[Edited Message Follows] I thought it was common knowledge that left-wing electoral and class struggle politics were not in contradiction to each other but tended to follow the same trajectory.
In the period under discussion, the Socialist Party was comprised of right social democrats like Hilquist and Berger - the "sewer socialists - as well as radical socialists like Debs. It reached its peak at the same time as Big Bill Haywood's revolutionary syndicalist IWW from the turn of the 20th century through WW I. It was a period of rapid economic expansion when labour was in short supply and the rising trade union movement was able to exercise its power in the workplace and politics. The later period of New Deal recovery from the Depression through WWII was one of similar economic expansion when labour was in demand and reformist and radical trade union and political leaders saw their influence increase. I can't agree with Blanc, however, that the "sewer socialists" (of each generation) did not "get closer to overthrowing capitalism due to circumstances outside of their control." They never wanted to overthrow capitalism and the circumstances, in fact, worked in their favour. Besides the growth of "conservative public opinion" fostered by social mobility and improved living conditions, t he state-sponsored first and second Red Scares following each period were equally decisive. The anticapitalists were purged from the unions and political life, and the reformist wing of the movement which favoured class collaboration rather than conflict was left unchallenged. Today's much diminished revolutionary and reformist left face a much different set of circumstances. Living standards and social mobility have declined and the mass conservative consensus which underwrote the system's legitimacy and stability has been breaking down. But labour is no longer in short supply and the industrial unions concentrated at the point of production which were once the backbone of both wings of the socialist movement have declined apace with economic conditions. It's still unclear what new forms of struggle and organization may emerge to revive that once powerful international movement. It goes without saying that any stirrings which point in that direction should be encouraged and actively supported. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#39470): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/39470 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/116460247/21656 -=-=- 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: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
