Date: Wed, 19 Feb 1997 18:17:12 +0100 (MET)
From: malecki-AT-algonet.se (Robert Malecki)
Subject: RE: M-I: Marxists in Unions (Was: Young Workers and Walmart


6:15PM Wed. (test)
Well! 
I am glad to see a discussion like this on M-I and M-G. It is a very 
important discussion. However I was not surprised that many of our 
"Marxists" on the list in fact express the classical position of the 
Mensheviks and Bernsteinians on this question. Although not coming clearly 
and explicitly out and saying so the majority of people on the list can be 
characterized in that they see this question as going down to the level of 
those backward workers and in Godena,s case even futher of writting off the 
working class as a revolutionary class. And also the discussion backhandely 
appears to be the around the classical devision of the Leninists and the 
various wings of Russian Social democracy (albeit in a deformed and rather 
disguised way) of at best a mini-maxi program  in the daily struggles around 
single issues or bread and butter issues (economism)..

Unfortunately I am of the opinion that a "marxist" in the trade union is in 
fact a part of the vanguard and a tribune and transmission belt for the 
politics and the interests of the class as a whole. Naturally this does not 
mean ignoring individual conflicts, economic conflicts, or any of the daily 
conflicts that are constantly taking place in every workplace. But the duty 
of a "marxist" in the trade unions is to link these daily struggles to both 
a program and an analisis of turning the workers against their *real* 
enemies and finally towards a desperate struggle to sieze all political 
power on the road to a better society.

I mean Marx, Lenin, Trotsky certainly did not have any better conditions to 
work with in regards to "backward" workers back then. I would assume that 
they in fact probably had a far worse situation then we "marxists" have today.

Naturally this does not mean that one would go to a trade union meeting and 
use the terminology that we use on this list. But it does mean that the 
politics and program still have to be presented and linked to these everyday 
struggles. I mean we just can't sit around and say the workers don't 
understand this shit and do our 8 hours and go home. In fact I think that if 
you work 8 hours it gives you the opportunity to engage in politics and 
struggle for 8 hours. 

And this stuff about being a tribune of the people! Well, Lenin thought that 
this was correct. And I think he had the position that communists are in 
fact agitators for the historic interests of the class in every situation. 
And it was always linked to a struggle of power and revolution. Even in the 
blackest times after the defeat in 1905 and the ebb of the revolutionary 
uppsurge Lenin did not give up his program nor tactics of the party being 
the tribune of the historical interests of the Proletariat. And the program 
and politics including the revolutionary overthrow of the class enemy 
certainly never disappeared from the agitators and propagandist and partie 
repetoir!

And in fact the Trotskyists in Germany never gave up in far worse times 
during the Nazi period.

Because the whole point of a revolutionary party is in fact to lead the 
proletariat down the historical road of revolution. This means in every 
given situation being the tribune of revolution. This means that no matter 
how bad or good the situation is the tasks are basically the same and the 
tactics can change a bit determined by the concrete circumstances. 

Now to all this negative stuff about talking about revolution way over the 
head of the workers. Well..that is true. Everyday I talk over the head of 
the workers. And many times the workers think or even say that Malecki is 
crazy. While at the same time they respect me because despite what i say i 
am standing on the line or what ever doing the same shit job as the next 
guy. In fact at trade union meetings back in the good times the Social 
democrats and CPers would trounce us! And we would sometimes get boos and 
gasps and all the rest. But the things we were saying in the long run were 
being said and the workers could either not hear it or perhaps even 
understand it. And time goes by. Today the situation is not like it was back 
in the 70ties. Now when I go to meetings i get pats on the back and 
applause. And still many of the workers think Malecki is crazy. But they 
know I am on their side. I have been saying the same thing in different ways 
over and over and over again. But it is the Social Democracy and the CPers 
that have changed their tune! And that is what makes the difference. A big 
difference. Because the workers although they still do not understand 
realize that well maybe Malecki was not so crazy after all! 

Actually the big and central difference between the various forms of 
opportunism and Leninism is in fact that the Leninists always try to tell 
the revolutionary truth to the workers. The opportunists always try to 
either capitulate to the backwardness of the workers or betray them in one 
way or another.  

