-
On Political Criteria for Participation in Election Campaigns
It would seem useful to have some general criteria in mind in guiding us when considering participation in electoral campaigns. These criteria would seem to apply whether the office is President of the United States or school board member. The criteria enumerated below, which are not meant to be exhaustive should not be considered to…
-
Why Do We Insist on Rejection of the Two-Party System as a Point of Unity?
Everything begins with the understanding that the corporations and banks are the enemies of all the people, and especially the working people, and among workers, workers of color most of all. We understand that the corporations and banks control all the social institutions – the corporate media, the courts, most churches, the universities, even…
-
Thoughts on CPE/CEP
In the interest of full disclosure, I wish to let you know that I am a Marxist. But at the same time I request that I not be held responsible for the actions of those who also claimed to have been or presently claim to be Marxist. The question has been raised (until now privately)…
-
Why We Need a Firm and Consistent Ideology
Discussion originally proposed to the People’s Power Movement Steering Committee, 2010. What is ideology? A more or less internally consistent body of ideas, set of ideas, generally concerning politics, economics, society, which usually reflects the interests and/or social position of a particular class or social stratum. In our movements, we need to strengthen our ideology…
-
Reformism vs. Revolutionary Tactics
There are reformists who sincerely desire to see fundamental social change. Their view is that they differ from revolutionaries “only” in the matter of tactics, since they share the same goals. It is good to strive for revolution, they say, but that is way down the road, the necessity for which is understood and supported…
-
Independent Politics
A burning task at this political juncture is the setting in motion of a mass movement of working people toward independent politics. At this point we should define what we mean by “independent politics.” But before doing that, before discussing political strategy, we need to ensure that we share the same political goals. Without that,…
-
Why Politicians Are Not Our Legitimate Representatives
What does “growing up” mean? It means, among other things, developing the ability to think critically. It means coming to understand that not everything that exists is right, necessary or permanent. We are born into a political system which we take for granted. We start off by thinking it is perfectly natural and democratic. Then,…
-
Left Fragmentation
The Left is incredibly fragmented. Obviously, as long as it is in pieces it will remain weak. And yet that is not the real problem at this juncture. The real problem is that the Left is divided into essentially two pieces, if we consider only their political complexion and not other factors such as national…
-
Pressure Politics
Context – Critique of an interview given by Jim Haughton on 99.5 WBAI, September 1990. Haughton said the main task was to be able to bring to bear sufficient pressure from the African-American community on Mayor Dinkins to counter the enormous pressure he faces from the powerful interests, that Dinkins wanted to do the right…
-
Political Disenfranchisement – Letter Excerpt, March 1989
Sometimes one can find truths in ruling class literature entirely missed by the Left, or at least a good portion of it. In this quarter’s issue of Foreign Policy, a prestigious think tank publication of the Establishment, Charles William Maynes, editor of Foreign Policy magazine, the leading foreign policy publication in the United States, says…
