Re: [Marxism] The DSP's fresh approach to applying democratic centralism

[Ozleft <Ozleft@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Jeff Richards:

>I find it amazing that a person with a deep interest in radical left 
>organizations has such a limited or no knowledge of such an important radical 
>left group in Australia!

Jeff, Tom was merely quoting part of the DSP minority's assessment:

"31. The urgent challenge facing the DSP is to replenish our aging and depleted 
cadre core. The revolutionary continuity and vitality of the DSP have rested, 
above all, on our ability to renew our cadre, primarily through Resistance. The 
priority of the DSP must be to rebuild Resistance, which is smaller and weaker 
today than at any time in the past three decades."

Earlier, it says:

"23. Five years of us persisting with a mistaken party-building perspective 
have weakened the DSP politically and organizationally, whether measured in 
absolute terms – the decline over this period in membership, Resistance and 
/Green Left Weekly/ distribution, the closure of DSP branches (Darwin, Lismore) 
and offices, recurring financial crises, suspending publication of Links 
magazine, the publication of fewer books and pamphlets, the loss of so many 
experienced DSP comrades – or in relation to some other left forces, to which 
we have ceded initiative or which have grown in size and/or influence at our 
expense."

There are always young people around left organisations. The question is how 
long they stay. Penny Wong, the new climate change minister in the Rudd 
government, apparently hung around Resistance for a while, as did Paul Howes, 
the new leader of the AWU 
http://www.awu.net.au/national/news/1196106349_25997.html . I understand Paul 
was around for long enough, and considered promising enough, to be sent to 
France to work with the LCR for a while.

Ed Lewis





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