Some leftist over here consider our party to not be fully marxist/leftist whatever.
Now, would I say our party (PVDA/PTB) is perfect? No. Would I say it is the furthest an actual marxist party would go in my country? Yes. Is it therefore the best party I could join and become active in? Probably.
I participate in a lot of discussion within the party. I’m openly ML. I have my own views and the official party line doesn’t always support it. Nonetheless it is the party I see the most potential in to make actual change.
It made me think. What would you consider the bottom line for joining a party?
Side note: going to sleep now, will read replies next morning.
4 must-haves for being bloody Marxist (for me at least):
- Anti-capitalism (Marxists being anticaps is like the morning sky being blue)
- Anti-imperialism (kinda cringe invading other nations and taking over established societies)
- Anti-discrimination (Workers of the world unite and all that shit. Kinda contradictory if you start excluding workers not being white or straight)
- Pro-workng class (If you aren’t, what the shit are you doing as a Marxist)
Anti-imperialism and anti-capitalism are a must. You can be either without being Marxist but you can’t be Marxist without being both. In addition the world view of a Marxist must be informed by dialectical materialism.
being genuinely anti-imperialist, and not focusing on electoralism
In addition to what others have said, no chauvinism of any kind. No transphobia, no American flag waving, etc.
I know that as an American there isn’t going to be a political party that’ll come close to what I’d want to fully see in a party. In the end if a party is Marxist in foundation, progressive in values, and is active in protests, I’d absolutely join.
If you haven’t yet id check to see of there is a local PSL chapter
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No focusing on electoralism and bourgeois democracy. If a party that calls itself “marxist” tells people to vote that’s a huge red flag.
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Anti-Imperialism and Anti-Capitalism are an absolute must. If a “marxist” party doesn’t recognize that capital is our common enemy and must be destroyed then they’re a lost cause.
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Revolutionary. A marxist party has to recognize that socialism can only be achieved via overthrowing the capitalist ruling class and implementing a dictatorship of the proletariat.
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No Anti-AES propaganda (examples: siding with the Anti-China narrative on Xinjiang or Africa, saying the DPRK is a monarchy where people have no “freedoms”, etc.). A marxist party should recognize AES countries for what they are, as any marxist should.
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No Imperialist/CIA propaganda (examples: Putin is richest man and has a mansion the size of a village, Putin suddenly invaded a peaceful nation for no reason, Stalin was a gruesome tyrant/dictator who caused a famine, Lenin was a mass murderer, etc. )
Though I very much understand the sentiment, I would disagree with the reluctance to participate in bourgeois democracy. This is because there are significant short term consequences for the lives of marginalized groups (take for example, trans people in the United States). Therefore, until revolution is a reality, advocating for harm reduction is sensible.
That, and it can be beneficial to your party as well. Getting elected in Parliament meant an extra 1 to 2 million a year in party budget. You can do a lot of stuff with that (like running free healthcare clinics)
If bourgeois democracy is used as a tool by the party to reach and educate the working masses and grow the party then I can agree with that. What I originally meant was a marxist party obeying by bourgeois rules, to the point where the main focus becomes electoralism and everything else gets pushed to the side, loosing sight of its original goals and loosing the revolutionary spirit. Essentially taming the party and putting a leash on it, if that makes sense.
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As well as what others have said, it needs to practice criticism and self-criticism and apply class analysis properly. This is, I admit, essentially rewording what others have said, so not really an addition.
I think you’re right to go with the party that has some chance of making change. So long as/especially if they accept you as an ML. So many ‘broad church’ organisations keep the MLs in the tool shed next to the cemetery.
The left in most of the west is basically nonexistent. If you read Lenin you see him talking about this party or that paper and this politician and that idea. Even though he had lots to criticise, at least there was something to criticise. Not every organisation will get it right. But we need a selection of groups trying to do it right. The ones that get it wrong can be praised for the attempt and one will eventually breakthrough. Instead there are lots of community groups and several ‘Marxist’ parties that don’t seem to do much.
Ideally, if course, we’d learn from history and everyone would start from the most advanced point we know of – an ML vanguard. But right now that seems a bit of a fantasy as the self-proclaimed ML parties are weak and keep doing weird shit. MLs can still bring class consciousness to other welcoming orgs.
Anti-imperialist, decolonial, and driven by solidarity with third and fourth world peoples.
