Dennis Brasky writes:
> So it's a which comes first - the chicken or the egg. We desperately need
> a
> new party that is willing to stand up to corporate rule, but until that
> party emerges - and with instant mass support! - Blacks, immigrants, etc
> will look to the Democrats and .... what do we do so as to avoid our
> agitation "falling on deaf ears"? Work within the DP as I believe Marv has
> advocated in the past? Ironic - just as many leftists are leaving, are we
> to
> try to herd them back in?
===================================
An email list is no place to decide this issue, which is essentially
tactical in nature - ie. is there sufficient support within the unions,
black and other representative mass organizations for a break with the
Democrats or is there, despite many disappointments, continued confidence in
the party and it's leadership such that a premature call to break with it
would be treated as sectarian and result in isolation?
I clearly have one impression and you another, but we'd need to be involved
in the unions and other representative mass organizations allied to the
Democrats, to reliably make such judgements. Every opposition in every
organization, not only on the left, is faced with the decisive question of
timing. Mistakes in timing resulting from timidity ("opportunism") or
impatience ("adventurism") can be equally disasterous.
Perhaps also you could find a better metaphor than "herding" the masses one
way or another. It's often worked the other way round - the mood of the
masses providing direction for their leaders whether to advance or retreat,
taking into account the prevailing relationship of forces. The July Days
preceding the October Revolution is one example of how a skilled Bolshevik
leadership attended to both factors.
________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu
Set your options at:
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
