Context: I live in a smallish to medium sized town in England with no existing socialist/ communist/ anarchist societies or groups that I know of present. The closest I can think of is that we have a Green Party candidate (which is a pretty socialist party)
I’ve been consuming leftist content for quite a while now - I’d say my deprogramming kind of started during the coronavirus lockdowns but I really started considering myself socialist around 2 years ago. I’m tired of having these beliefs that I don’t really seem to act on other than having the odd discussion with friends - I was wondering how I can start mobilising within the community to get real change done. How can I start meeting politically likeminded people in my community. I feel like it’s hard to get together as no one ever says they’re a communist that often.
Thanks in advance.
I’m not well versed in theory, but my understanding so far is that organising is simply getting a group of people to commit to work together with a goal in mind.
Not every “organising” group has to have a socialist revolution in mind. But organised groups with class consciousness in the core of their values will know which side they represent in the class struggle.
Maybe establishing a routine with your local green party is a way to expose yourself to pressing issues in your community, and learn to work in a group.
If you want your own initiative, I guess borrowing from the entrepreneurship textbook isn’t too horrible. You need to find a problem, a way to solve it, and work on that that idea to make it a reality. You will need a communication strategy, a recruitment strategy, a work strategy, a funding strategy. This is all work that can be shared in a group of people that commit and execute to it. That volunteer some of their free time to tasks related to an organisation.
I feel that aligns with the very broad “organise the working class” that theory asks us to. It is still broad, but I think it makes it a bit more tangible.
I also don’t think the people have to be exclusively communists to join, so I wouldn’t be particularly worried in that aspect. Most people lean into being good humans, and are easy to work with. As long as we show our values and they are comfortable with them, it’s all fun and games. That keeps the nazis away. :)
This was a really helpful answer, thanks!
It might not be exactly what you’re looking for but, if you’re interested in learning more about how to organize a party and mobilize, there’s an amazing book by Álvaro Cunhal called “O Partido com Paredes de Vidro” (The Party with Glass Walls). It gives an overview on how the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) works and how individuals organize and mobilize inside and beyond the party. It’s available on marxists.org and unfortunately it’s not translated to English but it’s so insightful that I’ve been thinking of translating it myself and publishing it somewhere.
The PCP might be one of the best organized and participative ML parties in Europe and one of political parties with most militants in Portugal, even if electoral results fluctuate (a result of the intensification of defamatory propaganda by the media, e.g. Russia-Ukraine war). From the internal organization and connection with unions to being there with general populations in every single struggle, it should definitely be an example for anyone trying to organize. Many of us get stuck in ideological debates but organizing should not be all about ideological purity. It should be about fighting for actual change in the people’s life, in such a way that it cannot be ignored. They can oppose communism or marxist leninism but no one can ever ignore that the movement is always there and that, as it’s commonly said, “the PCP owns the streets”.
This should be useful both if you’re actually thinking of starting your own initiative or joining an already existing one. If you choose to join the Green Party, be aware that it’s definitely not ML and that most there are probably just interested in “green politics”, but it’s not impossible to bring it closer to those ideals. Look at the Portuguese Green Party which has a coalition with the PCP since 1983. I don’t know much about how the UK Green Party works but maybe try to join it, align yourself with a more leftist fraction within it (if such a thing exists) and try to make a change from inside (do not be obnoxious about it). Try to use the platform of the party or at least a fraction of it to get more involved in everyday struggles of your town and surrounding area. Also above all educate yourself and help others in that process, that’s the “easiest” thing we can do.
PS: Sorry if this came off as a Portuguese Communist Party circlejerk.
This is likely to be the very next book I read! I kind of expected clearer instructions from Lenin, on what’s to be done, but that’s a mostly strategic work, not a tactical one.
Damn, I really wish I knew portugese at this moment 🥲 - sounds like the PCP is a good case study (especially the owning the streets part) so I’ll definitely take a look at learning more about them. Thanks for the in-depth answer.
Organizing is really just working toward a common goal. It entails creating unions, spreading propaganda, feeding and housing people, mutual aid, protesting, etc. The ultimate goal is communism, but for now we are just trying to raise consciousness, prepare for the next revolutionary situation, and help those that are suffering today (including helping victims of imperialism).
Cpusa usually has resources to help with this but unfortunately we are in the same situation and I can’t give really sufficient advice beyond that
thanks, do you happen to have a link to which page on the cpusa website has the resource?
