False solutions vs Revolution

A week or so ago, I was in Vancouver, visiting my Comrades involved in Mobilization Against War and Occupation (MAWO).

 I stayed with them in one of their homes, and attended some of their demonstrations and events. All in all, I will admit to being somewhat impressed with parts of their organizing method, specifically their resolve and their commitment, as well as their wealth of equipment and attempts at professionalism.

On the other hand, in general, I saw a lot of the same problems that plague most organizations of the left, and set the genuine Marxist-Leninist organizations apart from the mainstream.

The first day I was there, they held a demonstration, presumably to coincide with an international day of action, but while they claimed that the demo was held with the intent of pulling troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, the only thing I saw at the demonstration was blatant and shameless self promotion. From atop their pulpit of the steps of the Vancouver art gallery, the MAWO comrades basically resorted to pseudo religious “fire and brimstone” scare tactics, the likes of which I have heard so many times before: “There is a war in Iraq! There is a war in Afghanistan! The police are arresting protesters!” From these incidents, they put forward their solution ”That is why you should join MAWO!”

Eh? I think I missed something. Come again? Joining MAWO is the solution to the wars of aggression in the middle east? How so?

 What ,exactly, is MAWO doing that sets them apart from every other anti-imperialist/anti-war coalitions out there? As near as I can see, like so many others, they are publishing their magazine and holding demonstrations. Now, this in itself is not the problem ( I understand all too well how the actions of an organization often depend on  their numbers,); many, if not most  organizations in Canada are at this level of organization right now.  The problem, the one point which renders their entire organization completely impotent in the short and long term is that which is so important to any revolutionary organization: Their political line.

The line of MAWO is not advocating socialist revolution. None of the member organizations or individuals within MAWO are advocating socialist revolution.  Because of this, basically despite all aspirations, and despite their commited membership and wealth of equipment and literature, they have no chance of meeting their goals.

In their desire to be “relevant” and “appealing” to the Canadian masses, they have relegated Marx and Lenin to the closet, in favour of a more sanitary “anti-imperialist” image and line, and this in itself causes complications. I would be interested in knowing how they plan to achieve even one of the goals of their organization. While I have broached the subject with some of their membership, the answers have mostly revolved around vague “uniting” and building MAWO.  This does not answer my question.

See, whether MAWO has 1 member or a 1 million members, it makes no difference if their line is flawed. If they are not calling for socialist revolution, then how can they possibly accomplish any of their stated objectives to end wars of imperialism abroad? How can they possibly offer solidarity in anything other than words to the peoples of nations beleaguered by imperialism, without assuming state power?

The more I discuss it with their membership, the more erroneous their line becomes. Membership defended their closet-Leninist, closet-socialist approach to the world situation, and on the subject of their lack of support for socialist revolution, the asserted that such a call and such tactics were archaic and out dated. On the subject of propagating socialism and revolution, they believe that  just by upholding the example of socialism in Cuba, they will start to spread the desire for revolution among Canadians.

 Once again, I can not agree with this approach. Cheer-leading has never advanced socialism in any nation, and even the most shining examples of workers states have provided inspiration for revolutions in other countries, but not necessity. You can not import a revolution, and while Cuban socialism may provide inspiration for a revolution, it is not going to give life to revolution in Canada. While many members of MAWO claim to be adherents to Leninism (secretly, of course,), they don’t seem to be preparing for revolution, building a revolutionary party capable of acting as Vanguard, or trying to lead the workers to seize state power (without which , none of their stated objectives can be accomplished.).  Also, they make no analysis of the Canadian situation, apart from aboriginal struggles, and self promotion of their own objectives.

In fact, it took nothing less than the arrest of one of their members for them to turn their attention to the Canadian situation. And yet, even this event  was not enough to jar them into proclaiming the fascist, monopoly capitalist nature of the Canadian state, or suggesting any alternatives to our present system.

No, MAWO is doomed. They hide their more “scandalous” vestiges of Leninism to try and gather more membership, but in all honesty, what are they gathering these members for? They want the various imperialist powers to immediately cease their wars of aggression abroad, but how do they plan to exert influence on said powers without wielding state power themselves (or at least, building up to seize it.)?  How do they plan to end Canada’s imperialist wars overseas, without overthrowing our current government (and subsequently withdrawing troops from foreign wars)? Magic spells, I presume? At this point, if they plan to halt imperialist wars with demonstrations and petition campaigns, they might as well look into sorcery; they will accomplish just as much.

