File spoon-archives/marxism2.archive/marxism2_1996/96-04-08.195, message 71


Date: Thu, 4 Apr 1996 11:51:15 +0200 (MET DST)
From: malecki-AT-algonet.se (Robert Malecki)
Subject: Trade Union lists


>Sally
>So while we fight amongst each other as to who is the most loony, this is
>what the typical trade unionists thinks of us all.
>Bob is also correct that we could do some good work here, which is something
>that I am very interested in discussing. Perhaps we could discuss a strategy
>of how to gently incorporate socialist ideas into a trade union forum such as
>that list. Clearly the slash and burn approach is disastrous and even
>prompted a betrayal on the order of "white flight" among elitists Marxists
>here. It puts people on the defensive and shortcuts understanding for
>divisive political purposes. We all lose.
>
>Similarly, I'd also be interested in the efforts you see to combat the
>tendency toward right-wing populism in Scandinavia. What about the New
>Democracy party?
>
>Sally Ryan
>

Sally is partially right that there is an anti-communist hysteria on
 this particular list.Perhaps it is because of some of the so called
self pro-claimed "communists" themselves, however in general i would
say that it is the right wing of the trade union bureaucracy which has
the most fear of our ideas. They are carreerists and know which side
of the bread their is butter. But i do not mean that we should get
involved in endless discussions about reforms, but should present
clear arguements on key issues such as unemployment,racism, cuts,
the women,s question while at the same time pointing a finger at
those that the bureaucrats support and there politics. Even going
on to say things like i want a leadership that defends my interests,
but also moves things forward in our interests. Not bowing and
cowtowing to parties (democrats,social democrats,etc.) who,s
policies are hardly in our interests and so on. We should be drawing
both broad programatic conlusions like a socialist government or a
workers government who fights in our interests and so on. One
naturally should not start screaming "dictatorship of the Proletariat"
but present it in a way that we move in that direction. By just
demanding a 6 hour working day, or more jobs, or more money, or
whatever is not enough. The Euro-communists are experts at this.
But the only thing this will lead to at best, is that people will
be just jumping from side to side depending on who in the workers
movemenmt at present makes the highest bid.

We should also turns these lists into internationalist lists. That
being presenting issues and debating from as many countries as possible.
One of the key reasons is to fight protectionism, but also put a squeeze
on the bureaucrats in other countries. For example if i and somebody
else were to start a discussion about "child care centers, being
closed down here in Sweden because the capitalist are generally
attacking the unions and welfare programs, demanding that not only
should the present child care centers be defended, (one should be
very descriptive about childcare here) and that even more should be
built in and around the factories where men and women work, etc.
Connecting naturally this to a real workers government or party
who fights in our interests and not the bosses etc. This kind of
presentation is directed not only at the Swedish working class, but
the American or other nations working class where discussions and
demands like this hardly exist! Perhaps it will even serve a s a
spark to get things going in other countries. I would even say
things like this. "you trade union guys in America, what do you
think about childcare and centers near the industries, tell us
what you think, what would you do, what do you want, and so on.
Forcing people to begin to think and take positions in their own
interests. This is just one example their are probably hundreds
of examples and threads that we can begin. We should also be
supporting one another to keep the discussion going and moving.
I would sense that what the bureaucrats fear most is that guys
who say now, "So and so is accused of being a communist, he must
be doing something right" start demanding or supporting our ideas
and programatic conclusions. We will have to test and test again
without letting the bureaucrats red bait us. Another thing is
that people are going to have to learn how to talk to workers,
their are quite a few people on this list who have been caught
in left-wing terminology and write as if they were proffs on
"Pravda" or perhaps "the rising sun". You will not come anywhere
with this crap. Still today the left has a stink of petty bougeois
intellectualist elite thinking and talking in their terminology.
Not only that, they are turning Marx and Lenin and Trotsky in to
to some sort of fucking bible. But there is also another danger.
And that is when intellectualls turn to the working class, they
have a tendency to become opportunist in their programs and at best
try to tail the most left-wing expression of trade-unionism. We are
not in the trade unions to reform them. We are there in order to
prepare the members for a revolutionary take over of power. This
can not be done with phrasemongering, nor capitulation to the
backwardness of the class.

Racism!!!!! Racism is a key question today internationally.It
has many faces and many spokesmen or women. Sometimes it is quite
open and directed at skin colour, but other times takes devious
paths such as protectionism or cheap labour in third world countries.
I am not an expert on this stuff but it is a very sewrious an
growing problem at least here in Sweden. Sally mentioned the right
wing popularlists here in Sweden "New Democracy". In fact these
people were not the real threat. It was the bankruptcy of the
labor movement and especially the Social Democracy here which
made racism a clean subject to discuss. Trade union bosses like
the leader of the metalworkers union "Blomman" who made foreign
workers a legitimate target for Swedish workers. His intervention
into the debate against the rightwing popularlist, who certainly
were getting votes from workers under the pressure of unemployment
and general attacks on the welfare state, was not to take up the
mantel against this filth,but Blomman used this to split the
workers and find and easy way out for the trade union
bureaucracy by blaming the politics of immigration he turned
worker against worker and was rewarded with a post in the
present government. He became immigration minister and has been
throwing immigrants out to left and right. The message of the
Social Democracy has been- it is the foreign workers and mass
immigration which are responsible for our problems. At the same
time they have almost built a coalition government with its
bourgeois partners in order to integrate Sweden into the new
imperialist conglomeration called the common market as smalltime
partners. This has been the trend of the Social Democratic party
after the fall of the soviet union and this is the line that is
assending. The left both in the Social Democracy and outside is
in a shambles and a new actor the enviornmentalists have come
onto the scene. They have sucked up most of the intellectual
left milj=F6 for there rotten anti-working class politics.

But getting back to racism.. I am at present devided on this
question. On the one hand i say that we have to fight inside
the existing organisations against it and for international
solidarity. However things have gone so far that even the foreign
nationals in the Social democratic party have recently held their
own congress along side of the Social Democratic congress in
protest to the racist atomosphere inside the party and the trade
unions. The Swedes appear not to understand at present that
foreign blood is being spilled on the streets and people are
getting really desperate. It is no joke when i say in my early
articles "Grafitti" that the slogan of "Burn baby Burn" are not
to far off here in Sweden.I can talk to any foreigner here about
these matters but the majority of Swedes appear to be ignorant
of reality for foreign nationals in this country at best. In
fact many see us as people who have taken our jobs and live in
government grants. In fact, people live on grants because they
can,t get jobs.

Perhaps in the future it will be impossible to organise in
the unions. Perhaps independant organisations will be neccessary.
And i am certainly not against transitional organisations outside
of the unions if it will move things forward. For example,
organisations for the 20 million or so unemployed and on the
dole. Special forms of organisations for foreign nationals,
even special organistations for women! But the point here i
guess is that people should be organised and fighting in
someway against capitalism. The point is our programatic
intervention into these forms and how we agitate and move
things forward towards a seizure of power...

I stop here for now

bob





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