PPLE
08-04-2007, 04:02 PM
Taken from a United States Social Forum plenary mentioned here
http://populistindependent.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=4683#4683
PROPOSAL FOR STUDY
Draft 2 March 9, 2007
Overarching Study Group Goal:
To develop our capacity to make informed decisions about building or starting left organization.
Study Group Objectives:
• To develop common understandings of revolutionary theory and events related to left organizations generally and parties specifically as they relate to movement-building;
• To discuss the current political dynamics and priorities, including what organizational forms could best accomplish those priorities;
• To identify points of agreement and disagreement;
• To learn about each others political histories, current political work and organizational
struggles;
• To develop camaraderie between participants.
Study Group Approach
We will have monthly day-long sessions, set on a regular weekend day.
This study group will combine historical study with dialogue and reflection on our current context.
Central Question to draw from HISTORICAL STUDY:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful R movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
Exploratory Questions to help us answer central question:
• What are the key debates over left organization? (Where do we stand on those debates?)
• How does the historical/political context (time / place / condition/ state) affect party-building strategies?
• How do parties successfully relate to mass movements? (What do we draw for ourselves from those models?)
• How does our vision for the new society impact the form of left organization? (What do we draw from the experiences of the impact of party models on new societies?)
• What are common pitfalls of party-building? What are the generalizable lessons we should draw from the historical experiences of parties and mass movement? (How do we avoid those pitfalls? How do we apply those lessons?)
Central Questions to draw from CURRENT CONTEXT:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful liberation movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
• How do we most effectively advance movement-building and party-building: by joining an existent left organization, initiating a new one or something else?
Exploratory Questions for reflection on our CURRENT CONTEXT
• What characterizes our current political-economic context, locally, nationally and
internationally?
• What are the central movement-building needs, locally and nationally? We’ll refer to this a “movement-building agenda.”
• What are implications of accountability with Left organization and mass work?
• What is needed to lay the groundwork for the emergence of the “ideal form” of left
organization we envisioned?
We’ll refer to this as a “party-building agenda.”
• What are the differences in line, history and practice of existing Left organizations?
-In what ways are they well-positioned to advance a party-building agendas?
-In what ways are they well-positioned to advance a movement-building
agenda?
This assumes that none of the existent left organizations currently reflect the ideal
form of left organization we envisioned.
• What are the costs and benefits to joining an existent left organization versus
initiating a new left organization?
Each session will combine presentations and discussions (e.g. to learn history, to learn tools for political assessment) with dialogue to (1) sum up the learning from each session and (2) to identify our areas of unity and disagreement.
We will try to draw on movement elders and left thinkers to do some of the historical presentations to benefit from their knowledge and engage in dialogue with them. How will we show understandings?
• Presentations on readings, theories and ideas
• Development of charts/family tree – one detailing theoretical and one detailing organizational histories
• Quick writes on responses to readings.
• Pair share or triads
• Questions, thoughts from each presentation
• Small group conversation sharing thoughts on presentations
• Sum-up of key ideas near end of session
• Agree/Disagree Charts
We discussed the possibility of developing written pieces at the end of each study. We should clarify whether we are really committed to this before we begin. While the majority of our focus will be on our process with each other, we will incorporate other methods that can engage broader cross-sections of people, including:
• Informal dialogues with movement elders;
• Public events at the Brecht Forum;
• Intergenerational dialogue at the US Social Forum;
• Social investigation / structured dialogue with people at certain strategic points in the process.
Our approach to the Readings:
• We will assign up to 200 pages per session
• We will identify a core reading of 50 pages that absolutely everyone must read, and we will assign small groups to present on additional readings
MARCH
Exploration, Feedback on curriculum and Orientation
Consult with elders and others on our curriculum.
Finalize broad curriculum flow.
Orient new people to process.
APRIL
HISTORICAL STUDY International Models 1: The Leninist party model
Topics:
• Broad sweep of historical theoretical and political debates on parties, focusing on the models and debates in Europe up until Lenin. This will ideally include Marx’s (brief) writings on the question, early debates between Russian (Lenin) and German (Bernstein, Kautsky) parties, Lenin’s model of the party, Stalin’s interpretation/distortion of the party model, Council communism, Luxemburg’s critiques of the role of the Bolshevik Party and Gramsci’s vision of the party. This will
provide us with an initial “Marxist family tree.”
• Focus on the history of the Russian Revolution: the Leninist party model, the relationship between the party and the Soviets.
• Get a sense of the unities and differences about the Leninist party model amongst Lenin’s contemporaries.
Core question to be addressed:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful liberation movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
Exploratory Questions to help us answer central question:
• What are the key debates over left organization? (Where do we stand on those debates?)
