So, I was glossing over some of the PSL and CPUSA platforms and I was kind of disappointed. Not by anything that they have said that is wrong, but that it is not ambitious. CPUSA has $15 minimum wage and PSL is focused on anti-war and anti-capitalism. This are wonderful things that are materially based and would help so many people, but I have always felt it is missing something. What I have come up with is that it fails to capture people’s imagination. The vision should be front and center of any campaign.

Think about it: America offers(its its racist way) a dream, a nation, “e plurbus unum” and all this like mythology around itself as a bastion of freedom and democracy. This is totally false and manipulative, however, it is good at capturing the imagination.

We may call for a revolution; we may be too good at pointing out the flaws, but what do we propose to the average American? What do we offer them in exchange for their struggle against the hand that “feeds” them? $15 minimum wage? A 30hr workweek? That’s if we succeed at taking over the government? I don’t think the average Joe is captivated by this enough to upend everything they know…

Thus, we must really think about what could get an American to fight for their freedom. Xi, has called on us as Marxists to develop socialism for our nations. That is why I think there should be a key point in changing and appealing to the American mind.

1: land reform. From Republicans to Democrats, everyone in America is deeply aware that the American dream is being taken away by Black Rock and their ilk. The richest of the rich have forsaken the hard-working American from the right to own a home. I call it Land and Liberty. Any communist party that wants to appeal to average Americans can through the access and rights to land. This is a perfect opportunity to appeal to, eventually, living up to the promise of 40 acres and a mule(change this to maybe 4acres and a tractor or something) to black people. Anyone that can prove a slave past, they can get land. We need to think out the details.

2 capitalism: I think in America and others, capitalism will be a big part of any platform. We cannot just abolish capitalism in the heart of capitalism, at least mom and pop stores, those are a key subject to the American identity. At least full unionization to all who want to be part of one. Maybe even a natl, general Union.

3: Right to work: no one likes being homeless, no one likes seeing homeless people everywhere, therefore, the right to competitively paid work and mental health care shall be a right to anyone who seeks it and is of age.

4: Immigration: I’m an immigrant in the imperial core, yet as much as it pains me, I know most Americans really don’t like immigrants. That’s a cultural thing that will take time to change. But we had a brasero program, where seasonal workers could freely walk the border to work legally. Something similar should be proposed to solve the “problem” of immigration. Legalize all that are undocumented, and provide more and faster options for immigrants. From what I’ve noticed, Americans just want people to follow the rules, Americans are just dumb about how insane and racist the rules are.

Anyway, these are just some ideas, maybe some are bad, maybe all of them, lol. But take them as a brainstorming session of really making socialism work in America. We have to give something to fight for, and we can’t pretend that we can sell the American on the Soviet model. We have to make a socialism for the United States(honestly changing the official name to just the US would be a great step). We also have to acknowledge and meet people where they’re at, otherwise we would be adventurists. Work out all the details.

Tl;dr use your imagination Goddamn it! Give the Americans something ambitious to fight for and be realistic. We’re dealing with some ignorant and reactionary people, but as workers, they have concerns and beliefs that unify them. Appeal to those to sell them on socialism.

  • savoy
    51·
    2 years ago

    1. Conjecture on the future is not a Marxist way of thinking. There’s a reason Marx & Engels didn’t come up with fabulous ideas of what communism would be. Dialectical materialism looks at the ebb and flow of history and its effects. Just as Marx didn’t expand on what the future could hold in store in riveting detail, the same is for the PSL. The focus is on the current oppression of the masses and the means of achieving working class unity to strike down our oppressors.

    2. Nowhere does the PSL abscribe to the utopian ideal of “now that we won the revolution, socialism is enacted”. The party is premised on the actuality of socialist revolution in the US and the program hits the high points of what will be important to tackle in the next step, not that revolution will create some socialist utopia and capitalism is forever abolished. There is plenty of detailed analyses straight from the education organ of the party that further breaks down Marxist theory in the frame of a Leninist party organizing in the imperial core.

    3. The program isn’t vague, it’s not up to a Marxist party to dictate what an oppressed nations reparations will be, nor how a post-revolution society will look like. It is not a material analysis, and dictating exact descriptions of how a socialist US will be is utopian, just as Marx and Lenin never gave concrete details that “socialism means X and therefore Y”. There is also no existing example of what reparations would look like, it would have to be discussed at that point between the party and the oppressed nations themselves speaking for themselves. Enabling “what ifs” and conjecture is immaterial analysis and does nothing but give armchair “communists” talking points to bicker over.

