ing a party on that scale means thinking very differently than we on the Left normally do about the minimum level of unity necessary in order to be in the same organization as other comrades. 9. The party for socialism must be as public as conditions allow. One of the most difficult dilemmas facing the radical Left in the USA, socialist and non-socialist, revolves around how public can be its activities in its own name. Specifically, can one be an open socialist and member of an openly socialist organization and not face either direct repression and/or marginalization? To a great extent this question revolves around one’s analysis of the state. The democratic capitalist State is not neutral. Its objective is to promote capitalism. As such, it will take steps, when necessary and possible, to repress certain levels of dissent, i.e., levels that appear to operate outside of the dominant capitalist consensus. This is not just repression of those of us on the Left, but also social movements that challenge – from the Left side of the political spectrum – the dominant ruling consensus. The Left has often been challenged in the so-called mainstream for not being open with its views and organizations. At the same time, when being open, particularly in the South and the Southwest, it is not uncommon for the Left – and particularly the Left of color – to face swift and vicious suppression. There are countless examples of this, but one need only think of the notorious Counter-Intelligence Program (COINTELPRO) in the 1960s and 1970s which aimed to repress the freedom movements of people of color, or the murders in Greensboro, North Carolina in November 1979 of members of the Communist Workers Party, murders that were proven to have taken place with the knowledge and acceptance of the forces of law and order. For these reasons, a party for socialism, recognizing that the capitalist ruling groups will never voluntarily accept a popular mandate for a transition to socialism, must operate on the assumption that repression is a present and future reality. In other words, there will be repression; the question is of the scale of said repression rather than whether said repression will take place. At the same time, there will be vast differences between various parts of the USA, largely based on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the broader progressive social movements, making it possible to do open socialist work depending on conditions. Therefore, there should not be a principle, for instance, of an underground party or a principle of a completely open party. There should, however, be an assumption that the party must protect its members, allies and work. The actual history of the USA shows that there is a high degree of intolerance by the ruling circles and the mainstream media for the Left in general and the radical Left in particular. At the same time, part of the reason-to-be for a party of socialism is to shift the ideological currents in society in favor of social transformation. This means that there must be an open presence to conduct such a battle. 10. There may be more than one party for socialism and, therefore, the socialist Left must be prepared to entertain the
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idea of a “front” of parties and/or organizations operating in concert. As we stated in Which Way Is Left?, the assumption that there will only be one leading party constitutes idealism and dogmatism. There are and will be differences within the socialist Left that may not be easily bridged. This may mean that separate organizations may need to exist for some time to come even if and when such organizations can agree on various forms of joint work. The conclusions from this include: • Not all differences can be worked out, even between principled groups. • Room must exist for both strategic and tactical alliances within the Left generally and the socialist Left in particular. • We are familiar with tactical alliances that come together around a certain issue or issues. Such alliances will remain important. • Strategic alliances must be forged on a greater scale within the general Left. Strategic alliances constitute conscious and formal agreements between organizations to work together on a set of long-term tasks. Such strategic alliances may result, at some point in the future, in a merger but they may not necessarily result in anything other than a long-term arrangement. • Successful strategic alliances will more than likely necessitate an organizational framework in order to coordinate activities and work through differences and challenges. As exhibited in Nicaragua and El Salvador, for instance, this may take the form of a radical front that formally brings organizations together but does not necessarily result in a merger. • Strategic alliances can also be constituted between different sections of the Left. For instance, a party for socialism might construct a strategic alliance with a party or organization that emerged out of a specific social movement, e.g., an oppressed nationality radical formation. While the concept of a merger should not be foreclosed, entry into a strategic alliance would not be grounded on the assumption of merger, though there would be sufficient grounding for a high level of working unity. 11. The conditions for the formation of a party should not be based upon the assumption of comprehensive unity on all of the major questions facing the Left. As we raised earlier, contrary to the practice of the U.S. Left to elevate every political question to a splitting question, the single biggest challenge that the socialist Left faces is to ascertain what are the minimum conditions of unity. This means what are the specific questions around which there must be principled unity in order for a party to come into existence and operate successfully. It is this matter that should be foremost in the minds of the socialist Left, rather than operating on assumptions that there is clarity as to what those questions are as well as clarity as to the answers to such questions. As part of the debate that needs to take place, we will be elaborating our views as to what those questions are. At the general level, and for purposes of a very preliminary discussion, we would suggest consideration go to: