(forwarded from Seattle Indymedia)
http://seattle.indymedia.org/en/2005/03/245269.shtml
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Why Isn't the Movement Against US Imperialism Stronger By Now?
author: Ira (Seattle) Mar 20, 2005 17:24
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One guy's view on what activists need to do to accelerate the
development of the anti-war movement.
When Iraq was invaded two years ago, activists had some optimism
that the movement against imperialist war would grow fast. After
all, weren't these demonstrations of gargantuan size attracting
militant young activists who, you'd imagine, might decide even at
this early phase of the struggle to dedicate their lives, as some
of us did in earlier eras, to radical social change?
It's not clear what has become of them. Do they suffer from
burnout (as many of us in the movement do from time to time)? Did
they assume that Saturday's marches and rally in Seattle wouldn't
be radical enough for them? I'm heartened that these events
actually occurred, but I for one was bummed that more than 5000
or so didn't show. You can't blame these low number on the rain,
not in this town. If we are to play a role in accelerating the
growth of this force, we'd better sort out what political views
we need to promote within it and what views we need to, frankly,
oppose.
One absolutely critical component to US imperialism's ever
expanding world empire is a docile population on the home front.
A movement that has enough power to be massively socially
disruptive poses an enormous impediment to the ruling class.
Here's my fantasy for Seattle, for example: imagine 20,000 to
50,000 people sitting down around the Federal Building for, oh,
say, a day or two in order to shut it down. Many of you who
witnessed the WTO protest here in 1999 know that this sort of
thing can actually be accomplished. The threat, or perhaps even
the inevitability, of this sort of event occurring is the reason
that there not yet a draft (at least officially). On the other
hand the piddling showing of people in the street on Saturday-not
just in Seattle but across the US-will allow imperialism to
reinstitute the draft that much sooner.
I believe the singular most important reason that demonstrations
are not more powerful by now is that activists largely still have
illusions in the possibility that ELECTORAL POLITICS can in any
way stay the hand of this death machine. Too many activists still
have the idea that America offers democracy for the working
people. Frankly, I'd bet that the working class on the whole
harbors fewer of such illusions, it's just that most of them have
no idea that they can actually do anything about the situation.
Activism is a foreign concept to most working people and to them
it is inconceivable at this point that they can play any role in
the world. They often don't bother voting since to them,
fortunately "politician" is still an obscenity.
What is the actual engine that drives social change? What causes
this government of the rich to concede that the working people
are suffering too much and life should be made a little better
for them? Some benevolent politician? History endlessly shows
that nothing is ever won in the class struggle without the
oppressed carrying out acts of mass action that lead to, or at
least threaten, SOCIAL DISRUPTION. Politicians are never the
source of such reform. The role of politicians in the US is to
divert the people from taking matters into their own hands.
The fact that the Democratic Party, now perhaps more explicitly
than ever before, shows itself to be a party of imperialism and
oppression allows many activists to understand that to rely on it
is pointless. However, there are innumerable political forces
within the movement which stand in the way of such activists
being able to promote politics and organization that is
independent of all this liberal bullshit. The leadership of such
organizations, whether consciously or unconsciously, promotes
views that keep activists tied to Democratic Party politics. The
leadership of SNOW, NION, ANSWER and others do nothing to
challenge the idea that electoral politics are an important
avenue of "struggle". Often this takes the form of the notion
that "well, everyone has to do what they are comfortable with.
Some of us work to provide spines to the politicians and other
work to build demonstrations". This pabulum serves to obscure the
truth that only the threat of social disruption via the mass
movement will have any effect on the plans of the warmongers. I'm
sorry to have to put it to the more liberal-minded activists that
only by ACTIVELY OPPOSING the notion that politicians are our
saviors will any positive motion in the political consciousness
of the activists occur.
What can activists do to go in the direction I'm describing? Key
is the existence of organizations of their own making that are
free to express their own views and, more importantly, free to
criticize the politics of other organizations within the movement
which serve to keep people confused. This is difficult for a
number of reasons. For example, various "radical" parties like
the FSP, SWP, SA waylay activists by convincing some that they
themselves have nothing to do with liberal politics. This too is
a fraud because although these parties might mouth off against
liberalism, their practice is always to AVOID ACTUALLY DOING
ANYTHING THAT PISSES OFF THE LIBERALS.
I know it was hard not to fall asleep while listening to all the
boring speakers at the Seattle Center rally on Saturday, but it
was clear to anyone whole listened carefully that it's not just
that these liberal coalitions promote means of struggle that are
ineffective. Even worse, under the guise of promoting "peace",
speakers often were promoting explicitly pro-imperialist views.
