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Strategy

Is Economic Struggle Enough?—A Critique of “Base Building”

There is a new tendency on the U.S. left. The Marxist Center calls for a strategy of "base building" in order to overcome capitalism. While this has a number of progressive elements, such as independence from the Democratic Party, this guest post by Steve Leigh of the Revolutionary Socialists of Seattle argues why "base building" marks a step back from Marxist strategy. 

Steve Leigh

November 2, 2019

Chile and the New Cycle of Class Struggle in Latin America

The revolutionary days in Chile are the high point of a new political cycle that has begun across Latin America. It is not an isolated case, but falls within the framework of the return of the class struggle at an international level, from France and the Spanish State to Hong Kong, through Lebanon, Iraq, and elsewhere.

Matías Maiello

October 30, 2019

The Transitional Program: A Manifesto for Urgent Struggle

The Transitional Program was drafted in 1938 by Trotsky and includes democratic demands (such as for the struggle for the agrarian revolution and national independence of colonized nations), minimal demands (such as for the eight-hour workday and wage increases), transitional demands (like those for the abolition of trade secrets, workers’ control of industry and nationalization of the banking system, and for workers’ and peasants’ governments), and organizational demands (such as self-defense pickets, the creation of a workers’ militia, and for workers councils or soviets).

Juan Dal Maso

September 28, 2019

Socialists Need Organizations, Even if They’re Small

"From Little Things Big Things Grow": Mick Armstrong of the organization Socialist Alternative in Australia has written a book about strategies for building revolutionary organizations. A former member of the ISO reviews it and investigates the debates about the "micro-sect."

Steve Leigh

August 30, 2019

Reform or Revolution, 2019 Edition

The old debate between Luxemburg and Bernstein is back: reform or revolution? But now it is Chris Maisano from the DSA and Jacobin defending electoral politics, while Tim Horras of the Philly Socialists argues for revolution and “base building.” Here, Juan Cruz Ferre of Left Voice explains why we need a revolutionary workers’ party.

Juan Cruz Ferre

July 28, 2019

An Introduction to the Kautsky Debate

All of a sudden, socialists in the U.S. have started talking about Karl Kautsky. Why? We provide an overview of the debate for comrades who haven't been following it.

Nathaniel Flakin

July 23, 2019

Lenin, Kautsky, and the State

Did Lenin ever really break with Karl Kautsky? Lars Lih says no. But Lenin was clear about the need for the working class to smash the bourgeois state.

Christopher Baum

July 20, 2019

Which Way Forward for the Trotskyist Left?

The Partido Obrero (PO, Workers Party) of Argentina is experiencing a major crisis. In this article, two leading members of the PTS, which is part of the Workers Left Front (FIT) alongside the PO, take a look at the crisis of the PO to begin a discussion about which strategy is needed to build revolutionary parties today.

Matías Maiello

July 18, 2019

The Struggle Continues: From the ISO to Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists

A new communist collective, Central Ohio Revolutionary Socialists (CORS), is nearing its official launch. The nucleus of this organization was the Columbus branch of the International Socialist Organization (ISO). An organizer who spent five years as a member of the ISO recaps the final weeks of the ISO and distills some of the lessons which have informed their trajectory as an independent organization.

Coco Smyth

July 12, 2019