RE: [Marxism] Some comments on Stan Goff's post

[Joaquín Bustelo <jbustelo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Josh writes, "Your [Joaquin's] arguments make sense but I am still not
convinced that focusing on left regroupment in the absence of the growth
of a significant social movement can be fruitful." 

Obviously this would be a million times EASIER in the midst of an
upsurge in activism that brought together various groups that turned out
to have similar or complementary approaches. And obviously I would agree
that "those of us who are active should spend our time trying to find
ways to be successful," unless you were to interpret that to say "should
spend *all* our time *exclusively* trying to find ways to be successful"
to the exclusion of, for example, socialist education and so on. 

Still, I think it is important that people adopt a position in favor of
creating a united revolutionary socialist left and do propaganda around
thus perspective. Not exclusively regroupment although regroupment is
likely to be a part of it. But another big part of it is
"transformation" of the left, which I find it easiest to think of as a
"recomposition" of the left, in the direction of Blacker, more Latino,
younger, more female, etc. The issue isn't "diversity" but empowerment
and the need for the revolutionary left to approach issues "from below,"
from the standpoint and position in society of the most oppressed and
exploited. What in the bad old SWP says I used to call a "proletarian
orientation."

And from that angle what you're doing by immersing yourself in
organizing among immigrants is, I think, an important part of building a
united socialist left for the 21st Century. I don't view this kind of
work as at all counterposed to promoting the idea of revolutionary
socialist unity or thinking through how to rebuild the left into a
united and different kind of left, but on the contrary as essential to
it.

Joaquín


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