Feedback on Maya's post

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I crossposted Maya's comments on Jason Schulman's ISO article to Jim Hurd's
Left-Unity mailing list where it first appeared. Here is an interesting
response:

Dear Louis:

I have read your email messages for years, but never replied.  I do
appreciate your thoughtful perspectives.  I believe I actually met you
years ago in NYC, before I moved out to Oakland in the mid 1980's.

I'm most interested in finding ways to weave the ISO into the movement.
We have actually had some small success at this in Oakland around
protesting the welfare cuts.  The local ISO branch joined an alliance
initiated by the Oakland/Berkeley chapter of the CofC called People for
Bread, Work & Justice (PBW&J).  PBW&J had quite a number of marxist,
socialist, and community groups in it who joined together to organize
local protests.  We actually even won some small increases in the amount
of GA paid by the County.

It was not easy working with the ISO, they initially tried to carve out
a  pole for themselves within the alliance fro which to recruit from.
However, they were unable to seize upon an issue.  PBW&J held to strict
but informal democratic proceedures and the ISO reps eventually grew to
trust some of the leadership of PBW&J, which was far more rooted in the
community than they.

The ISO pretty much did its own mobilization for PBW&J actions, but they
were not disruptive.  In the end, I think we made a pretty big
impression on the ISO reps, incidently, I don't think either is in ISO
any more.

Anyway, my point is that we have to find ways to work productively with
groups like the ISO.  That's our real challenge.  It takes good
strategic planning for movement building, a truly anti-sectarian
approach, adherance to democratic decision-making, and a combination of
patience and firmness.  (The Oakland/Berkeley CofC went out of its way
to include ISO and many other left groups in PBW&J.) It ain't easy, but
contrary to many who think that groups like ISO are irrelevant to
building either the movements or the left, I happen to think that
developing new ways for left groups to relate more productively with
each other is a pre-condition to galvanizing a greater base in the U.S.
for the left as a whole.

In solidarity,
Jonathan Nack

Louis Proyect
Marxism mailing list: (http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)