• How does the historical/political context (time / place / condition/ state) affect party-building strategies?
• How do parties successfully relate to mass movements? (What do we draw for ourselves from those models?)
• How does our vision for the new society impact the form of left organization? (What do we draw from the experiences of the impact of party models on new societies?)
• What are common pitfalls of party-building? What are the generalizable lessons we should draw from the historical experiences of parties and mass movement? (How do we avoid those pitfalls? How do we apply those lessons?)
Agenda:
• Presentation by Vivek Chibber on (1) the broad sweep of historical theoretical and political debates on parties up to an including the Russian Revolution including contemporaries (including possibly building out the Marxist family tree), (2) history of the Russian Revolution and the structure of the Leninist Party model and (3) core critiques and debates about the Leninist party model in Russia.
• Guided close reading from What is to be Done? (with historical context) to develop understanding of Leninist party model or break-out discussions on readings
• Group summation of Leninist party model
• Theme-based small group discussion to pull out the impact of time/place/condition on the party model, key debates, relationship between parties, new society and movements and common pitfalls/generalizable lessons. Large group discussion on content developed in small group, concluding with an agreement / disagreement chart.
Readings:
• What is to be Done? (Chapters 2-4) (key text on Lenin’s party model)
• Lenin and the Russian Revolution, Antonella Salomoni (history of Russian Revolution)
Background:
• Introductory backgrounder: Where’s the Party? Max Elbaum (broad historical overview)
• Contemporary Debates: Lenin for Beginners (illustrated history of Lenin and the Russian Revolution)
MAY
HISTORICAL STUDY International Models 2: The Party after Lenin
Topics:
• Broad sweep of historical theoretical and political debates on parties that came after the Russian Revolution and which drew various lessons from the Soviet experience. This will highlight the thinking of Gramsci (Italy) and the thinking of Third World revolutionaries. We will focus on Mao Tse-Tung (China) but ideally wil linclude Amilcar Cabral (Guinea-Bissau), Che Guevara (Cuba), the FSLN and the SACP. This will help us fill out our “Marxist family tree.”
• Explore Gramsci’s contributions to thinking on the party, looking at both his roots in the Leninist framework and his critiques of the emergence of Stalinism.
• Focus on the history of the Chinese Revolution: the Maoist party model and the relationship between the party and the people.
Core question to be addressed:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful liberation movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
Exploratory Questions to help us answer central question:
• What are the key debates over left organization? (Where do we stand on those debates?)
• How does the historical/political context (time / place / condition/ state) affect party-building strategies?
• How do parties successfully relate to mass movements? (What do we draw for
ourselves from those models?)
• How does our vision for the new society impact the form of left organization? (What do we draw from the experiences of the impact of party models on new societies?)
• What are common pitfalls of party-building? What are the generalizable lessons we should draw from the historical experiences of parties and mass movement? (How do we avoid those pitfalls? How do we apply those lessons?)
Learning Methods:
• Presentation by speakers on Gramsci’s and Mao’s contributions to thinking on the party.
• Guided close reading from Gramsci and Mao to develop understanding of their views on the party model.
• Theme-based small group discussion to pull out the impact of time/place/condition on the party model, key debates, relationship between parties and movements, common pitfalls and generalizable lessons. Large group discussion on content developed in small group, concluding with an agreement / disagreement chart.
Core Readings:
ANTONIO GRAMSCI
• “Socialism and Marxism” and “ Factory Councils and Socialist Democracy” from The Antonio Gramsci Reader edited by David Forgacs
• “The Lyon Theses,” The Italian Situation and the Tasks of the Italian Communist Party (Lyons, January 1926)
Supplemental History & Context Readings:
• “Introduction” & “Glossary” from The Antonio Gramsci Reader by Forgacs
• Introduction to Gramsci, New Left Review
• “Gramsci and the State” from The State & Political Theory by M. Carnoy
• “The Predicament of Marxist Revolutionary Consciousness: Mao Zedong, Antonio Gramsci, and the Reformulation of Marxist Revolutionary Theory,” Arif Dirlik Modern China, Vol. 9, No. 2. (Apr., 1983), pp. 182-211.
• “Antonio Gramsci and the Bolshevization of the PCI,” Thomas R Bates Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 11, No. 2/3, Special Issue: Conflict and Socialists and Socialism in the Twentieth Century. (Jul., 1976), pp. 115-131.
• “Towards the Prison Notebooks: The Evolution of Gramsci's Thinking on Political Organization 1918-1926,” Walter L. Adamson Polity, Vol. 12, No. 1. (Autumn, 1979), pp. 38-64.