    There are infinite explanations of what could happen, how things can be implemented, and what to avoid. Organizing is difficult, made even more so with now powerful bourgeois hegemony is in the imperial core. Learning how to organize, how to talk to the masses, how to radicalize our fellow workers, is of vital importance to build our power.

    In my years of organizing, not once has someone asked for detailed implementation instructions for how a socialist government will work in detail. We are not at the point of detailing policy, we’re at the point of reaching out to the masses and radicalizing. The why and how of bourgeois class oppression is what we need to focus on and it’s what the people need to realize and how to fight back.

    In-depth analysis and discussion on policies and the future socialist government is meant for in-party discussion. If you’re outreaching in your community and someone wants to know details on the future, it’d be up to you as a dedicated communist and knowledgeable party member to answer based off discussion and organizing within the party. But our job is to radicalize and get people to realize that capitalism is the disease and socialism is the future!

    • SamubaiOP
      4·
      2 years ago

      Unity, criticism, unity.

      One of the things I find missing in the PSL platform is the lack of acknowledgment of the giant elephant in the room: WASPs. Whether we readily admit this or not, the white, Anglo community is still about 50% of the population in America. We still have to appeal to them(unfortunately). What they’re willing to concede is not what we as socialists or natives or black folks or immigrants are willing to concede. They do not see us on their side, they see us as wanting to destroy what they have “created”(gross). How will they see themselves benefitted by our taking of power? They will not join otherwise. If not actively try to kill us. Lol. I believe we can appeal to most workers in US. Socialism can create a win win situation.

      To provide concrete answers to concrete problems is all I’m asking for. Not conjecture about the future, but tangible, realistic solutions to current situations. I’m not entirely understanding your point of departure from this request. This doesn’t require any more conjecture than the Green New Deal.

      I also have years of experience organizing, and have founded orgs before, but this isn’t always an obvious fact that can be extracted from a bugs bunny dressed up as Stalin pfp.

      I find it hard to imagine no one has ever asked you a specific question about implementing policies we are for as socialists. This happened nearly every time my org organized a tabling event.

      “We are not at the point of detailing policy, we’re at the point of reaching out to the masses and radicalizing”

      I respectfully disagree with you. These are not mutually exclusive. It isn’t adventurism since the premise is that we should think and propose options that can be consented to by the masses today. We must be developing a socialism that is in line with where the masses are today.

      This is a radicalizing point; reaching out to the people with a realistic and well-thought out plan. Not only that, but having the policies necessary to provide the change we promise. The details may change. However, there is no reason this fact should prevent us MLs from actively thinking of detailed, materially viable solutions to the problems at hand. It is precisely because we can come up with infinite amount of solutions that we must provide at least a few well thought-out policy priorities that can be consented to by the people. If we can’t hope to provide solutions for today and tomorrow, what business do we have seeking power? Where is our confidence?

      If we have a strong foundation in the details of our policy proposals, most pushback can be resolved. How many times have you heard the tired argument of “how are we gonna pay for free college?!” If we aren’t demsocs, we’re going to provide, non-capitalistic solutions about socialized education programs. The work has already been done. We might stop hearing this answer if we provided the details. We can’t just rely on platitudes like “we’ll take it from the military budget!” Yes, and?

      “The focus is on the current oppression of the masses and the means of achieving working class unity to strike down our oppressors.”

      We do not disagree. But aren’t the conditions for a revolution inevitable to arise? Shouldn’t we be prepared for that and what will happen? I don’t think the hardest part of socialism is the revolution. The hardest part of the revolution is keeping it.

      “it’s not up to a Marxist party to dictate what an oppressed nations reparations will be“

      Good to recognize this, but if not the party, then who? I’m not being rhetorical. The difference between a socialist party in power and the bourgeois democracy is that the socialists will not just talk about reparations, the promise is the implementation. Otherwise why would the masses trust us? Anger and hatred to the oppressor, pointing out how shitty prole’s lives are? No. I say they will trust us because we provide the solutions to their oppression.