REDWAVE
Urban Jungle Dweller
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2001
- Posts
- 6,013
Burning questions of the anti-war movement
The objective conditions for socialist revolution in the U.S., and thus worldwide socialist revolution, are better now than they have been any time since the late 1960's. The global economic crisis, the illegitimacy of the Bush regime, the imminent war with Iraq, and the blatant class warfare in favor of the rich and against the working class and the poor, have engendered a mass protest movement in opposition. Now, as it prepares to invade Iraq, the Bush regime is gearing up for massive police state repression of the anti-war movement, and protest generally. Both DC and NYC have been made into armed camps, occupied by the military, ostensibly to protect the public from "terrorists," but really to intimidate and, if need be, crush popular dissent.
How is the anti-war movement to respond to this ominous development? So far, the anti-war movement has been led mainly by ANSWER, a front group formed by the Workers World Party (WWP), led by Larry Holmes. The WWP is ostensibly revolutionary, but in fact is centrist at best. It is reformist in deeds, allowing Democratic politicians (such as Barbara Lee) on its speakers' platforms, and avoiding any call for a revolutionary program. Other groupings, to the right of ANSWER, are also involved.
So far, the anti-war movement has progressed only slightly beyond the initial phase of purely peaceful, legal demonstrations. Civil disobedience actions, most of them small, have been carried out. The corporate media has blacked news of them out, and they have been reported only on alternative sources such as the IMC (Independent Media Center) network.
Once the onslaught against the anti-war movement begins in earnest, probably not long after the attack on Iraq, such limited tactics as have been employed so far will no longer suffice. It will become necessary to take the movement to the next level, that of armed self-defense against police state terror and repression. The reformist misleaders currently heading the anti-war movement will never do that, as they are fundamentally loyal to the capitalist state. Thus, it will become necessary for revolutionary leadership to come to the fore as quickly as possible.
Only then will the related tasks of forging the revolutionary vanguard party, and building a truly revolutionary mass movement, be posed concretely.
The objective conditions for socialist revolution in the U.S., and thus worldwide socialist revolution, are better now than they have been any time since the late 1960's. The global economic crisis, the illegitimacy of the Bush regime, the imminent war with Iraq, and the blatant class warfare in favor of the rich and against the working class and the poor, have engendered a mass protest movement in opposition. Now, as it prepares to invade Iraq, the Bush regime is gearing up for massive police state repression of the anti-war movement, and protest generally. Both DC and NYC have been made into armed camps, occupied by the military, ostensibly to protect the public from "terrorists," but really to intimidate and, if need be, crush popular dissent.
How is the anti-war movement to respond to this ominous development? So far, the anti-war movement has been led mainly by ANSWER, a front group formed by the Workers World Party (WWP), led by Larry Holmes. The WWP is ostensibly revolutionary, but in fact is centrist at best. It is reformist in deeds, allowing Democratic politicians (such as Barbara Lee) on its speakers' platforms, and avoiding any call for a revolutionary program. Other groupings, to the right of ANSWER, are also involved.
So far, the anti-war movement has progressed only slightly beyond the initial phase of purely peaceful, legal demonstrations. Civil disobedience actions, most of them small, have been carried out. The corporate media has blacked news of them out, and they have been reported only on alternative sources such as the IMC (Independent Media Center) network.
Once the onslaught against the anti-war movement begins in earnest, probably not long after the attack on Iraq, such limited tactics as have been employed so far will no longer suffice. It will become necessary to take the movement to the next level, that of armed self-defense against police state terror and repression. The reformist misleaders currently heading the anti-war movement will never do that, as they are fundamentally loyal to the capitalist state. Thus, it will become necessary for revolutionary leadership to come to the fore as quickly as possible.
Only then will the related tasks of forging the revolutionary vanguard party, and building a truly revolutionary mass movement, be posed concretely.
