For lack of a better subject title.
I propose a general thread related to actual organizing and fieldwork. Communists and anarcho-syndicalists are warmly invited.
It is clear that time has accelerated. We are witnessing the reality of bourgeois civility: war and genocide; deteriorating labor rights and conditions; and increasing outbreaks of class anger against the capitalists and their lackeys. However, we are also witnessing an increase in class consciousness and the emergence of class organizations, no matter how nascent they may be. For example, as an empirical figure and not as Trotskyite embellishment, it is sufficient to observe the IMT growing several thousand strong and organizing an admirable international movement. Organization is the question of the day, and it has never been more important. There is a serious need to discuss organizational tactics, reflect on historical praxis, and stay attuned to the development of proletarian organizing in the real world.
For instance, there is an unprecedented wave of direct-democratic organizing through soviet-like structures in Serbia sweeping across schools and universities. Such developments are worth a hundred times more to a communist than the umpteenth discussion of the imperialist war in Ukraine.
Continuing this thought, there has been a noticeable drop in threads and discussions about practical organizational work. As anyone involved in organizing knows, there are risks in discussing recent, concrete developments within one’s organization, as it could lead to self-doxxing. However, this does not mean we cannot have discussions on principles and the broader developments within the workers' movement.
There is also a need for discussions on how communists should operate in front-like organizations, single-issue campaigns, civil initiatives, and similar spaces. How do we address intra-organizational struggles? How do we collaborate with ideologically diverse communist collectives? How should we engage with syndicates?
I propose that we put together a reading list on organization. To this end, I have attached some literature that has helped me understand organizational tactics and principles more deeply.
Plekhanov is an excellent historian. His memoirs on late-Narodnik and early-Bolshevik organizing offer a grounded perspective on the whole process. Among other things, he emphasizes the importance of mass agitation and illustra
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