concerned, this is a very revolutionary project, because you are providing help with social problems while connecting that with the wider struggle for liberation.

This is what the Black Panther Party did, essentially. They had social programs such as Free Breakfast for Children and Liberation Education, and this gave the people an intimate relation with the party that would advance their class consciousness and show how the system was their fundamental enemy.

Good ideas, good luck to you.

[Forward Union]

Originally posted by [email protected] 27, 2007 08:00 pm
What I'm suggesting is that with those eight people you begin a social public relations campaign. To that end you would do something like pick up garbage, or help at homeless resources centers, or whatever. Now while you are doing this carry with you a stack of manifesto's (photocopied and stapled, cheap to make) and a stack of your groups pamphlets. And when anybody, from the very old to the very young, question why you are {insert your social project here} you hand them a copy of both pamphlet and manifesto.

These are some very good suggestions. However, getting people to be communists isn't a matter of making them sign up to a list of bullet points. If we take that route now, we're almost suggesting that all we need to do is get x number of people to follow suit, have a big meeting and than decide to have a revolution. The reality is that, most people who militantly fought for communism, didn't know what the exact policies of the party were, but did so because it was natural for them to.

But as RNK the toughest part, is trying to outshine the liberals. I think, what'd be better than handing out manifestos... well, take you're idea of a homeless centre but make it a bit more radical. If the state and the capitalists aren't looking after the elderly working class, we will have to! To start a homeless centre ourselves, take over a building, do it up, move people in etc. I mean, imagine the PR that would gain, and then imagine the publicity the sate would receive trying to evict it?

However, this particular idea is somewhat farfetched. It's not realistically doable, yet. But there are other things. I think you will get a lot more people involved if you are seen to be doing something practically productive (they will help you out, because it's their economic incentive, they're working class people - not because they agree with a 100 year old document). Perhaps a more realistic example would be to help the elderly illegally syphon gas from the mains in the winter so they don't die of the cold, or go bankrupt paying for heating. Or perhaps start women's self-defence classes. These things are radical, if they are done off the radar, if you break out of the liberal box and take millitant direct action that is in the best interest of people, and not profit (like stealing gas) The state will normally interviene, and people will defend these gains, they always do. That's when we start to see a hightening in class tensions, when people begin to see what the score is.

If people see communism, not as an ideology, but a practical solution to their problems, that means sorting this shit out yourself, with your fellow workers, that is a far more powerful propaganda tool than getting as many people as possible to digest Das Kapital. But what you've said is really sensible, I hope you'll consider what I have said. And if you decide to go on with any of this, I'll do my best to help or get you in touch with anarchist or communist groups in the area.