MAO TSE-TUNG
• Combat Liberalism (September 7, 1937)
• The Role of the Chinese Communist Party in the National War (October 1938)
• Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership (June 1, 1943)
• Current Problems of Tactics in the Anti-Japanese United Front (March 11, 1940)
Supplemental History & Context Readings:
• “The Chinese Revolution” from Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements from James DeFronzo
• “The Making of the Chinese Revolution” and “Maoism in Power,” from Marxism After Marx by David MacLellan
• On the Origins of the Chinese Revolution, Lucien Bianco
• On the Party, Liu Shao Chi
• Rectify the Party’s Style of Work, Mao Tse-Tung (1942)
• On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship, Mao Tse-Tung (June 30, 1949)
JUNE
HISTORICAL STUDY Experiences in the United States
Topics:
• Presentation on broad sweep of historical experiences and political debates about left parties in U.S. political history, focusing on the Communist Party in the 1930s and 1940s. It should include some reflections on tendencies and impacts of U.S. political culture.
• Focus on the history of the Communist Party in the 1930s.
Core question to be addressed:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful liberation movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
Exploratory Questions to help us answer central question:
• What are the key debates over left organization? (Where do we stand on those debates?)
• How does the historical/political context (time / place / condition/ state) affect party-building strategies?
• How do parties successfully relate to mass movements? (What do we draw for ourselves from those models?)
• How does our vision for the new society impact the form of left organization? (What do we draw from the experiences of the impact of party models on new societies?)
• What are common pitfalls of party-building? What are the generalizable lessons we should draw from the historical experiences of parties and mass movement? (How do we avoid those pitfalls? How do we apply those lessons?)
Learning Methods:
• Speaker on the history of the Communist Party
• Small groups discussions on different aspects of the mass work of the CPUSA: Unemployed Council organizing. Union organizing (CIO) and Work in the Black community.
• Large group discussion to sum up core models and major lessons.
Readings:
• The "Popular Front" in the US: The Only Option?, Charlie Post
• UNION ORGANIZING: Congress of Industrial Organizations: “Chapter 1: The Congress of Industrial Organizations: Left, Right and Center” and “Chapter 2: Who Gets the Bird?” from Left Out: Reds and America's Industrial Unions by Judith Stepan-Norris and Maurice Zeitlin
• COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: The Unemployed Councils: Radical Neighborhood Organizing, 1929 – 1946 from Let The People Decide: Neighborhood Organizing in America by Robert Fisher
• WORK IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY: “Afric’s Sons with Banner Red: African American Communists and the Politics of Culture, 1919 – 1934” from Race Rebels: Culture, Politics and the Black Working Class by Robin Kelley.
Supplemental Readings:
• “Epilogue: The Third Labor Federation that Never Was” from Left Out: Reds and America's Industrial Unions by Judith Stepan-Norris and Maurice Zeitlin
• “Harlem Communists and the Politics of Black Protest” by Mark Naison in Commuity Organization for Urban Social Change.
JUNE/JULY
Panel / Dialogue at the United States Social Forum
This panel discussion served as a bridge between our discussion of the past and the present – and bring together key revolutionary organizers who have seen the movement go through many changes over the years to have a dialogue with us about how to build the movement in today’s context, building on lessons and experiences of the past.
JULY
HISTORICAL STUDY / CURRENT CONTEXT: International Movements Today
Topics:
• Presentation on current political broad sweep of contemporary debates over the party model and on the range forms of left organization that are being used around the world. This should be related to the dynamics of contemporary political economy.
• Focus in on the organizational models of two struggles, to highlight the particular questions that have been emerged in our past studies: Philippines and Brazil.
Central Question to draw from HISTORICAL STUDY:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful R
movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with
movements, and so on.)
Exploratory Questions to help us answer central question:
• What are the key debates over left organization? (Where do we stand on those debates?)
• How does the historical/political context (time / place / condition/ state) affect party-building strategies?
• How do parties successfully relate to mass movements? (What do we draw for ourselves from those models?)
• How does our vision for the new society impact the form of left organization? (What do we draw from the experiences of the impact of party models on new societies?)
• What are common pitfalls of party-building? What are the generalizable lessons we should draw from the historical experiences of parties and mass movement? (How do we avoid those pitfalls? How do we apply those lessons?)
Additional questions for this section.
• What is the relationship between current international movements and the US?How are movements abroad impacting the US and vice versa?
Learning Methods:
• Group Summation of historical debates on party model to contextualize current models.
• Speaker on struggle in the Philippines.
• Speaker on Brazil’s Workers Party.
• Group discussion on lessons and models.