For instance, should the anti-imperialist movement in the US be
upset that US imperialism is ever more hated around the world for
its debacle in Iraq? The logic of many a speaker on Saturday
promoted orienting the anti-war movement around precisely this
view, that the invasion of Iraq was wrong because it caused the
US to lose credibility as a force for democracy. Again, only by
actively rejecting, even denouncing, these views can the movement
become strong.
When these coalitions are compelled to call the next round of big
demonstrations, activists should work to make them as big and as
powerful as possible. These feeder marches were a great way to
accomplish this since it allows some independent activity for
more radical groups and still allows them to link up with the
rest of the activists.
One key way to build up the effectiveness of such demonstrations
is to increase the degree to which WORKING PEOPLE participate in
them. It's exhilarating to go door-to-door leafleting in
working-class neighborhoods to invite them to these actions and
to discuss the issues. This is an amazing antidote to the media
propaganda that everybody out there loves Bush. No, people are
tremendously worried their kids could be drafted, that social
security is attempting to be dismantled, etc. They will take to
the street when they start to believe that their presence there
can effect change. You as activists can do a huge part in
convincing them of that. The more you believe that a Nader or a
McDermott is a force for change, the less effective you will be
in building this wonderful and thing we have before us into
something that wields genuine power.
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ok--so what's the next step to get organized?
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Posted by: Ben Seattle at Mar 22, 2005 00:16
I very much appreciate and agree with Ira's thoughtful comments
above. The antiwar movement will become more powerful as it turns
its back on liberal politics and the imperialist Democratic Party
and instead works to radicalize the masses and draw them into the
struggle to bring an end to the economic and political system of
imperialism.
The key question for me is:
How can we best assist this process?
A social strata (of liberal-labor politicians, trade union
bureaucrats, religious leaders, poverty pimps, media
personalities and "opinion leaders") in orbit around the
Democratic Party dominates the antiwar movement. Most of the
so-called "socialist" groups have made their peace with this
social strata and promote its influence. The result of this is
that activists who want to see the antiwar movement develop in
the direction of becoming independent of bourgeois politics --
are often isolated from other activists and from one another.
This isolation is not helped by the actions of the more radical
groups which have failed to recognize the need to create a
_community_ of activists which is centered around
anti-imperialist politics and which recognizes the need to be
independent of bourgeois influence.
What is the difference between a _community_ of activists and the
self-styled "socialist" or "communist" or "revolutionary"
organizations?
One key difference is that a genuine community of activists makes
no attempt to speak with a single voice on all issues but instead
recognizes the necessity of open (ie: public) discussion and
debate on all the most important issues of our time. Criticism
and opposing viewpoints concerning the way forward are not hidden
or suppressed -- but on the contrary remain in public archives
where they serve as guideposts to activists -- and help to prove
that the community is _real_ -- is something more than a cult
which imposes "groupthink" on itself in order to hold itself
together in the face of the overwhelming complexity of the needs
of the revolutionary movement.
The pof-200 email list represents an attempt to assist the
development of such a community of activists as described above.
The email list is open to anyone who wants to see a world without
imperialist war -- and a world that is not ruled by the
bourgeoisie (ie: the big-time capitalists who own the monopoly
corporations and the mass media and their flunky politicians from
all parties). The archives of the pof-200 list are public. All
subscribers have the right to post once per week (this limit is
necessary to maintain a useful signal-to-noise ratio). Activists
who go to antiwar demonstrations and marches (ie: as people who
generally are more committed to the movement and have a better
understanding of what is going on) have the right to post twice a
week.
Anyone can subscribe to the pof-200 list by sending a blank email
to [EMAIL PROTECTED] . More about the list and
the community which is beginning to emerge around it (including
the public archives, the associated wiki and a preliminary list
of proposed projects which compete with one another for attention
and support) can be found at http://MediaWeapon.com .
I invite Ira (and everyone who joins me in appreciation of his
comments) -- to join me and other activists on the pof-200 list.
If you liked Ira's comments you will probably like the pof-200
list.
Indymedia posts are great but the needs of thoughtful, long-term
discussion are often better served by an email list which (a)
encourages thoughtful posts and delivers them directly to your
inbox (minus the freeper spam) and (b) seeks to assist the
emergence of a critical mass of experienced and dedicated
activists who are serious about collectively overcoming our
ignorance and creating a movement that will rock the 21st
century.
Sincerely and revolutionary regards,
Ben Seattle
http://struggle.net/ben
Isolated from one another we are easily defeated.
Connected to one another no force on earth can stop us
http://MediaWeapon.com
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Join Ben and other activists in the Media Weapon community.
With an email list, wiki, competing projects and a community of
activists who engage one another with sincerity and respect.
Open to all activists who want to see the development of
a mass movement for the elimination of bourgeois rule
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