[Marxism] Re: ISO's unfortunate reply to Stan Goff

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well, I am becoming convinced by the discussion that ISO has basically
been overreacting politically to a very simple practical problem.

The sale of newspapers at organizational meetings of the MFSO, as
opposed to mass demonstrations,etc..  Yes, especially for people new to
the activity, this can be an alarming experience.  And if there are
groups of people selling at a small organizational meeting, this can be
alarming. Getting to know new participants should not usually begin with
sticking a newspaper in their face.  Raising your ideas in relevant ways
as part of normal conversation is the way to start in that environment.

There may be other exclusionary problems that may be developing in the
antiwar movement. But Stan convinces me that this issue is not one of
them.

There are now two de facto exclusionary coalitions in the antiwar
movement, both having a fundamentally sectarian character in their
approach to building a mass movement.  This is fertile ground for
unnecessary conflicts.

The Workers' World May Day demonstration, which was supported by the
International Action Center, and various IAC-sponsored coalitions, was,
at a positive stretch, about 1,000 at most.
And it was not an antiwar protest, although it was antiwar among many
other things.  The main slogan was to revive May Day as a workers'
holiday in the United States, something unlikely to happen before a real
movement of the working class against capitalism develops.

The main antiwar demonstration, despite its obvious limits, was the
nuclear disarmament march sponsored by UFPJ, which the media credited
with 10,000 people and the organizers said 40,000.

I was at the May Day event but I wish I had been at the other one.  Of
course, it was I am sure very, very politically imperfect.  Right now, I
dislike slogans for universal nuclear disarmament that do not focus
sharply on the United States.  If the road to nuclear disarmament is to
open today (I don't know if that is possible but that's another
question), it can only be opened by demonstrative and unilateral
disarmament actions by the United States, the world's dominant and still
rapidly growing nuclear power.

I don't want any part of demands directed at North Korea, Iran, Brazil,
China, Pakistan and India today.  The road to nuclear disarmament begins
where nuclear armament began: in the United States.  Without that the
argument for nuclear disarmament are bound to seem extremely
underwhelming to Russians, North Koreans, Chinese, Iranians, or anybody
else.

The UFPJ demo, however, was probably considerably better in spirit.  I
am sure that most participants directed their dissent and anger at
Washington.

For me, going to the May Day action signaled that I had been diverted
from where high school and college students were gathering to a
basically left-socialist event and gathering.  I am sure there were some
workers there and rank and file activists, but the basic character was a
communist May Day celebration..

I have to keep my ear much closer to the ground to get which of the two
antiwar centers is building the real mass-based protest action.  On
March 19 in NYC, it was definitely the WW-IAC center.  On May 1, it was
the UFPJ.

You can't base judgement on general assessments: the WW-IAC center is
left-sectarian (true) or the UFPJ is oriented to the Democratic Party
(true) and neither of them full gets the central need of a broad fight
centered on the occupation of Iraq (true).

Its important to maintain contact with both centers, and not write
either off until the movement is strong enough to come up with something
better.
Fred Feldman


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