Not taking away from anything you said, but please look at my earlier post: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/5334 Problematic leadership doesn’t necessarily mean PSL on the ground isn’t a valid and worthwhile organization, but just wondering if you were familiar with this. I am saying this as somebody who still pays DSA dues.
This demand for pure perfection is ridiculous amongst some comrades that are turned off organisations due to whatever problematic feature is in them.
“We are not utopians, we do not “dream” of dispensing at once with all administration, with all subordination. These anarchist dreams, based upon incomprehension of the tasks of the proletarian dictatorship, are totally alien to Marxism, and, as a matter of fact, serve only to postpone the socialist revolution until people are different. No, we want the socialist revolution with people as they are now, with people who cannot dispense with subordination, control, and “foremen and accountants”.”
― Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, The State and Revolution
These deficiencies could be corrected if enough decent comrades joined and became active.
That article is constantly reposted to try and smear PSL from an ultra-left standpoint and PSL members are constantly having shoot it down.
The view that PSL is “tainted” because someone’s day job is working on a podcast is really reaching. Loud and Clear isn’t a PSL podcast, PSL has no ties to it; it’s not a PSL-sponsored publication of any sort, it’s not even Marxist. It’s simply Comrade Becker’s job. Whenever a guest espouses reactionary views or even the main host, Becker calls them out on it. He’s simply using the platform he’s been given to hopefully give a more Marxist opinion on current-day events, push anti-imperialism, etc.
He’s been organizing for a while, there’s no doubt what his intentions and views are. Cancelling Marxists with a huge history of being dedicated communists because they work in reactionary environments is just counter-productive. It’s obviously not a 1:1 example, but working in reactionary environments is a must to continue to spread class consciousness and an ML viewpoint.
PSL has had their media arsenal grow now to include BreakThrough News alongside Liberation News, which is a direct PSL publication and supports the party’s line.
I think I’ve already brought up Prysner, if not here them somewhere, so the tl;dr is that there’s a huge gulf in class makeup between military and police. The military disgustingly preys heavily on vulnerable communities, especially PoC & minorities, with promises of a place to fit in the world, money, education, etc. So they get shipped off to serve the empire with a ton coming back with mental health issues and jaded. Revolutions are successful with military defectors and parts of that arm siding with the proletariat.
Now as for the “army brat,” the kids who go to military academies, and the ones that join to be “patriotic,” those are completely different.
For the other, I haven’t heard much of Ramsey Clark. He looks like he was a more “progressive” cog in the machine for a bit, but being head of the Justice Department is very far removed from the CIA, who are known to be very secretive and don’t divulge to anyone who isn’t in with them. He’s not a party member so not much more I can say, but he could’ve been a pipline to Becker becoming more radicalized. Becker’s been communist since like the early 90s, maybe the 80s idk. There’s nothing that portrays him as anything other than a dedicated revolutionary.
Remember, the vast majority of people, even with reactionary pasts, can be turned to communism. Some are hopeless cases (looking at you, fascists) that are 100% our enemies, but most people aren’t born and grow up with spotless records. It’s not making excuses for people, just reality. Like any proper ML party, if a member isn’t trusted, they won’t be voted to positions of power unless the party’s already on the road to opportunism (i.e. Bolsheviks post-Stalin). Nothing about the PSL hints that it’s on that road, so I just want my online comrades to know what’s up.
Not taking away from anything you said, but please look at my earlier post: https://lemmygrad.ml/post/5334 Problematic leadership doesn’t necessarily mean PSL on the ground isn’t a valid and worthwhile organization, but just wondering if you were familiar with this. I am saying this as somebody who still pays DSA dues.
Literally every org has problematic leadership.
This demand for pure perfection is ridiculous amongst some comrades that are turned off organisations due to whatever problematic feature is in them.
These deficiencies could be corrected if enough decent comrades joined and became active.
That article is constantly reposted to try and smear PSL from an ultra-left standpoint and PSL members are constantly having shoot it down.
The view that PSL is “tainted” because someone’s day job is working on a podcast is really reaching. Loud and Clear isn’t a PSL podcast, PSL has no ties to it; it’s not a PSL-sponsored publication of any sort, it’s not even Marxist. It’s simply Comrade Becker’s job. Whenever a guest espouses reactionary views or even the main host, Becker calls them out on it. He’s simply using the platform he’s been given to hopefully give a more Marxist opinion on current-day events, push anti-imperialism, etc.
He’s been organizing for a while, there’s no doubt what his intentions and views are. Cancelling Marxists with a huge history of being dedicated communists because they work in reactionary environments is just counter-productive. It’s obviously not a 1:1 example, but working in reactionary environments is a must to continue to spread class consciousness and an ML viewpoint.
PSL has had their media arsenal grow now to include BreakThrough News alongside Liberation News, which is a direct PSL publication and supports the party’s line.
deleted by creator
I think I’ve already brought up Prysner, if not here them somewhere, so the tl;dr is that there’s a huge gulf in class makeup between military and police. The military disgustingly preys heavily on vulnerable communities, especially PoC & minorities, with promises of a place to fit in the world, money, education, etc. So they get shipped off to serve the empire with a ton coming back with mental health issues and jaded. Revolutions are successful with military defectors and parts of that arm siding with the proletariat.
Now as for the “army brat,” the kids who go to military academies, and the ones that join to be “patriotic,” those are completely different.
For the other, I haven’t heard much of Ramsey Clark. He looks like he was a more “progressive” cog in the machine for a bit, but being head of the Justice Department is very far removed from the CIA, who are known to be very secretive and don’t divulge to anyone who isn’t in with them. He’s not a party member so not much more I can say, but he could’ve been a pipline to Becker becoming more radicalized. Becker’s been communist since like the early 90s, maybe the 80s idk. There’s nothing that portrays him as anything other than a dedicated revolutionary.
Remember, the vast majority of people, even with reactionary pasts, can be turned to communism. Some are hopeless cases (looking at you, fascists) that are 100% our enemies, but most people aren’t born and grow up with spotless records. It’s not making excuses for people, just reality. Like any proper ML party, if a member isn’t trusted, they won’t be voted to positions of power unless the party’s already on the road to opportunism (i.e. Bolsheviks post-Stalin). Nothing about the PSL hints that it’s on that road, so I just want my online comrades to know what’s up.