I’ve been thinking about the third period a lot lately, specifically the end of the third period and the dawn of united fronts. Looking at the state of the left in the west, it seems like things have become fragmented to a point that even the best of us are confused about who to support or which orgs to join. What I’ve been thinking is that we ought to form a united front between all the various communist groups in any given country, but in my case specifically America. I don’t think we should work with liberals of any stripe at this moment, but I do think we should be able to let subtle differences between party lines fall by the wayside. This would allow us to spread our ideas a bit more broadly and represent ourselves at protests as a larger communist group. I think the ultimate goal would be something like the SED or the PSUV, but even something as light as an agreement to work together would be a huge step forward organizationally. I’m curious to know what your thoughts on the matter are.
I highly recommend reading “Left-Wing” Communism: an Infantile Disorder for some good insights into tactics the Bolsheviks used. It’s a great retrospective on what worked and why. Lenin’s position is that it is necessary to work with other groups without losing focus of what you’re trying to achieve in the process. These are alliances of convenience, and they should be upheld only as long as the interests align.
Pragmatism is key for success, and having a fractured and bickering left is not a great situation to be in. The right is well organized right now, and it’s ultimately funded by the billionaires. Koch brothers, FOX, Facebook, etc. All of them are recruiting and growing right wing networks. I think everybody on the left needs to recognize that as the primary and immediate threat.