( forwarded from the pof-300 list ) -----Original Message----- From: Ben Seattle Sent: Tuesday, April 26, 2005 11:37 AM To: 'pof-300' Subject: [pof-300] Re: clarifying my thoughts on the party and the internet (reply to DJ)
Hi DJ and Marik, I am replying on pof-300 because I have used up my two posts for the week on pof-200. -- DJ -- April 26: > Thank you Marik for your email. I wasn't clear > enough on the role of the internet in building > the revolutionary party. I agree with many aspects > of Ben's idea, but the central disagreement is that > I think the primary goal should be to build the > revolutionary party, whereas he thinks the primary > goal should be to build a democratical online news > site and to create a community of activists. Ben replies: I will clarify also: like DJ, my primary goal is also the creation of a mass revolutionary party. My difference with DJ concerns how we will create this party. How will we gather the activists who will be part of this organization? How will we train and test these activists? My difference with DJ (I think) is as follows: DJ appears to think we can best gather activists by being part of a small, tightly focused organization that tends to keep secret the disagreements between its members. I believe that we can best gather activists by casting a much wider net -- and creating an open and politically transparent community focused on key projects that are focused around the concept of "information war". The most important of these projects will be a democratic online news service fueled by the energy of the masses. Specific working groups (and the masses themselves) will gather information from many sources -- and filter and sort articles and comments -- to create a powerful and compelling news site with systematic coverage of everything that is important (ie: as opposed to the anemic collection of articles and posts contributed mostly at random on the mostly reformist-controlled Indymedia sites). The analogy that comes most strongly to mind is the creation of stars. Stars condense out of vast clouds of dust and gas. But this process cannot take place until there is a sufficient amount of material in sufficiently close proximity (ie: sufficent matter at sufficent density). I believe that the mass revolutionary party of the future will condense out of a community of activists who have many opportunities to know one another and work with one another in self-organizing ways. This means that, within this community, different projects and philosophies will need to openly compete with one another -- without this work necessarily being directed by a single controlling center that believes it knows everything and which completely controls the flow of information and attention. DJ argues that his small, closed organization will "intervene in the class struggle". And DJ is correct that this is necessary. But it is not enough. In the period since the founding of the Communist Party USA in 1919 there have been many dozens, if not hundreds, of organizations that have intervened in the class struggle with the idea that they would help create a mass revolutionary party capable of effectively leading and organizing the struggle of the working class. Out of all of these organizations -- few are left -- and the few that are left are infected by the reformist and sectarian diseases and are badly disoriented. The community that we create will also intervene in the class struggle -- but it will do so in a more open and transparent way than that which DJ advocates. For example: when we distribute leaflets -- we will place them on the web and encourage activists to post public comments, questions and criticisms. And just as we will intervene in the struggle of the masses -- the mass of activists will also intervene in our intervention -- by challenging or questioning us publicly. The discussion and debate that results will speed up the metabolism of ideas -- will help us to effectively combat the reformist and sectarian diseases -- and will draw the attention of increasing numbers of activists to our work. > I agree that the Internet is an awesome tool, and > that a democratic online news site could possible > do a lot for the development of a revolutionary > organization. For one, I think it's most likely that > a revolutionary party will be the one to create such > a site, as every other party's interest is to hinder > the site in some way for their own gain. (This is > just an extension of the principle that only > revolutionaries consistenly fight for reforms--and > that site is a democratic reform.) A smaller group, > such as this one, will be unable to technologically > create the site probably, and if that hurdle is passed, > such a site faces various other obstacles such as > not being known or being sabotaged by bourgeois > forces. What will catapult the site past these > hurdles? An upsurge in the class struggle. I believe that conditions exist _today_ for the victory of such a site. There are certainly technological and political obstacles. But these obstacles can all be overcome given the existence of a community of activists which is focused on victory and determined to make this happen. If we study the successes and failures of the various Indymedia projects -- we can conclude that a large amount of "raw material" (ie: technical geeks who want to help out -- and activists who would like to find or write articles and help rate and filter the mass of articles and comments) is avaialable. > A democratic online news site could be a great > tool for revolutionary activists to use, but it is one > that I don't think will be created (or become more > well known and used outside the current circle of > mostly