> > Melvin P writes: > > In my estimate you capture the spirit and essence of the conflict with the > "left groups" and socialist sectarianist in their misconceived conception of > "raising the consciousness of the masses." All sects, including the > ideological Marxist of all stripes, pride themselves on the very thing that > distinguishes them from the masses, who them insist they are to represent. > > > Here is what generally happens: a movement for reform begin organizing > itself - say for fresh drinking water, and the ideologist takes part in the > movement on the basis of explaining "the big picture" to people who want > fresh water. The ideologist begin to fight to pass resolutions about the > artributes of capital at this phase of development and its impact on the > worlds water supply. Then of course one must connect the question of > speculative capital to the world water supply and how this express itself in > the changing organic composition of capital. The ideologist - being > ideologist, are compelled to connect this with the role of North American > imperialism and the impact of Coca Cola on the fresh water supply. > > > This process derails the movement from its original purpose. The masses > call these kinds of actions "the hidden agenda" and the masses are correct. > Or, the ideologist will claim to have the solution for the Argentina masses. > "What the masses need to do is . . ." "This leader or that leader is a petty > bourgeoisie deviation because . . ." < > > the problem of the "hidden agenda" only comes up if the "ideologists" go > beyond merely explaining their views to actually trying to impose their > positions on the movement -- or, worse, capturing the movement. This is an > issue of democracy in the mass movement, not of putting forth one's opinion. > > > In addition, what the "ideologists" need to do is go beyond the silly > one-way street method of talking, i.e., putting forth the correct line or > the correct program to the "masses." It is important to learn from the > people you talk to. > > BTW, we should remember that there are all sorts of other groups besides > leftists who get involved with such movements. Some of them try to impose > their visions on the movement. > > > Generally the ideologist are ideologist - specifically those professing > adherence to the Marx method, because on the level of theory they lack a > conception of science as dealing with the law system in a process. General > principles of a law system cannot be applied to a specific field of > conflict. < > > I don't understand what a "law system" is. Do you mean the Marxian view that > capitalism has specific "laws of motion" that make it almost predictable? > More importantly, I don't see why the big picture is irrelevant to the > specific case. Surely, the fact that water is being "privatized" in lots of > different places around the world is relevant to a specific struggle against > the privatization process. That may not be relevant to all efforts to attain > fresh water, but surely the failure of a government to provide basic > infrastructure to the people is relevant? Why should such big-picture stuff > be left out? > > > The most revolutionary thing the ideologist could do is dissolve their > sectarian formations, join existing movements as they are and fight like > hell to achieve the goal of the movement. If in fact they are authentic > leaders, in the course of their leadership role, they will from time to time > interest the individuals in the method of Marx, which by definition is an > intellectual movement...< > > It's very true that we could do without sectarian formations, but does that > mean narrowing one's goals? BTW, I think it would be a bad idea to hide > one's political perspectives. That just encourages others to be paranoid > about leftists who secretly enter movements to take them over. > > gotta go... > > Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The reform movement is spontaneous and not created by any specific individual based on cognitive functioning, but generated as part of the movememt of capital. Seeking to reform property relationships by demanding a reform in how products and services are distributed based on property relations contains an anti-capitalist kernal. The bourgeoisie and bourgeois politicians seek to steer reforms movements away from realizing there proclaimed goal. I absolutely agree that the problem of the hidden agenda is by no means limited to the sectarianism of "the left." When the sectarianism of the "left" is combined with the fundamental strategy of the bourgeois politician to steer a movement away from its goal, disorganization of the movement occurs. By law system is infered the a set of prinicples that describe the motion of capital and society. One such prinicple is the famous quote of Marx from the Preface to a Critique . . . . One of the things I never did as a union representative is try and explain the law system of capital in say - a union meeting. On the other hand from time to time I would sell a person the Communist Manifesto or distribute whatever newspapers were available which contained the "big picture." The question of water was used because this is a current struggle brewing in Detroit and small cities like Highland Park. Detroit has one of the better water system in the country, has just raides the price of water for the citizens and is planning a program of bottling water for sell throughout the country. The issue that is emerging is the price of water. The "big picture" would of course help to arm the leaders of the movment with a clear picture of "why." I would organized poeple - through meetings with the local government secure names and phones number for future organization, on the basis of the price of water. The old saying "science knows, art does" is one of my guilding prinicples. Organizing requires art and skill, which oftern includes preparing an agenda, securing the meeting place and ensuring the meeting stays centered on its goals as well as allocting time for people to intermingle and "chemically" mix. "Science" has taught me that a process has to be driven to its completion before transformation is possible. The water movement in my area is just beginning to grip the thinking of people to be driven into an organizational form. The leaders of these organizations will be the people who take part in creating a form of active togetherness - organization. The big picture cannot be surrendered by leaders who possess the big picture. In this respect this mail line is great in maintaining thinking in the big picture. I do think it is appropriate to state that the focus of our problem is human needs, the distriubtion of products and services based on needs and that the rights of property cannot come before human needs. I call this modern communism, without ideology.
