I am thinking more and more about how the movement against the capitalist offensive will develop. I realize that there will be differences in different countries. But to try and generalize a bit. Over the past decade or so we have had very important struggles of the working class. From the occupations of the factories in Argentina, to the big strikes in countries such as China and Bangla Desh and India, to the uprisings in North Africa and the Middle East, to the movements electoral and otherwise in the Americas, to the big strikes and street actions in Europe to the recent demonstrations in the US. I realize that in spite of these the capitalist offensive rolls on.
But I would like to focus on another aspect of the issue. I have no doubt that at some stage a movement will develop that will halt and throw back this capitalist offensive and open up instead an offensive of the working class and when this happens all the big ideas will be put on the table of the masses once again - the nature of the present system, the alternative to capitalism, socialism. But on the road to that what form will the movement take. Can we get some help in figuring this out from the movement's I have referred to above? Are there some common features in these from which we can draw conclusions?
I feel we can draw the conclusion that the movements take various forms, from strikes, to occupations to street fighting. That with few exceptions at this time, at this early stage of the movement, as the movement builds itself, the movement does not see a way forward through the existing mass organizations where these exist. There are exceptions to this. The big demonstrations in Wisconsin were through the unions and under their banner. At the same time in countries such as Bolivia and Venezuela there are forms of worker's committees. New organizations and formations are being thrown up in other countries. Should we consider that given the refusal of the labor leaders to lead a movement against the capitalist offensive, then at least initially the movement in the main will find other ways to fight. I believe eventually it will be reflected in some way in the mass organizations but before that I believe that it can take other forms and find other channels.
The role of the union leaders is so crucial in this. Recently we have had reports of actions taken by the union leaders here in the US. Public sector workers in New York recently rejected a concessionary contract. The union leaders have responded by sending their full timers across the state to give lunch hour meetings where they tell the workers they must accept the concessionary contracts. They have changed the unions rules to make it easier to get the concessionary contracts through. In Wisconsin the union leaders kept pleading to the bosses that they were fine with making concessions it was just that they wanted the right to negotiate the concessions. They called one hundred thousand workers out on to the streets to get the right to negotiate concessions!!! Incredible.
As I have said I have been reading about the period from around the 1600's and 1700's as the working class sought to develop and to fight capitalism as it established itself and as it accumulated capital and as it "disciplined labor." I have also been reading about the period of the late 1800's to the first world war. There was such confusion then. The movement would take up all kinds of banners to fight under, religious and otherwise. It formed all sorts of organizations many of which now are little more than memories and memories only in the heads of left wing people and a few academics.
So here I am thinking aloud again. Yes I believe that the movement that will throw back the capitalist offensive will be reflected inside the mass organizations and lead to struggles in these organizations and the development of revolutionary ideas in these organizations.At least in some of these mass organizations. But the longer this development is postponed is it not the case that the movement will finds other channels and methods and ideas. I feel we need to consider this seriously or there could be the danger we could be left behind by events. Even the most unusual events can throw up movements where we can intervene. The "anonymous" formation to defend Assange and Wikileaks. Then there is the explosive events in Britain now around the Murdock corruption scandal. What do we say about this. We have a section of the bourgeois caught with its hands in the corruption cookie jar and this goes all the way to the top, the Prime Minister and the leaders of the Tories and the Social Democracy. What do we say?
I am not entirely sure what I am trying to say here. I suppose it is that I feel we have to be careful that we are not too fixed in how we see things developing. That we have to be sure we are not too unconditional. I suppose it is also that i think that we have to avoid being ultra left in the sense that we do not expect the working class conscious to be too developed after the defeats of the last decades and that we have to reach down to the existing consciousness and make a connection. Here in the US I feel we have made insufficient efforts to connect with the democratic consciousness and raise things such as making all lobbying illegal and ending the electoral college system and bringing one person one vote to all elections. As well of course as the minimum wage, free health care, free education, a guaranteed job for all etc.
Then there is the role of the left and activists. I feel that we have to put forward more the idea of the united front using direct action tactics on the day to day issues where the capitalist offensive hits people every day. I mentioned the events in Spain in my last post where more and more the youth are taking direct action to prevent evictions as opposed to just protesting outside banks. I feel that the issue of the united front has insufficiently been discussed. The old CWI always said the united front only applied to the mass organizations. But this is demonstrably not correct. Even the CWI in places such as Ireland have now been forced into united front work with other left groupings.
For the left also I feel that we have to emphasis the need to have an open discussion on the need to recognize that all of us have been ultra left in the past and also left sectarian. How come as we say there are more left wing people outside the left organizations than inside. There is something wrong with the left organizations.
Sean.
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