A more concrete form of this stuff would be one of the present debates in 
the LP. The money to military question.. Where they are for a line of cuts 
and using the money for bread and butter issues for example. Not at all out 
of line with some everyday conciousness of the working class. I mean 
exchange some of the "bomb" money for hospital or education. Now who could 
be against that. Well I am not against that but that is not the whole truth. 
Because I would say not one penny to the military! Because the money for the 
military is used to bomb poor and working class people in Vietnam or Iraq! 
Because the real military we need is a workers militia and a proletarian 
army which fights not for "America" in this case but for poor and working 
class people everywhere on this planet. And we would use the guns in order 
to take over the banks and factories from the bosses. Because these people 
are our deadly enemies and drown in Champagne while poor and working class 
people starve to death. Know naturally this just gets the hairs to rise on 
the necks of a lot of the people who subscribe to this list and in fact 
today i recieved a letter from the list moderater saying Cockroach is 
i"interesting" and I read it on asp all the time but I don't think it should 
be sent to our list and therefore i have censored Cockroach from the list is 
and expression of this kind of thinking. I think that banning Cockroach and 
another workers views is in fact a scandal. But the real point here is that 
quite a number of people on the LP list might not understand Malecki's 
Cockroach but sooner or later life will make them in one way or another 
confront the issues i am raising. Actually nothing I say in Cockroach is 
very hair raising. But it is interperted by the present conciousness of the 
various list participants in different ways depending on where they are 
coming from. And in this particular case it appears that one of the more 
hostile attitudes to another workers views on "What should be done!" has the 
power to push the ban button thus depriving one worker in exile and who he 
thinks far out, crazy or whatever has no place on the LP list. Naturally the 
same thing happened on both M1 and M2 and the so called "Unity" list never 
even let me through the door! Well I don't make the rules and i can only say 
that in the LP case that i protest there banning of Cockroach and then try 
to continue in other ways of talking about politics until I am either thrown 
off the list or what ever. But the whole point is I am certainly not going 
to change my style nor will i desist from giving my views. I think that my 
views go stick and stave in the historical interests of the poor and working 
class people. 

Now naturally this might not be to popular but it is the revolutionary truth 
and in the historical interests of the working class and should be said time 
and again and at every opportunity. Even if it falls on deaf workers ears. I 
mean back in the Vietnam war days that is exactly what i did and more. I 
said "Turn the guns around!" and quite a lot of other stuff that could be 
considered far off the wall. In fact I have no doubt that some of our 
"Marxists" on this list did the same think. But then revolutionary slogans 
and stuff was hip. But now you people have changed your tune. 

Now certainly many of my co workers at the tank plant did not particulily 
like it when I said all these crazy things but it had to be said. Some of 
the workers hated me. Others ignored me. Some tried to be nice but non 
political and others sometimes even said your are right Bob.. But the point 
is that communists have to do their job. Not try and find excuses for not 
telling the whole truth. And Christ I wasn,t even a Communist back in those 
days.. But the "marxists" on this list say that they mean the workers are so 
backward and crazy that they think stuff like this comes from Mars and can't 
relate to it or some bullshit. My question naturally to the people on this 
list is! WHEN WILL THE WORKERS BE READY TO HEAR THIS STUFF? IF NOT TODAY, 
TOMORROW?NEXT WEEK?NEXT MONTH;NEXT YEAR.. Get what I mean. Somebody has to 
start talking about revolution already yesterday or last year! 
But obviously it is not a majority of the "Marxists" on this list because 
you people are not ready and you do not think the workers are ready. I think 
the situation has been over ripe to talk about this stuff for decades. The 
problem is the present so called leadership has been sucking up to the class 
enemy of the Proletariat in one wat or another and want to continue along 
the same path . Well not me!

Today I talked to a high school class about Vietnam. I talked about the war 
and its character as a colonial war. I talked about how poor and working 
class people were used like pieces of meat in that war. I talked about why 
"you will go" and posed the reasons of what one should be fighting for and 
against. I linked it to the war going on here in Sweden today. Not the 
bloody kind in Vietnam but the war against working class people. And I 
talked about taking sides. Where are you coming from and which side you are 
on. I talked about the real world and not the RAMBO stuff or the 
stuff being pumped out on the TV on the present crisis. I also talked a bit 
about Bougainville and how this was just a new little Vietnam in the 
Pacific. And how the companies that were responsible for this war not only 
are shooting people in Bougainville but breaking trade unions in Australia 
and now are looking for gold and precious metals here in the North of 
Sweden..Probably a lot more and plenty of stuff which these kids perhaps 
don,t understand or even think about. But sooner later the situation will 
come where these people will be confronted with a situation where this kind 
of stuff will become a reality whehter it is a bloody war , a war in the 
trade union or whatever. It will be then that these far off and far out and 
crazy words of malecki will rise perhaps to the surface of their little 
brains and it may even be translated into action. I might not even be alive 
to see it but perhaps the communist revolutionaries of the future will have 
recieved a little help along the way.