Readings:
• Forging a Union of the Party Left and the Social Left, Marta Harnecker
• (Overview of Latin America) The Center Left, Nationalism and Socialism, Claudio Katz
• (Case Study 1: Brazil) The New and the Old in Brazil’s PT, by Gianpaolo Baiocchi & Sofia Checa
• (Case Study 1: Brazil) The Long March of Brazil’s Labor Party, Michael Lowy
• (Case Study 1: Brazil) The Consolidation of the new PT, Palavra Cruzada
• (Case Study 2: Philippines) The People’s Democratic Revolution is the only Solution to the Fundamental Problems of the Filipino People, from the Philippines Society & Revolution
• (Case Study 2: Philippines) Critique of the Politico-Military Strategy, Sonny Melencio and Reihana Mohideen
AUGUST
CURRENT CONTEXT: The US Organized Left Today
Topics:
• Deeper discussion about the ideal form(s) of left organization, long-term and immediate.
• Mapping of the US Organized Left in terms of history, line, program and practice
• Broad discussion about (1) whether these organization reflect the ideal form(s) of political organization, (2) if not, whether any of these organizations are well-positioned to help advance those forms, (3) whether these organizations are well-positioned to help advance the movement.
Central Questions to draw from CURRENT CONTEXT:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful liberation movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
• How do we most effectively advance movement-building and party-building: by joining an existent left organization, initiating a new one or something else?
Exploratory Questions for reflection on our CURRENT CONTEXT
• What is needed to lay the groundwork for the emergence of the “ideal form” of left organization we envisioned?
• What are the differences in line, history and practice of existing Left organizations?
- In what ways are they well-positioned to advance a party-building agendas?
- In what ways are they well-positioned to advance a movement-building agenda?
Learning Methods:
TBD
Readings
• “Three Core Domains of Struggle and Alternative,” Stanley Aronowitz, Left Turn: Forging a New
Political Future, Paradigm: 2006
• “The Shape of Practice,” Stanley Aronowitz, Left Turn
• “What is Solidarity and Where did It Come From?,” Solidarity
• “Unity Statement on National Oppression, National Liberation, and Socialist Revolution,” Freedom Road Socialist Organization
• Excerpt from the CPUSA Program: “The Working Class, Democratic Struggles and Forces for Progress”
• Program of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America
• “Bring the Ruckus,” Bring the Ruckus Collective
Supplementary Readings:
• Chapter from Max Elbaum’s Revolution in the Air on lessons from the New Communist Movement
• “Socialist Organization Today,” Solidarity
• “Which Way is Left,” FRSO
• Chapters 4 & 5 of CPUSA’s program
• Introduction and chapter 3 of Aronowitz’s Left Turn
SEPETMBER
CURRENT CONTEXT: The US Movement Today
Topics:
• Reflection on the United States Social Forum and the state of the social movement in the United States.
• Class analysis of the United States (FLAG: This is a very large topic.)
• Broad discussion about (1) what a successful liberation movement would look like, (2) the ideal form for a left organization that would help build that movement and (3) the appropriate relationship between the R left and social movements in the United States.
Core question to be addressed:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful R movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
Exploratory Questions for reflection on our CURRENT CONTEXT
• What characterizes our current political-economic context, nationally and internationally?
• What are the central national movement-building needs?
• What are implications of accountability with Left organization and mass work?
Additional question for this section.
• What is the relationship between current international movements and the US? How are movements abroad impacting the US and vice versa?
Learning Methods:
TBD
Possible Readings:
TBD
OCTOBER
CURRENT CONTEXT: The NYC Movement Today
Topics:
• Reflection on local political-economic context and key movement-building needs in New York City.
• Sum up conclusions on the ideal form of left organization, assessment of current left organizations and work needed to lay the groundwork for ideal form of left organization.
• Identify the primary organizational options for us (joining particular left organizations, starting new left organizations, starting transitional left-building / movement-building projects), and discuss the costs and benefits of each approach.
• Individual reflection and sharing on potential directions. Decisions? Central Questions to draw from CURRENT CONTEXT:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful liberation movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
• How do we most effectively advance movement-building and party-building: by joining an existent left organization, initiating a new one or something else?
Exploratory Questions for reflection on our CURRENT CONTEXT
• What characterizes our current local political-economic context?
• What are the central local movement-building needs?
• What are implications of accountability with Left organization and mass work?
• What is needed to lay the groundwork for the emergence of the “ideal form” of left organization we envisioned?
• What are the differences in line, history and practice of existing Left organizations?
- In what ways are they well-positioned to advance a party-building agendas?
- In what ways are they well-positioned to advance a movement-building agenda?
• What are the costs and benefits to joining an existent left organization versus initiating a new left organization?
Learning Methods:
TBD
Possible Readings:
Focus on Writing and Reflection
http://populistindependent.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?p=4683#4683
PROPOSAL FOR STUDY
Draft 2 March 9, 2007
Overarching Study Group Goal:
To develop our capacity to make informed decisions about building or starting left organization.
