Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Revolutionary Tactics and Rhetorical Care

Another bookmark: A note concerning the SWP and rank and fileism: principles and recent experiences. Some quick pull quotes:
So what would a revolutionary politics look like in the trade unions today? It would not be a trade union politics, but the translation of revolutionary politics into the trade union arena keeping in mind that large sections of the working class are not in the trade unions and that but a very small minority of workers are active trade unionists.

And yet:

This cannot but mean making the best of opportunities afforded by work carried out in broad left formations and by alliances with left union leaders, good examples would be Bob Crow and Mark Serwotka, without ever subjecting our project to their reformist ideology with its self defeating ordinances.

Not all readers would perceive a contradiction here, but I would. Which ties back to the main rhetorical problem of leftist politics: How to make evident to ever expanding circles what seems obvious to only a small minority. How to express difference without creating the appearance of condescension. Which I am too tired for, at the moment.

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