The impotent nature of their cheer-leading and organizing techniques can even bloom into absolute opportunism, unintentional as it may be. By drawing the youth and progressive forces into their work, they are leading them away from tangible, practical modes of struggle, and consuming them with abstract battles and meaningless cheer-leading.  In the end, the members of this organization will either leave for other groups (either more revolutionary, or more reformist,), become disillusioned and abandon politics, or simply go down with the ship when MAWO disintegrates. MAWO, and all entities connected with it will soon be faced with the ultimatum of taking up revolution as it’s central priority, or dissolving into stagnation and eventual nothingness within the next few years.

I hope they take up the former rather than the latter.

The Evil lesser

(For the record, this post was written and published in August, not September) 

So, the latest big development in Canadian politics is the “SPP” controversy. If you don’t know what that is, as most Canadians don’t, it is the proposed economic and diplomatic union of Canada, the United States and Mexico, not unlike the European union.

 Anyways, as awareness of this move by the governments of the above nations grows, nationalist tensions increase.  Canadian activists are mobilizing like this is ”it”, the final move by the USA to Annex Canada.

Please.

 Canada is allready annexed. The purpose of the SPP, I think, is simply to allow a legal basis for the powers that be of the United States to interfere in Canada on a more high profile basis. Still, these activists who are running around screaming like Chicken little are basically only show-casing their own naivity.

 The fact of the matter is, the United States has effectively been influencing and interefering in Canada’s soveriegnty, as well as our foreign and domestic policy for years. From Canada’s involvement in NATO, to the NAFTA agreement, to the plunder of our natural resources (especially petroleum) for miniscule royalties, the US has had their hands in Canadian policy and wealth for decades. 

Even in the last couple of years, there is a trend of attempted prisoner extradition, as Canadian citizens such as Marijuana party leader Marc Emery and Aboriginal AIM activist John Graham have both been slated for extradition to the US.

I guess that is why, in addition to my general disillusionment with nationalism, I’m just not feeling the urgency with the proposed SPP yet . In order to be a nationalist, I guess you have to love your country, and for me that ship has sailed. I see this paradox present in so many of the activist left, and it is quite odd. This proposed SPP is being invoked by the social democratic left, and even supported by mainstream “left” parties like the NDP, as a means to stir up flames of nationalist sentiment, and in essence drum up support for our current Canadian state.

I mean, I’m not at all in favour of the proposed SPP, but that isn’t to say that I am in favour of the current Canadian government in it’s present incarnation. It really is almost diabolical the way that the enemies of the Canadian state have been pulled into the fight to defend it’s continued existence. I was at the local SPP protests in my city, marching alongside anarchists! Anarchists! These are supposed to be people who are against ALL concepts of a state, and yet here they are, up in arms, to defend the soveriegnty of the state that they claim to be fighting against as their main enemy? Did I miss something?(Not to get off topic, but it is always amusing to me when the political bankruptcy and excessive individualism of anarchists manifests itself as support for capitalist initiatives.)

This is the same way I reacted when Steven Harper was ‘elected’. I too was running around, a prophet of doom forcasting the progressive forces being ‘taken away’ by a hypothetical secret police.  Now I see that this analysis was naive.

A bourgeosie is a bourgeosie is a bourgeosie. I harbour no fondness for American imperialist ambitions in Canada, but I’m not exactly content with our current Canadian national bourgeosie and the machinations of their men in parliament either. To choose a “lesser of two evils”, would be to renounce the class struggle in favour of inter-imperialist squabbling and petty nationalism, and would ignore the truth that our current “autonomy” is an illusion anyways.

The lines that are being disiminated now are not unlike those of the Menshiviki and the Second international during the first world war in europe; the people of our respected countries are asked to fight for the preservation of our national bourgeosie, to become the dogs of war in the service  of a system of government that has only ever ruled over the working class by decree.

It was up to Comrade Lenin and the Bolshevik party to put forward the correct slogan during the first world war, even as Armed German troops were fighting Russians on the front. The Bolshevik party said (and I’m paraphrasing,) “Turn this imperialist war into a civil war”, reflecting the sentiment that the Czar was NOT better than the advancing Germans, and preserving his rule was not a victory for the masses of Russia.

I think that such an analysis is still relevant. The way to oppose the SPP is not by becoming advocates of the Canadian state;it is by seizing the reins of the Canadian state .As with most other problems of a diplomatic, social and material nature, people power is the definitive answer.