middle class activists) before an upsurge > in the class struggle comes. I disagree. I believe that the time is fully ripe today. We don't need to wait for an upsurge. Hundreds of thousands of activists are thirsty for something better than Indymedia or Infoshop. Thousands of activists would like to help make this a reality. Millions of activists and potential activists need to know that reformist politics are a dead end and that a world without bourgeois rule is both possible and necessary. The time to work on this -- is today. > Further, even if such a site could be created, it > would only facilitate the tasks of the revolutionary > party, not displace them. This is half true. The work of Lenin's Bolshevik party might have possible without printed leaflets, newspapers and pamphlets -- but it would certainly have been much slower. The modern equivalent of that is a democratic online news service. > A revolutionary party is the organizational > embodiement of advanced consciousness that > consciously intervenes in the class struggle. True. > Consciousness is key here. Also true. > An online news site can be a tool for > developing consciousness, but that is all. Didn't you just say that consciousness is key? > To place the building of an online news site > (and a community of activists around it) > either obfuscates or denigrates the fight for > revolutionary consciousness. Not true. An online news site and a community of activists which is centered around revolutionary politics will raise the consciousness of hundreds of thousands of activists and speed up the day when they create a mass revolutionary party. > Class consciousness is not gained by step > by step movements to the left, but by a decisive > break from reformist consciousness, by a process > of abstraction that sees throws the various > mystifications of capitalism--it is a conscious act. > This conscious act is achieved by the fight for > revolutionary consciousness, by counterposing > revolutionary consciousness to spontaneous militancy: > by the means of the fight for the revolutionary program > by the revolutionary party. The most democratic > organization in the world--including an online > encompassing millions--can only facilitate this > process, it cannot achieve it spontaneously, as it is > a conscious process that is necessary. The Soviets > --being mass organizations of workers--are superior > in some ways to Ben's idea, yet they did not > spontaneously come over to revolutionary > consciousness and the revolutionary party--that > had to be consciously fought for by the Bolsheviks. > By placing the need to create an e-soviet before > creating a revolutionary party, Ben sets up the > working class for defeat. DJ's comments above are mostly just words. DJ appears to oppose, today, the conscious acts which are decisive to raise the consciousness of hundreds of thousands of activists. DJ appears to be convinced that a community of activists which is (a) focused on the overthrow of bourgeois rule and (b) creating a democratic online news service for this purpose -- will not be able to break from reformist ideas or to overcome the limitations of spontaneous, individual actions. It is true that breaking from reformist ideas is a very complex and protracted process that requires the intervention of activists who are organized and armed with advanced revolutionary theory. My argument is that this process will be accelerated by the development of a community focused as descibed above. There are many activists who understand the need to fight reformism (such as, for example, the supporters of the nearly identical CVO and LRP organizations). Many of these activists are isolated from the rest of the movement and from one another (because their organizations are barely on speaking terms with one another -- and typically only see one another as bitter opponents). The development of a focused community will help to change all this. As militant activists gather and create open projects that are deserving of attention -- the small anti-reformist groups (which all imagine that they are the reincarnation of Lenin's bolsheviks) will be compelled to become involved (in order to assist the struggle against reformism -- and also to recruit -- and also to maintain credibility with their own supporters). In this process many of the sectarian barriers between these organizations will be broken down. In an information-rich environment characterized by the rapid metabolism of ideas -- the energy and enthusiams of these activists will find much greater outlet for expression. 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> DonorsChoose. A simple way to provide underprivileged children resources often lacking in public schools. Fund a student project in NYC/NC today! http://us.click.yahoo.com/EHLuJD/.WnJAA/cUmLAA/XgSolB/TM ----------------------------------------------------------------- ---~-> Yahoo! Groups Links ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Has someone you know been affected by illness or disease? Network for Good is THE place to support health awareness efforts! http://us.click.yahoo.com/RzSHvD/UOnJAA/79vVAA/B140lB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> (This is not a discussion list--the discussion list is pof-200) THEORIST LIST -------------- To unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Archive: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theorist/messages Info: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theorist/ POF-200 ------- home page:��� http://groups.yahoo.com/group/pof-200/ to subscribe:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/theorist/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