Study Group Objectives:
• To develop common understandings of revolutionary theory and events related to left organizations generally and parties specifically as they relate to movement-building;
• To discuss the current political dynamics and priorities, including what organizational forms could best accomplish those priorities;
• To identify points of agreement and disagreement;
• To learn about each others political histories, current political work and organizational
struggles;
• To develop camaraderie between participants.
Study Group Approach
We will have monthly day-long sessions, set on a regular weekend day.
This study group will combine historical study with dialogue and reflection on our current context.
Central Question to draw from HISTORICAL STUDY:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful R movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
Exploratory Questions to help us answer central question:
• What are the key debates over left organization? (Where do we stand on those debates?)
• How does the historical/political context (time / place / condition/ state) affect party-building strategies?
• How do parties successfully relate to mass movements? (What do we draw for ourselves from those models?)
• How does our vision for the new society impact the form of left organization? (What do we draw from the experiences of the impact of party models on new societies?)
• What are common pitfalls of party-building? What are the generalizable lessons we should draw from the historical experiences of parties and mass movement? (How do we avoid those pitfalls? How do we apply those lessons?)
Central Questions to draw from CURRENT CONTEXT:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful liberation movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
• How do we most effectively advance movement-building and party-building: by joining an existent left organization, initiating a new one or something else?
Exploratory Questions for reflection on our CURRENT CONTEXT
• What characterizes our current political-economic context, locally, nationally and
internationally?
• What are the central movement-building needs, locally and nationally? We’ll refer to this a “movement-building agenda.”
• What are implications of accountability with Left organization and mass work?
• What is needed to lay the groundwork for the emergence of the “ideal form” of left
organization we envisioned?
We’ll refer to this as a “party-building agenda.”
• What are the differences in line, history and practice of existing Left organizations?
-In what ways are they well-positioned to advance a party-building agendas?
-In what ways are they well-positioned to advance a movement-building
agenda?
This assumes that none of the existent left organizations currently reflect the ideal
form of left organization we envisioned.
• What are the costs and benefits to joining an existent left organization versus
initiating a new left organization?
Each session will combine presentations and discussions (e.g. to learn history, to learn tools for political assessment) with dialogue to (1) sum up the learning from each session and (2) to identify our areas of unity and disagreement.
We will try to draw on movement elders and left thinkers to do some of the historical presentations to benefit from their knowledge and engage in dialogue with them. How will we show understandings?
• Presentations on readings, theories and ideas
• Development of charts/family tree – one detailing theoretical and one detailing organizational histories
• Quick writes on responses to readings.
• Pair share or triads
• Questions, thoughts from each presentation
• Small group conversation sharing thoughts on presentations
• Sum-up of key ideas near end of session
• Agree/Disagree Charts
We discussed the possibility of developing written pieces at the end of each study. We should clarify whether we are really committed to this before we begin. While the majority of our focus will be on our process with each other, we will incorporate other methods that can engage broader cross-sections of people, including:
• Informal dialogues with movement elders;
• Public events at the Brecht Forum;
• Intergenerational dialogue at the US Social Forum;
• Social investigation / structured dialogue with people at certain strategic points in the process.
Our approach to the Readings:
• We will assign up to 200 pages per session
• We will identify a core reading of 50 pages that absolutely everyone must read, and we will assign small groups to present on additional readings
MARCH
Exploration, Feedback on curriculum and Orientation
Consult with elders and others on our curriculum.
Finalize broad curriculum flow.
Orient new people to process.
APRIL
HISTORICAL STUDY International Models 1: The Leninist party model
Topics:
• Broad sweep of historical theoretical and political debates on parties, focusing on the models and debates in Europe up until Lenin. This will ideally include Marx’s (brief) writings on the question, early debates between Russian (Lenin) and German (Bernstein, Kautsky) parties, Lenin’s model of the party, Stalin’s interpretation/distortion of the party model, Council communism, Luxemburg’s critiques of the role of the Bolshevik Party and Gramsci’s vision of the party. This will
provide us with an initial “Marxist family tree.”
• Focus on the history of the Russian Revolution: the Leninist party model, the relationship between the party and the Soviets.
• Get a sense of the unities and differences about the Leninist party model amongst Lenin’s contemporaries.
Core question to be addressed:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful liberation movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
Exploratory Questions to help us answer central question:
• What are the key debates over left organization? (Where do we stand on those debates?)
• How does the historical/political context (time / place / condition/ state) affect party-building strategies?
• How do parties successfully relate to mass movements? (What do we draw for ourselves from those models?)
