Re: [Marxism] Comments by Steve Bloom on the Million Worker March

[andrew c pollack <andypollack@xxxxxxxx>]

This is exactly what I would have expected. On the one hand, Steve takes
his usual principled stand without denying possible limitations of the
phenomenon under discussion -- but instead sees them as limitations to be
overcome by more energetic and comradely participation. On the other hand
(and I admit it's second-hand), there apparently is already a search for
excuses by others in Solidarity for not having built the MWM and, what's
worse, for not building its continuation.

I am sure there's also an element of defensive guilt at the fact that a
group which has (or at least had until recently) more rank-and-file labor
contacts than any other on the left, didn't pull this off; guilt which
will be compounded by rationalizations for continuing to ignore the MWM's
potential.  Yet since its founding in 1979, Solidarity and its
precursors, through LN and its surrounding circle of opposition caucuses,
could at any time have easily pulled off such an event, could have
initiated nationwide strike solidarity around any of the landmark strikes
during that period, could have become the leading force in the Labor
Party, etc., etc. --had it only wanted to.

Instead, for instance, during a New York forum earlier this year on the
soCal grocery strike, two long-time leaders of this milieu sneered at my
suggestion that the strike proved the need for an organized labor left.

While building the MWM continuation, revolutionaries need to build a
cadre organization which SEEKS opportunities to take such initiatives, in
other words which seeks to lead.

On Wed, 27 Oct 2004 22:29:05 -0400 "Fred Feldman"
<ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
> I am enclosing here some comments, which I think are relevant and
> useful, by Steve Bloom.
[the rest from Steve]> What weight do we give to the problems?
 I get > the> feeling, however, that some comrades are not discussing in
that
> spirit,> in order to figure out how to participate most constructively.
They
> seem> to be weighing the problems in order to determine whether support

> is/was> warranted. That's the wrong approach, IMO.
> ... We should be behind it fully, mobilizing whatever
> resources> we can to help encourage this wing of the labor movement to
> continue> raising its voice, contributing as much as we can to helping
it's
> initiatives become successful.
>
>

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