quote (Communist League):

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Communists seek the broadest possible union of the proletariat on a political level for the purposes of uniting the localized and isolated struggles of the working class — including economic struggles — into a common battle for revolutionary democracy, designed to aid the proletariat and its task of elevating itself to a ruling class. This is why every class struggle is, in the final analysis, a political struggle.

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You completely misunderstand this.

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quote (Communist League):

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When we talk about the need for "revolutionary democracy," we are talking about the proletariat taking political (state) power, and we see it as synonymous with the establishment of a workers' republic (the dictatorship of the proletariat) and the beginning of the transition from capitalism to communism.

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quote (Communist League):

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The membership of the League is exclusively proletarian; we do not admit non-proletarians as members. Period.

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Without overblowing the analogy, I would say that the experiences of the proletarian member of the petty-bourgeois socialist movement parallels that of someone in an abusive relationship.

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However, I feel that the Communist League's conclusion that the middle class is a part of the enemy camp- and thus middle-class people cannot be part of the revolutionary struggle- is very wrong (and in fact, dangerous). I come from a middle-class background and I don't feel that hinders me from being able to grasp Marxism and be part of the struggle for communism, and I think that it is proletarian consciousness and line, rather than just a mechanical "did-they-originate-from-the-proletariat-or-not" dictate, that should determine whether a person is ready to join a revolutionary party (who is better-suited to be a Marxist: the doctor who is trying to grasp MLM and is actively working to build revolution, or the factory worker who is a member of the KKK?).

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quote (Communist League):

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From our perspective, workers who come to the communist movement do so with a significant amount of ideological and cultural "baggage" given to them by a lifetime (short or long) of living under capitalism. Undoing the damaging effects of that "baggage" is a long process (even communists who have been active for many years -- including those who recognize these issues -- find they have problems to still overcome). One of the chief responsibilities of the League is the fostering of a "culture of liberation", comprised of concrete steps that are designed to undo much of the damage of bourgeois ideology.

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I'll be quite clear on this point: I don't think you're for real.

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OK this is an organization that shows up out of nowhere in November 2004. The only person that is referenced in their literature is some guy that posts on message boards. There are no pictures of any actions or events that they have partaken in. All the articles seem like they're written by the same person. And the text called "Basic Principals" is produced by the "literature department"? It just seems phony to me.

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quote (Communist League):

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The specifics vary from person to person. However, for the sake of explanation, and bearing in mind that I will not go into great detail about the League's internal life, here are some policies that a new comrade might experience:

1. In the process of recruiting a comrade, we would be able to gauge their basic interaction skills: reading, writing, speaking, etc. If there are problems with literacy, we help the comrade improve their skills, using basic works by communist authors as primers.

2. If a comrade is not familiar with using a computer, we will help them learn to use one. This helps a comrade in two ways: first, they can use the Internet to deepen their own knowledge and understanding of the world; and, second, they can improve skills that can be applied on the job. (In general, if comrades need skills -- either job skills or skills associated with organizational duties -- and other members are familiar with the tasks, the new comrades will be offered a type of "apprenticeship", where they will work with the skilled member one-on-one.)

3. If comrades have children, we arrange for other, single (and male) members to watch the kids, allowing the comrade to be able to participate in meetings, educationals, aggregates, etc. As a rule, the comrades chosen for childcare duty are veteran members.

4. Comrades in need of assistance in the battle of survival (e.g., maintaining utility services) will be helped by other members as much as humanly possible, including financially (including assistance "in kind") or in ways that, by bourgeois standards, would be considered illegal.

5. We find there is value to a "free-ranging" discussion, which would move from current events to general political issues to cultural questions to economics to ... well, whatever. This helps comrades improve their extemporaneous speaking and discussion skills, as well as see connections between areas that are often considered "separate issues".

6. When having political/educational discussions, the "answers" are never given. Comrades are encouraged to think through the issues themselves, to assess the material situation and apply the communist scientific method (materialist dialectics). Veteran comrades are expected to only offer "points to consider", which will add to the comrades' understanding of the overall political picture, and overall guidance.

7. Perhaps one of the most important things we do is imbue new comrades with a class consciousness that goes beyond merely recognizing their role in the production relations. We try to undo years of cultural and social stereotypes, often manifested as a feeling of "inferiority", by instilling a "pride" in their place in society -- in their being a worker. There is no shame in working for a living, and yet that is a common point of view that many workers have. In a sense, we combat the effects of bourgeois ideology, one comrade (or small groups of comrades) at a time.

As new circumstances arise, we take the time to sit down and see what kind of new policies we can adopt that fit with the "culture of liberation". These are the ones we've had to face so far. Over time, as the League grows, we hope to expand these kinds of efforts in a more public, generalized manner, helping proletarians regardless of their relationship to the organization.

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Unless you think people only "act for self" and so only workers can give their heart to the revolution, and middle class students or intellectuals inherently only serve middle class interests.

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What I find interesting is that this one point, mechanical class analysis, is so alluring to some people that they seem to forget their demands of instant communism. It doesn't apparently matter to many people that your program is far from advocating revolutionary change.

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Of course it is a question that can't be hidden; where are the working class theorists of the revolution?

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Higher Education is still a privilege in Developed Captialist countries as well as ...hmmmm... everywhere.

So, I guess the Communist LEAGUE, discounts the main proportion of college students that make up the Left and whom more than likely will go on to make middle-class incomes.

So that leaves.....

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I think it's active discrimination, surely the communist movement needs all the support it can get.

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Communists don't want any version of the class society, let alone a humane one.

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How can someone be a communist if they don't want a classless society?

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The main proportion of the current Left is college educated or on the brink of college. That's just the way it is. The Left that still needs to be reached is not. So, what is the advantage of the Communist League or any other Communist organization cutting off their nose to spite their face when the main objective is to get the majority of All people to Communism.

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But workers voted themselves ridiculous pay rises and production fell drastically so Lenin had to step in.

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I thought 'middle class' was a sociological concept, more obfuscatory than real. Perhaps an ideological buffer. But I get your point about access to privilege for the so-called 'middle' class. Yet the Marxist definition of class is based on relationship to the means of production, and to one's position within these social relations. It does seem a little off-base to have a litmus test on class background, as if proletarian (as in manual labor or more overtly exploited labor) status guaranteed revolutionary purity. I mean, isn't this kinda empiricist? What, the workers can't be 'bought off' as in an aristocracy? Is consciousness really so automatic?

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Though my dad was a factory worker, and my mother a charity worker, by income standards I am middle class. I don't need to justify myself to these bigots, if they don't accept my views due to the conditions in which I was born they're no worse than fascists.

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quote (Communist League):

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We live in a class society, where bourgeois ideology dominates. In such a situation, the maintenance of class privileges within an ostensibly communist organization would in fact lead to the reproduction of class divisions (and class antagonisms) within it. You would have the petty-bourgeois and bourgeois members doing all the theoretical, philosophical and otherwise "thinking" work, while the proletarian members are sent out to "organize", sell newspapers, do the heavy lifting and "grunt work". Such a set-up leads inevitably to a situation where proletarian members are kept busy and theoretically undeveloped, while the petty-bourgeois and bourgeois members are squirreled away writing documents and formulating political positions, with no input (or challenge) from the rest of the membership (i.e., the proletarian rank-and-file).

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quote (Communist League):

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In fact, given the fundamental differences in educational style, training, personal development, etc., that young people from different classes get, sometimes you don't even need to ask those questions; the answer will sometimes jump right out at you.

Case in point: this discussion board.

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