• How does our vision for the new society impact the form of left organization? (What do we draw from the experiences of the impact of party models on new societies?)
• What are common pitfalls of party-building? What are the generalizable lessons we should draw from the historical experiences of parties and mass movement? (How do we avoid those pitfalls? How do we apply those lessons?)
Agenda:
• Presentation by Vivek Chibber on (1) the broad sweep of historical theoretical and political debates on parties up to an including the Russian Revolution including contemporaries (including possibly building out the Marxist family tree), (2) history of the Russian Revolution and the structure of the Leninist Party model and (3) core critiques and debates about the Leninist party model in Russia.
• Guided close reading from What is to be Done? (with historical context) to develop understanding of Leninist party model or break-out discussions on readings
• Group summation of Leninist party model
• Theme-based small group discussion to pull out the impact of time/place/condition on the party model, key debates, relationship between parties, new society and movements and common pitfalls/generalizable lessons. Large group discussion on content developed in small group, concluding with an agreement / disagreement chart.
Readings:
• What is to be Done? (Chapters 2-4) (key text on Lenin’s party model)
• Lenin and the Russian Revolution, Antonella Salomoni (history of Russian Revolution)
Background:
• Introductory backgrounder: Where’s the Party? Max Elbaum (broad historical overview)
• Contemporary Debates: Lenin for Beginners (illustrated history of Lenin and the Russian Revolution)
MAY
HISTORICAL STUDY International Models 2: The Party after Lenin
Topics:
• Broad sweep of historical theoretical and political debates on parties that came after the Russian Revolution and which drew various lessons from the Soviet experience. This will highlight the thinking of Gramsci (Italy) and the thinking of Third World revolutionaries. We will focus on Mao Tse-Tung (China) but ideally wil linclude Amilcar Cabral (Guinea-Bissau), Che Guevara (Cuba), the FSLN and the SACP. This will help us fill out our “Marxist family tree.”
• Explore Gramsci’s contributions to thinking on the party, looking at both his roots in the Leninist framework and his critiques of the emergence of Stalinism.
• Focus on the history of the Chinese Revolution: the Maoist party model and the relationship between the party and the people.
Core question to be addressed:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful liberation movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
Exploratory Questions to help us answer central question:
• What are the key debates over left organization? (Where do we stand on those debates?)
• How does the historical/political context (time / place / condition/ state) affect party-building strategies?
• How do parties successfully relate to mass movements? (What do we draw for
ourselves from those models?)
• How does our vision for the new society impact the form of left organization? (What do we draw from the experiences of the impact of party models on new societies?)
• What are common pitfalls of party-building? What are the generalizable lessons we should draw from the historical experiences of parties and mass movement? (How do we avoid those pitfalls? How do we apply those lessons?)
Learning Methods:
• Presentation by speakers on Gramsci’s and Mao’s contributions to thinking on the party.
• Guided close reading from Gramsci and Mao to develop understanding of their views on the party model.
• Theme-based small group discussion to pull out the impact of time/place/condition on the party model, key debates, relationship between parties and movements, common pitfalls and generalizable lessons. Large group discussion on content developed in small group, concluding with an agreement / disagreement chart.
Core Readings:
ANTONIO GRAMSCI
• “Socialism and Marxism” and “ Factory Councils and Socialist Democracy” from The Antonio Gramsci Reader edited by David Forgacs
• “The Lyon Theses,” The Italian Situation and the Tasks of the Italian Communist Party (Lyons, January 1926)
Supplemental History & Context Readings:
• “Introduction” & “Glossary” from The Antonio Gramsci Reader by Forgacs
• Introduction to Gramsci, New Left Review
• “Gramsci and the State” from The State & Political Theory by M. Carnoy
• “The Predicament of Marxist Revolutionary Consciousness: Mao Zedong, Antonio Gramsci, and the Reformulation of Marxist Revolutionary Theory,” Arif Dirlik Modern China, Vol. 9, No. 2. (Apr., 1983), pp. 182-211.
• “Antonio Gramsci and the Bolshevization of the PCI,” Thomas R Bates Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 11, No. 2/3, Special Issue: Conflict and Socialists and Socialism in the Twentieth Century. (Jul., 1976), pp. 115-131.
• “Towards the Prison Notebooks: The Evolution of Gramsci's Thinking on Political Organization 1918-1926,” Walter L. Adamson Polity, Vol. 12, No. 1. (Autumn, 1979), pp. 38-64.