On the other hand Karl (I only take as and example) says do 8 hours and go home!
Thanks for the advice Karl but Fuck Off and this goes for all of the rest of 
you who in one way or another say that we should some reason or another not 
be talking about revolution. And a specaial Fuck Off to Louis G who deserts 
the working class with his stuff. These are not flames but what i think 
about certain people and how they are acting in regards to poor and working 
class people. That is real for me. Not some fucking theory that says 
basically do nothing and at best talk about anything and everything as long 
as it does not relate to as a worker, We want it all. We want to smash the 
fatcats, take it from them and rebuild society on new new basis..

 Getting back to the kids. Another interesting thing. I was very surprised 
that a number of these kids and the teacher remembered a TV show i did a 
couple of three years back. And I was saying some of the same stuff then. 
And here you are in the class room alive and doing it right before our very 
eyes. 

Because there conciousness has been raised not only by hearing over the 
years Malecki agitating the same old shit which they thought crazy and 
"communist" and "far left" and all the rest. And linking it to the events 
today and the problems that both these kids and the workers are facing today 
and in the future will pay off.. And I believe that I know the situation is 
arising which makes the kids and the  workers become the "far left" because 
of what capitalism is now trying to do to them! So in fact the workers are 
moving towards my pole and away from the other pole of attraction.  

The problem with the left is that most of the left do not come from working 
class backgrounds and are adapting themselves to all kinds of theories which 
they think workers might buy. But I have never had that problem because 
everybody knows that Malecki is a worker and that he has always been saying 
basically the same thing.
Many of the leftists who made the turn towards industry and the trade unions 
origin from the university. They in fact have had some work in the 
industries like Volvo for perhaps ten or 15 years. Unfortunately they left 
theory behind them and have adapted to the class as it is both 
programatically, politically, and think that this makes them revolutionary 
workers. It makes them at best capitulaters to the backwardness  of the 
workers conciousness. At best left wing Social democrats these days! I on 
the other hand went exactly the other way! I was just a stupid working class 
kid and was won over to the historical task of fighting for proletarian 
revolution everywhere. Now why would I want to stop halfway once I have 
realized it. Or why should I shut up because the workers don't understand 
this shit? And why should I argue like the majority of our list "marxists" 
who are either standing still or heading in the other direction!!!!!!!!Ha Ha 
what a joke! I finally got here after a whole life of struggle and 
experience and now our "Marxists" are saying you fucking sectarian crazy or 
some shit like that. The words that most recently come to mind are from Gary 
in Australia where he blows out "There must be a God!" or something along 
those lines on my temporary problems with computers and servers! My thoughts 
are. Well Gary is heading in the other direction and will betray the working 
class because he sees me has some fucking sectarian crazy and I am only 
trying to tell the revolutionary truth as i see it! 

It would be interesting to hear what Gary has to say about what should we be 
talking to workers about these days. He appears to be trying to suck up to 
some of the more backward layers at best. Well that is a big difference. I 
want to make revolution. I want to overthrow the capitalists. I want to 
build the dictatorship of the Proletariat. I want to in this case be and 
honest person and say as many times as possible that this is the ONLY way 
for poor and working class people can really get it together. Obviously our 
"Marxists" on this list think perhaps that Malecki the "Spart" or Trot" 
should calm down with his sectarian bullshit and join the path that they are 
taking which is either standing still and whining or go backwards. Sorry 
guys and girls. Fuck off it took a whole life of reading, struggle and hard 
earned experience to get here. If you want to go in the opposite direction 
well Good Bye.

I think Lenin,s point was that the party in the trade union was exactly the 
opposite. In fact a tribune for revolution! 

I will stop there for now. But I hope the discussion continues. I would 
especially like to hear from Yoshie who started this thread exactly what he 
thinks and where he is going. Because I have either missed it or he is 
running a game here on this list.

Bob Malecki
=================================================
Check Out My HomePage where you can,

Read the book! Ha Ha Ha McNamara,
Vietnam-My Bellybutton is my Crystalball!

Or Get The Latest Issue of,

COCKROACH, a zine for poor and workingclass people

http://www.algonet.se/~malecki


--------------------------------------------------------






     --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---