Is the US Democratic Party a "union-based reformist party" though? European and English speaking former colonies' Labour Parties could be questionably described that way, given the collapse of mass membership, but the Dems? I would have thought "union backed", rather than "union-based.
And the problem is, the left have always cried wolf over the Repulblicans, Tories, National Parties etc. If we believed the Marxist Parties, all of these were about to implement fascism if we didn't just vote Labour, Democrat, SDP etc. They never did. Meanwhile our parties shrank . . . Now we have Trump, who *might* be planning some kind of weird fascism, although I still doubt it. Are conservative Americans really that eager to ditch their constitution and pretence of being the world's greatest democracy? Comradely, John On Fri, 13 Sep 2024, 16:42 Marv Gandall via groups.io, <marvgand2= gmail....@groups.io> wrote: > On Thu, Sep 12, 2024 at 07:09 PM, Michael Meeropol wrote: > > the percentage who believe us is miniscule --OUR FAULT? OBJECTIVE > REALITY? I have no answer > > The divide on this list and the Marxist left generally has always been > between those who believe supporting a “lesser evil” union-based reformist > party against an anti-union reactionary one is a tactical question, and > those who believe that it is unprincipled to vote for a ruling class > bourgeois party. > > With the alarming rise of the proto-fascist far right and the virtual > disappearance of the far left in most advanced capitalist countries, the > issue has become an urgent one for Marxists who treat it as a tactical > question based on circumstances. > > Those who believe it is “our fault” for not collectively understanding the > principled need to steer clear of the mass left-centre parties argue that > the differences between the two governing parties and the threat from the > right are both exaggerated. Consequently, they either abstain from > electoral politics or support the ineffectual propaganda campaigns of > marginal revolutionary socialist groups or the slightly less ineffectual > and marginal campaigns of petty bourgeois third parties like the Greens. > > I long ago stopped distinguishing between an ostensible “workers’ party” > such as the NDP in Canada and the US Democrats. They're both liberal > bourgeois parties with the same trade union and social movement > constituencies and reformist leaders. Unless and until objective conditions > lead to a revival of working class consciousness and militancy and the > resulting growth of mass parties to their left, they’re the only available > means to block the ascent of the reactionary parties to their right and the > more profound threat to democratic rights and social programs which they > represent. > > TINA, in other words - at least in the present historical moment. > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#32253): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/32253 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/108411255/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: marxmail+ow...@groups.io Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [arch...@mail-archive.com] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
