The Endless Cycle of Discourse and Ratios

The Limits of the current movement's capacity to enact change (and how to fix it)

Marxism posits that “The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles.
Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, that each time ended, either in the revolutionary reconstitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes.” (Communist Manifesto)

How do you interpret “constant opposition” and “open fight”? Because to me, such kind of struggle clearly denotes hard power. The ruling class of society forcibly suppressing any and all opposition to their rule. It was never the case that the ruling class willingly stepped down by a 180° turn in ideological convictions, nor did the oppressed class rally to the side of the revolution through debates in the public square and reading large quantities of texts containing logically sound arguments.

Any kind of political conflict, and the sides that people choose, are based on material realities. It isn’t based on who has the best argument. The fundamental question people ask is “who has my back, and are they capable of leading society towards what I support in my values?” On a fundamental level it is that simple.

Neither of these questions has anything to do with whether or not the masses agree with our stances. The masses can on paper agree with every line we advocate for and then some, that doesn’t mean they have the confidence to commit action to enforce it. We’ve all heard every social democratic and socialist version of these phrases: “Studies show most Americans support increasing the minimum wage, free healthcare, education, housing, ending the wars, and support for unions is rising”. In 2020 at the outbreak of lock down and the George Floyd Uprising, 52% of Americans supported burning down police stations. Did 52% of Americans participate in enacting that belief? Of course now. Not a single one of these statements means that the majority of Americans are out in the streets giving their local politicians ultimatums: either pass these bills, or else.

This proves that an idea in and of itself does not create change, no matter how many people believe it. That’s because an idea is the precursor to action, not an action itself. To generate action, there must be potential. The energy and any necessary catalyst must be present for it to occur. This fundamental to both physical and social sciences.

When the left was truly a danger to the ruling class of the United Empire of America, it did not focus on merely convincing people on the streets (because there was no internet) that are ideas are correct by shoving Foundations of Leninism to people who could barely read at a 5th grade level. (A large section of Americans to this day are only capable of reading at an 8th grade level.)

The Left in the early 20th century saw the rise of militant tenant unions, armed rebellions, and more. In the 60’s and 70’s you saw the rise of national liberation movements. Did the Black Panthers and its coalition orgs garner mass support through book clubs, campus university speeches, ritualistic conferences, and yelling at their haters? Of course not. They ran cop watch patrols, breakfast programs for children, taught people how to shoot guns and march in formation, and so much more. They investigated every part of their community to develop a proper analysis. They attended churches and mosques. They visited the ghettos, the lowest of the low in society, to gather data on how to develop their line.

What does most of the Left have today? Arguing on Twitter? “Ratio’ing” politicians or some random account? Getting a “viral” tweet of 10K tweets? Sidewalk protests? Book clubs with 5-10 people in attendance, which dwindles overtime due to constantly changing schedules? Newspapers and article links that only a few people outside of already committed radicals will read? All of these types of actions center the “idea of revolution” as the primary catalyst of change, that sufficient belief in the cause (as well as OUR INTERPRETATION of that cause) is the primary motivator for material action: the seizure or withholding of resources necessary for the ruling class to propagate itself and for the oppressed class (mostly the proletariat) to have any semblance of stability.

And yet how often can any of these fun, cathartic little spouts on twitter ever reach the masses. Is there a good chance a “banger” tweet is seen by the masses? I dare you to share a famous communist’s tweet that you like at work and see if that “banger” tweet resonates with them. There’s a chance people will spread rumors and out you as a communist, and you could get fired. I’m not saying that’s justified, but it’s reality. Does arguing with the same trans exclusionary radical feminists online make the streets any safer for a trans person to walk? Or keep them from getting discriminated against? Or stop right wing politicians from enacting vitriolic anti-trans legislation? No, it doesn’t, not in the slightest. Does arguing with the national chauvinist who complains about “balkanization” in the US help support black and native liberation? Did it seize any physical territory for their peoples to feel slightly safer and more secure? Not an inch of land, I bet.

That’s why this is an endless cycle. In a metaphorical sense it isn’t too dissimilar to various religious concepts of reincarnation. A problem is born, and then it dies through discourse. It is birthed again by a new target account, it gets “ratio’d” to death. And then a new problem is born until it dies after “getting their ass beat in the QRTs”. The ebb and flow of “W’s” and “L’s” goes nowhere. It doesn’t take much beyond a voyeuristic analysis to see that. Thousands of tweets can come from one account. Have thousands of minds been swayed to the cause? Or at the very least have thousands of minds been bolstered and strengthened to carry out the task? You tell me.

