[Marxism] Fwd: Sectarian Delusions on the American Left » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == The ISO Versus Socialist Alternative Sectarian Delusions on the American Left by LOUIS PROYECT Another International Socialist Organization Internal Bulletin has been leaked to the public over on the External Bulletin website, home to a group of former members. It contains an article written by long-time leader Todd Chretien that targets Socialist Alternative (SAlt)—the group that is rightfully proud of their comrade Kshama Sawant being elected to the Seattle City Council and for her role in the passing of a $15 minimum wage. I have been partial to Chretien in the past because of his close ties to the late Peter Camejo, whose gubernatorial campaign in California he helped organize in 2003. I worked closely with Camejo in the early 80s and confess to having stolen all my best ideas from him. The ISO’s chief criticism of Socialist Alternative’s electoral strategy is that it is “triumphalist”, a musty term from the Marxist lexicon. Specifically, Chretien regards SAlt’s call for a hundred independent candidates to run in the 2014-midterm elections as an “overblown perspective”. In his view, her victory did not necessarily mean that political conditions had ripened to the point where such a large number of candidates would be forthcoming. Such “triumphalism” might even be catching–to the point where ISO’ers would be seduced into believing that it was feasible to form a new “broad” party in the near term, or that regroupment of the far left was the order of the day. Heaven forefend. full: http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/07/04/sectarian-delusions-on-the-american-left/ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
Re: [Marxism] Fwd: Sectarian Delusions on the American Left » CounterPunch: Tells the Facts, Names the Names
== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. == Well, there will be at least a hundred candidates running in the midterm elections running independent of the two capitalist parties. It is terribly difficult to speak with accuracy about the political situation, given the gross unevenness in consciousness in what is, after all a massive and complex country. Notwithstanding the impression one could get looking at media, the situation in very different on the coasts and across the vast expanse in the American interior. I don't mean this is the simplistic way that the coasts are more radical, though that's probably true in places, but in the sense of how well radicals might be prepared to field candidates. What should be done is to place Sawant on tour, particularly to those areas where we want to test the waters. Her victory certainly opened doors. The question remains who's ready to follow her through them. Perhaps sending Cretien to the same places might help to get both on the same page. ML ML Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
