Left communism basics

  1. proletarian liberation
    Could you explain to me the basics of left communism and how it differs from Leninism/Trotskyism.
    Thanks
  2. newdayrising
    newdayrising
    Someone will probably write something more in depth after this, but if you want to be really basic about it, here's a list of differences/particularities in relation to what you called Trotskyism/Leninism:

    Rejection of parliamentarism and unions (except for a few Bordigists who view they can in certain circumstances be used tactically)
    Rejection of national liberation and "anti-imperialism"
    Intransigent internationalism, meaning one does not pick sides on wars between bourgeois states
    Views of so called "real existing socialism" (past and present) as capitalist
    Views of the mainstream left (Trotskyism, Stalinism, social democracy, etc) as part of the bourgeois apparatus

    The two most influential currents of what became known as left-communism are the Dutch/German and the Italian ones. There are left-communists of the Italian variety who would consider themselves Leninists.

    Most left communists today are members or sympathizers of two main groups: the International Communist Current and the International Communist Tendency or in fewer cases, of groups that split from either group.
    This would be, for lack of a better term, the mainstream of left-communism and both groups are, to different degrees, influenced by both the Italian and the Dutch/German lefts.
    Also, both regard Lenin and Trotsky as genuine revolutionaries but don't consider Trotskyism as a proletarian political current and are generally critical of what's usually called "Leninism".

    If I'm wrong about anything, somebody please correct me, but I think this is it, in a nutshell. I'd also suggest reading older topics in this group and looking for basic texts on the websites of the ICC and the ICT to get more in depth information.
  3. proletarian liberation
    proletarian liberation
    Thanks
  4. bad ideas actualised by alcohol
    bad ideas actualised by alcohol
    I was wondering, what are the main texts and writers that should be read for a better understanding of Left-Communism?
  5. newdayrising
    newdayrising
    From my personal experience:

    Some good introductory texts to would be:
    "The Communist Left and the continuity of Marxism"
    http://en.internationalism.org/the-communist-left

    Pamphlet comparing Bordiga and Pannekoek. I read it many years ago, so I don't know if it's perfect but it certainly helped me understand it:
    http://libcom.org/library/bordiga-versus-pannekoek

    Also, this one:
    http://theoryandpractice.org.uk/libr...an-barrot-1972

    Then, a more in-depth text to on Bordiga would be this one:
    http://home.earthlink.net/~lrgoldner/bordiga.html

    Also, look for original texts by Bordiga, Pannekoek (earlier stuff, after a while his work is no longer representative of Left Communism), Herman Gorter, Otto Ruhle, Onorato Damen, etc... Then there are texts signed by groups, like the International Communist Party, the Gauche Communiste de France and so on.
    Also, some more controversial writers such as Jacques Camatte (before he dropped marxism altogether) and Gilles Dauvé are interesting and worth reading.

    Then, if you want to go deeper into history, the ICC has books on the Italian, Dutch/German, Russian and British communist lefts, which you can order on their site.

    An active left communist writer of prominence today is Loren Goldner.

    I suppose other people here who actually have more of a history as militants in Left Communist organizations could contribute better than me.
    These are what I read on my own, as I didn't have other Left-Communists near me, let alone groups, to guide me when I started learning about it. I suppose when you're closer to actual organizations, they can help you out finding the best stuff to read.
  6. Ottoraptor
    Ottoraptor
    While it's not explicitly left communist (more ultra-left I guess given Dauvé's role in Communization theory), this is good: http://libcom.org/library/eclipse-re...unist-movement
  7. Alf
    Alf
    newdayrising - that was an excellent summary and reading list. One thing I would question:


    Most left communists today are members or sympathizers of two main groups: the International Communist Current and the International Communist Tendency or in fewer cases, of groups that split from either group.

    I would be the last to deny the role that these groups have played in the current surge of interest in left communism, and the growth in the numbers of people who define themselves as left communists. But precisely because that interest and those numbers has grown so much (while still being a very small minority , of course...), there may well be more people who would see themselves as left communists without being members or sympathisers of either organisation. This might not have been the case in the 80s and 90, but the situation has changed considerably over the last ten years.
  8. red flag over teeside
    red flag over teeside
    One of the differences between Left Communists and Trotskyists is their different methods of intervening in workers strggles. Trotskyists of various hues have a habit in trailing left union leaders while Left Communists correctly critique the source of the capiatlist crisis while unfortunetely not giving any concrete proposals to workers in struggle.
  9. Alf
    Alf
    I don't agree that left communists don't give concrete proposals to workers in struggle. Calling for workers to take control of the struggle and extend it geographically, to raise unifying demands...such general proposals are concrete in themselves but they can be made more precise depending on the immediate context and possibilities of a struggle. For example: if workers or students have already begun to develop assemblies, then it's a question of making proposals that will help workers to ensure that the assemblies don't become rubber stamps for the unions or leftists; if there are other workers on the verge of struggle, we can propose exactly where delegations should be sent to call them into the struggle, and so on. But perhaps redflag can explain what he means by concrete proposals.
  10. red flag over teeside
    red flag over teeside
    Agree with Alf when he mentions the importance of intervening politically in assemblies to give a political alternative to the left reformists. The problem I have practically with Left Communism is that for Marxists to intervene in practical struggles such as defending jobs that would be made redundantwhen a workplace closed from what I can see the communist left organisations would not call for the workplace to be nationalised to defend jobs. I know that swapping the state for a private employer makes little if any difference apart from saving jobs. Or should the statnce be leave the workers to the vagaries of the left reformists. Also with the austerity cuts taking place this year do left communists intervene with a set of practical proposals such as keeping open libraries. Seems that if Marxists are going to attract workers to a communist perspective then we need to intervene in every struggle as Marxists which means putting forward defensive proposals. The difference between a Marxist approach and a reformist one is that we don't trail the unions instead we encourage the full participation of workers in all areas of struggle. Lenin summed it up well when he said we must be tribunes of the oppressed.
  11. Sewer Socialist
    Sewer Socialist
    newdayrising's list of differences were mostly ways in which left communists disagree with other communists. I agree with that criticism, but what are left communists in favor of? what is the role of the left communist party, specifically?

    I'm currently already reading a couple of books right now, but is Bordiga's Party and Class a good start?

    Also, what do ya'll think of Gramsci?