The truth is we need be honest about the fact most communists and leftists right now spend most of their free time online discussing communism away from the masses and not with them. We also need to recognize that we need to get out of the cycle and get the masses mobilized. We need to push protest numbers higher than where they are currently at, increase the number and duration of strikes, increase the quantity of propaganda we output, encourage mass awareness of strategic boycotts like BDS (and start more), and perhaps if the conditions open up, run strategically viable elections to at least establish a foothold within the state. Excessive emphasis on social media is counter-intuitive to this. It traps comrades in a realm where they feel like they have access to spread propaganda however they see fit and perhaps influencing a few people at a time will add up. But the solution according to spiritual thinkers in the idealist world isn’t to continue the wheel for eternity, the solution is to escape samsara and end the cycle for one’s consciousness. The material parallel is the similar: Get people out of this endless cycle by creating the conditions to not only raise consciousness, but make concrete actions viable from that consciousness.

There are three necessary conditions for any opposition political faction of people (in our case, the working class, to take action in a political realist sense and they are:

1) sufficient understanding of the root problems faced by said faction, 2) having the perceived and conscious understanding that such actions necessary are capable and within the grasp of socially acceptable losses, and 3) being backed into a corner and having no choice but to take the initiative in seizing the moment.

Notice how I said sufficient understanding and not advanced understanding. The obsession with prioritizing reading is not going to mobilize the masses if what is read is not put into practice. The masses through their own experiences through the dialectic moving into the 21st century that higher wages, free education, healthcare, housing, and ending wars are all good things to acquire. They are only missing three components to the problem: recognizing these policies are unattainable under late stage (arguably final stage) capitalism due to deteriorating profits, recognizing that it is through increasing the collective power of our class (by means of either joining or supporting a vanguard party and its network of militant mass organizations) that we can take control of the workplace, the neighborhood, and the state that controls both, and finally recognizing that neither of these objectives can be complete if capitalists have control over global markets by means of imperialism.

To fill the gaps in these three components would elevate the masses to a sufficient understanding necessary for revolution comparable to every successful revolution that has happened in history. An advanced understanding, which can be quite subjective, but in a framework I would argue accurately defines it, includes intimate knowledge of dialectical philosophy, the production process, the nuances of trade and currency value, in depth knowledge of historical events and people as well as their significance and relevance to the modern context, and the critical thinking skills necessary to formulate both short term tactics and long term strategies. We as members of the vanguard must have this level of understanding if we are to lead the masses. Its lack will lead to numerous mistakes, losing territory, inefficient use of resources, and potentially loss of life. However, successful revolutions were carried out with illiterate peasants and poorly educated industrial proletariat. What made revolution possible was that the masses understood the situation enough to choose a political faction. In February 1917, the masses chose the revolutionaries over the Tsar, and in November of 1917, chose the Bolsheviks over Kerensky. The masses analyzed the situation and recognized the Bolsheviks offered a better deal in both instances. The unity of advanced cadre embedded within an elevated and empowered masses is the key to victory. It would be inefficient and near impossible to wait until the masses have read all collected works of Marx, Lenin, Stalin, and so on before proceeding take decisive action.

Which leads to the next condition, and by far where we are most lacking. Workers can want better wages, better healthcare, housing and so on...but are they going to sign a union card? In my experience, even consistently vocal critics of the company they work for can have their faith in fighting back falter for a myriad of reasons. Maybe they believe in anti-union propaganda that the union dues will outweigh the benefits, maybe they are more scared of being fired and being in a worse off situation, maybe they can’t muster the time or energy to actively participate in the union struggle because of how brutal work conditions can be, the list goes on. You can show them all the statistics you want, all the proof that the union busting propaganda is false, if the workers don’t feel empowered or capable, they aren’t gonna sign that card. They won’t sign the list of demands against the landlord. They won’t confront the police on the streets or the politicians in city hall.

It is our primary job as communists to come up with solutions to these problems. As said multiple times already ask any of your community members and they’ll tell you things are bad, and that things need to change. They have the desire but not the conviction and power. To them, a familiar evil is preferable to taking a chance they don’t have confidence in. So our job is to increase their confidence not only in us but themselves.

The masses must be supported in some material sense of the term. This can take a number of forms and I don’t pretend to be an expert in any of them. A common example is mutual aid, the providing of direct resources to a group or individual with the expressed intention of either convincing them to join our side, or if they are already a comrade, keeping them alive and stable so that they can keep going. The latter is mostly between us but is obviously important. You can’t have comradery if no one has your back. I myself would probably not be here (in multiple meanings of the word) had it not been for the innumerable sacrifices of comrades to support me both materially and emotionally. The former is important also, obviously. The easiest way to get people on your side is show them you have something to offer that the enemy does not. It should be intuitive but for more chauvinist types it isn’t apparently.