MAO TSE-TUNG
• Combat Liberalism (September 7, 1937)
• The Role of the Chinese Communist Party in the National War (October 1938)
• Some Questions Concerning Methods of Leadership (June 1, 1943)
• Current Problems of Tactics in the Anti-Japanese United Front (March 11, 1940)
Supplemental History & Context Readings:
• “The Chinese Revolution” from Revolutions and Revolutionary Movements from James DeFronzo
• “The Making of the Chinese Revolution” and “Maoism in Power,” from Marxism After Marx by David MacLellan
• On the Origins of the Chinese Revolution, Lucien Bianco
• On the Party, Liu Shao Chi
• Rectify the Party’s Style of Work, Mao Tse-Tung (1942)
• On the People’s Democratic Dictatorship, Mao Tse-Tung (June 30, 1949)
JUNE
HISTORICAL STUDY Experiences in the United States
Topics:
• Presentation on broad sweep of historical experiences and political debates about left parties in U.S. political history, focusing on the Communist Party in the 1930s and 1940s. It should include some reflections on tendencies and impacts of U.S. political culture.
• Focus on the history of the Communist Party in the 1930s.
Core question to be addressed:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful liberation movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
Exploratory Questions to help us answer central question:
• What are the key debates over left organization? (Where do we stand on those debates?)
• How does the historical/political context (time / place / condition/ state) affect party-building strategies?
• How do parties successfully relate to mass movements? (What do we draw for ourselves from those models?)
• How does our vision for the new society impact the form of left organization? (What do we draw from the experiences of the impact of party models on new societies?)
• What are common pitfalls of party-building? What are the generalizable lessons we should draw from the historical experiences of parties and mass movement? (How do we avoid those pitfalls? How do we apply those lessons?)
Learning Methods:
• Speaker on the history of the Communist Party
• Small groups discussions on different aspects of the mass work of the CPUSA: Unemployed Council organizing. Union organizing (CIO) and Work in the Black community.
• Large group discussion to sum up core models and major lessons.
Readings:
• The "Popular Front" in the US: The Only Option?, Charlie Post
• UNION ORGANIZING: Congress of Industrial Organizations: “Chapter 1: The Congress of Industrial Organizations: Left, Right and Center” and “Chapter 2: Who Gets the Bird?” from Left Out: Reds and America's Industrial Unions by Judith Stepan-Norris and Maurice Zeitlin
• COMMUNITY ORGANIZING: The Unemployed Councils: Radical Neighborhood Organizing, 1929 – 1946 from Let The People Decide: Neighborhood Organizing in America by Robert Fisher
• WORK IN THE BLACK COMMUNITY: “Afric’s Sons with Banner Red: African American Communists and the Politics of Culture, 1919 – 1934” from Race Rebels: Culture, Politics and the Black Working Class by Robin Kelley.
Supplemental Readings:
• “Epilogue: The Third Labor Federation that Never Was” from Left Out: Reds and America's Industrial Unions by Judith Stepan-Norris and Maurice Zeitlin
• “Harlem Communists and the Politics of Black Protest” by Mark Naison in Commuity Organization for Urban Social Change.
JUNE/JULY
Panel / Dialogue at the United States Social Forum
This panel discussion served as a bridge between our discussion of the past and the present – and bring together key revolutionary organizers who have seen the movement go through many changes over the years to have a dialogue with us about how to build the movement in today’s context, building on lessons and experiences of the past.
JULY
HISTORICAL STUDY / CURRENT CONTEXT: International Movements Today
Topics:
• Presentation on current political broad sweep of contemporary debates over the party model and on the range forms of left organization that are being used around the world. This should be related to the dynamics of contemporary political economy.
• Focus in on the organizational models of two struggles, to highlight the particular questions that have been emerged in our past studies: Philippines and Brazil.
Central Question to draw from HISTORICAL STUDY:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful R
movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with
movements, and so on.)
Exploratory Questions to help us answer central question:
• What are the key debates over left organization? (Where do we stand on those debates?)
• How does the historical/political context (time / place / condition/ state) affect party-building strategies?
• How do parties successfully relate to mass movements? (What do we draw for ourselves from those models?)
• How does our vision for the new society impact the form of left organization? (What do we draw from the experiences of the impact of party models on new societies?)
• What are common pitfalls of party-building? What are the generalizable lessons we should draw from the historical experiences of parties and mass movement? (How do we avoid those pitfalls? How do we apply those lessons?)
Additional questions for this section.
• What is the relationship between current international movements and the US?How are movements abroad impacting the US and vice versa?
Learning Methods:
• Group Summation of historical debates on party model to contextualize current models.
• Speaker on struggle in the Philippines.
• Speaker on Brazil’s Workers Party.
• Group discussion on lessons and models.
