Fresh Friday #2

Happy Friday! It also happens to be my sister's birthday today, so I'm getting jazzed up to celebrate with her on Sunday (we all work too much). That being said, let us engage in some new ideas.

I had originally had a lot of trouble thinking up what I was going to discuss today. I had tried culling some articles from my collection, trying to rehash some theories and ask some questions, but then something happened that sparked my curiosity, and at the same time allows me to refer back to Fresh Friday #1, on Evangelical Marxism. So, on to Fresh Friday #2:

On the Integration of Social Media in Party Organization
-E.M. Diderot

It is the prerogative of any Marxist organization to administer its business according to their own rubrics. If this is according to Lenin's Democratic Centralism, or total political democratization, it is the prerogative of the organization to choose its means of administration. Just as any revolution will look different based on the socio-political context of the revolution, so will any organization's administration look different based on the same contextual concerns. This, however, has its limits when it comes to strategy and evangelization of the organization.

At its core, the mission of the organization should be twofold: the ultimate usurpation of the state and fundamental restructuring of society to rid the state and the workers of the parasitic bourgeoisie, and the protracted working goal of evangelization. The state cannot be usurped with a minority or else this would constitute a coup and in no way represent a revolutionary social shift as is necessary for the building of Socialism. It must be attained through protracted class struggle by a violently conscious working class. The only way to attain that level of class consciousness is through the twofold approach of education and integration. All other short-term working goals are subordinated to this one--of expanding the organization and invigorating it with new blood.

As part of an evangelical approach to Marxism, it is imperative that any tool that allows a Marxist organization to reach as many people as possible be utilized. Social media has given us unprecedented ability to do this, even as Facebook attempts to shut down anti-Capitalist, Feminist, LGBTQ, non-heteronormative, etc. pages while defending heteronormative, anti-Feminist, pro-Capitalist pages. Facebook is a tool that must be recognized for what it is: a way to coordinate and attract like-minded comrades from every corner of the globe. It is also a way to establish coordination networks for local actions off of Facebook, since the network records what you DON'T share, and has the potential to start recording what you do. Despite this, the administration coteries of several Communist, Anarcho-Syndicalist/Communist, Socialist, etc. groups make it a point that only people who are known outside of the network in real life (IRL was an acronym I hadn't seen for awhile...ahh nostalgia!) are to be considered for administration positions.

While laudable since it is a way to verify the intentions, history, and credibility of a potential admin, it is severely limiting and self-defeating. If one's purpose is to build a loyal organizational base administered only by people you know in person, it is far easier and more sensible to do it the old fashioned way out of a basement somewhere and shun the social networking. It means that no matter how the evangelization of Marxism effects the membership of your organization, if there is no prospect for their advancement because you do not know them personally outside the online face of the organization, they might as well not exist, and your membership numbers should be revised to reflect that only the administrative core exists as members.

Instead, any evangelical approach to Marxism must recognize that we all exist outside of the internet. And while this does not mean everyone who joins up on your Facebook page must be guaranteed administrative access, it means the requirements and rubrics by which administrative promotion is done must be revised. Contributions to the organization via news items, reports about activities of enemy organizations (AnCaps, anti-Feminists, etc.), conversational contributions, and extra-organizational contributions via publications and direct actions should be weighed against the requirements to be given administrative access.

Why is this so important? Because, believe it or not, genuine Left organizations do not exist in all areas. Just as any revolution will take on different forms in different climes, and any organization will take on different forms in different settings, Leftists take on different forms in different conditions. The Communist Party USA and Socialist Party USA are all Social Democrats and do not represent the political Left in any meaningful sense. American trade unions are mere tools for the further exploitation of their membership by Capitalists, and grassroots Leftist organizations are very easily co-opted by well-intentioned but poorly-educated Liberals. So, in many places, devoted comrades do not have access to other comrades and organizations. If we are to overcome Communism's crisis of relevance in a post-industrial, service-oriented economic environment, we must use the tools available to us in every instance to spread Marxism, raise class consciousness, and secure the revolution. We cannot rely on the operational strategies of the 1880's, 1910's, 1950's, or even the 1980's. In the Twenty-First Century, at the dawn of 2014, our methods and strategies must reflect the technological changes that have occurred in the almost 140 years of Marxist history. If we fail to do so we will die, and the world will die with us.