Generally though the struggle with mutual aid as it is currently conceived (buying material goods like food, hygiene products, clothes, etc) can get pretty expensive, especially when you are first starting out. But I mean start small and ask for donations, there are a lot of labor aristocrat and petite bourgeois leftists out there willing to support good causes and it tends to be pretty generously given regardless of tendency if you are using the money to feed and support people and not print newspapers.

I would argue that providing training to people so that they can become a little more self sufficient qualifies as mutual aid as well. Teaching people DIY (Do it yourself) tricks to save money or time is really appreciated in the community, imagine doing it in the name of communism! There’s plenty of people who want to learn how to grow food, shoot firearms, learn self-defense, fix their cars and home appliances, or even recreational stuff like drawing, coding, fashion etc.

Helping people get jobs with an unemployment council of some kind and use the existence of said council to advocate a universal living wage job program. Help people through the bureaucratic nightmare of getting health insurance. Health care in the US is trash no matter what, but some states offer slightly more accessible programs that are gatekeeped through paperwork and legalistic language. As with the unemployment council, use this opportunity to agitate for universal healthcare. “There shouldn’t need to be councils that sort healthcare! After I help you let’s fight together!” These kinds of mutual aid don’t have high start up costs that even a few people can start locally. You just need to be experienced enough to do it, and be willing to put some posters up in your neighborhood.

Again the point of the process isn’t to solve their problems. The hyper violence of capitalism means that is an impossible task. Conditions will only get worse and worse unless we fight back. The point of mutual aid is to earn trust and give people enough stability so that action condition #2 (having the perceived and conscious understanding that such actions necessary are capable and within the grasp of socially acceptable losses) is met.

Condition #3 is mostly our of our hands. It takes either the negligence and severity of the boss or the ruthlessness of the state to accelerate for people being forced to take a stand or suffer more (or die). Our goal is the Set up Condition #1 and #2 so that when the time comes, everything falls into place.

Now I know what you’re thinking “Amihan, I’m by myself. I have no comrades near me at all and I have social anxiety.” I believe in you, comrade, and the Communist Party USA does as well. No one can nor should begin organizing alone. This is where I reiterate that no one is saying to log off social media and the internet forever. It can be a useful tool and here’s how:

Find any organization that is willing to communicate with you and provide you support. I’m obviously going to advocate for the CPUSA. With a century long history and chapters around the country, there’s a good chance comrades will be able to support you in your endeavors. Even if you don’t want to join the party, feel free to contact us to collaborate and work together. If it isn’t practical or you refuse for ideological differences, find another organization. Find the nearest one if you have to. Even if that org slightly differs from your stances it’s better than nothing. If you want to start your own party and organization and have the social skills then by all means. For those with social anxiety its best to start with something established until you get used to it.

Once you make contact, ask for advice on where to start. My DM’s are always open for non-spam related content. You might find a comrade within driving distance. If not, ask the party or organization if they can mail you posters, stickers, fliers, anything to get you started for distribution. You never know what you will find by just talking to people. For the social anxious comrades, put up QR codes that just links to a website where people can voice their concerns or ask to volunteer. You’re absolutely bound to get someone to message you just from the sheer quantity of people that pass a street. And there you go, a starting cadre! From there it will be up to the collective capacity and needs of the masses to decide what to do and at what frequency. I’ll be sure to write about the subject in the near future.

It is at this point we can return to the social media cycle, you can encourage your recently formed cadre to follow your social media as well as promote their own. Once this is done, showcase your praxis with pictures! If identities need to be concealed that’s understandable, use a filter, Photoshop or equivalent to blur faces. It’s a quick process. What this will do is that if we do this en masse, it will shift the narrative away from ideological circle-jerking on the left to “real leftists organize,” “real leftists put their ideas into practice”.

Is this peer pressuring people? Yeah. But it’s peer pressuring online leftists to get out and put those ideas they love to declare are superior to other leftists into practice. By encouraging CPUSA cadre to enter this “organizer peer pressure social media game” (absurd phrasing but just go with it for now) it will make us a better party by forcing us to adapt to a higher standard of left wing activism. And the same goes in reverse, if the CPUSA cadre mobilizes on a “respectable quantity” principle than a “circle-jerking quality” principle, then that forces critics of the party to either adapt their methods and do better, or if forces them to concede to our methods and join us on principle. It’s a win-win scenario, everyone becomes a better communist, socialist, etc.

There is a broader question about organizing accessibility for both “the terminally online communist” and the curious of the masses who struggle to fit it into their schedule. I’ll go over some of the ideas I’ve been discussing with my comrades in another article. I hope that this is inspiring enough to encourage collective and supportive organizing in your community, because no matter the tendency and differences between you and I, we should all agree on a fundamental principle that victory will come when the masses see themselves as the movers of history that they are and begin the march towards socialism.

Thank you for the read! Let me know your thoughts in the comments or DM me on Twitter.

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