Readings:
• Forging a Union of the Party Left and the Social Left, Marta Harnecker
• (Overview of Latin America) The Center Left, Nationalism and Socialism, Claudio Katz
• (Case Study 1: Brazil) The New and the Old in Brazil’s PT, by Gianpaolo Baiocchi & Sofia Checa
• (Case Study 1: Brazil) The Long March of Brazil’s Labor Party, Michael Lowy
• (Case Study 1: Brazil) The Consolidation of the new PT, Palavra Cruzada
• (Case Study 2: Philippines) The People’s Democratic Revolution is the only Solution to the Fundamental Problems of the Filipino People, from the Philippines Society & Revolution
• (Case Study 2: Philippines) Critique of the Politico-Military Strategy, Sonny Melencio and Reihana Mohideen
AUGUST
CURRENT CONTEXT: The US Organized Left Today
Topics:
• Deeper discussion about the ideal form(s) of left organization, long-term and immediate.
• Mapping of the US Organized Left in terms of history, line, program and practice
• Broad discussion about (1) whether these organization reflect the ideal form(s) of political organization, (2) if not, whether any of these organizations are well-positioned to help advance those forms, (3) whether these organizations are well-positioned to help advance the movement.
Central Questions to draw from CURRENT CONTEXT:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful liberation movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
• How do we most effectively advance movement-building and party-building: by joining an existent left organization, initiating a new one or something else?
Exploratory Questions for reflection on our CURRENT CONTEXT
• What is needed to lay the groundwork for the emergence of the “ideal form” of left organization we envisioned?
• What are the differences in line, history and practice of existing Left organizations?
- In what ways are they well-positioned to advance a party-building agendas?
- In what ways are they well-positioned to advance a movement-building agenda?
Learning Methods:
TBD
Readings
• “Three Core Domains of Struggle and Alternative,” Stanley Aronowitz, Left Turn: Forging a New
Political Future, Paradigm: 2006
• “The Shape of Practice,” Stanley Aronowitz, Left Turn
• “What is Solidarity and Where did It Come From?,” Solidarity
• “Unity Statement on National Oppression, National Liberation, and Socialist Revolution,” Freedom Road Socialist Organization
• Excerpt from the CPUSA Program: “The Working Class, Democratic Struggles and Forces for Progress”
• Program of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America
• “Bring the Ruckus,” Bring the Ruckus Collective
Supplementary Readings:
• Chapter from Max Elbaum’s Revolution in the Air on lessons from the New Communist Movement
• “Socialist Organization Today,” Solidarity
• “Which Way is Left,” FRSO
• Chapters 4 & 5 of CPUSA’s program
• Introduction and chapter 3 of Aronowitz’s Left Turn
SEPETMBER
CURRENT CONTEXT: The US Movement Today
Topics:
• Reflection on the United States Social Forum and the state of the social movement in the United States.
• Class analysis of the United States (FLAG: This is a very large topic.)
• Broad discussion about (1) what a successful liberation movement would look like, (2) the ideal form for a left organization that would help build that movement and (3) the appropriate relationship between the R left and social movements in the United States.
Core question to be addressed:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful R movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
Exploratory Questions for reflection on our CURRENT CONTEXT
• What characterizes our current political-economic context, nationally and internationally?
• What are the central national movement-building needs?
• What are implications of accountability with Left organization and mass work?
Additional question for this section.
• What is the relationship between current international movements and the US? How are movements abroad impacting the US and vice versa?
Learning Methods:
TBD
Possible Readings:
TBD
OCTOBER
CURRENT CONTEXT: The NYC Movement Today
Topics:
• Reflection on local political-economic context and key movement-building needs in New York City.
• Sum up conclusions on the ideal form of left organization, assessment of current left organizations and work needed to lay the groundwork for ideal form of left organization.
• Identify the primary organizational options for us (joining particular left organizations, starting new left organizations, starting transitional left-building / movement-building projects), and discuss the costs and benefits of each approach.
• Individual reflection and sharing on potential directions. Decisions? Central Questions to draw from CURRENT CONTEXT:
• What is our vision for a left organization/party that will help build a successful liberation movement in the United States? (e.g. Strategic role, form, relationship with movements, and so on.)
• How do we most effectively advance movement-building and party-building: by joining an existent left organization, initiating a new one or something else?
Exploratory Questions for reflection on our CURRENT CONTEXT
• What characterizes our current local political-economic context?
• What are the central local movement-building needs?
• What are implications of accountability with Left organization and mass work?
• What is needed to lay the groundwork for the emergence of the “ideal form” of left organization we envisioned?
• What are the differences in line, history and practice of existing Left organizations?
- In what ways are they well-positioned to advance a party-building agendas?
- In what ways are they well-positioned to advance a movement-building agenda?
• What are the costs and benefits to joining an existent left organization versus initiating a new left organization?
Learning Methods:
TBD
Possible Readings:
Focus on Writing and Reflection