A common refrain from baby leftists is that we need to unify the left. They look around at the fragmented factions of Democratic Socialists, Anarchists, Marxist-Leninists (MLs), and Marxist-Leninist-Maoists (MLMs), and declare that we should create a single, gigantic leftist organization to take on Capitalism.
This desire is entirely understandable but is equally unrealistic. To understand why, we have to realise that the liberal understanding of politics that we’ve all been raised on is useless for creating real change.
In the liberal mind, politics is a marketplace of ideas, and we need only prove our ideas in rigorous debate for the best ones to win out. If parties are divided now, we need only talk it out.
As Socialists, we realise that there are two types of contradictions. Non Antagonistic Contradictions can be talked out between parties, because they’re disagreements about details rather than about fundamental principles. We might disagree about what percentage of our resources should be used distributing propaganda vs doing community aid work, but we’re hardly likely to come to blows over it.
Then there are Antagonistic Contradictions. These are contradictions that can only be solved through force, because parties hold positions between which there can be no compromise.
Anarchists would oppose the creation of a Vanguard Party as being authoritarian and undemocratic, while Marxist-Leninists and MLMs will refuse to work without one, because theory and practice has proven them to be highly effective revolutionary tools.
Likewise, MLMs will want to start a Protracted People’s War, (guerilla warfare against the state,) while MLs would condemn this as ineffective terrorism.
Then we have the Democratic Socialists, who want to work through the ballot box, and are horrified at any revolutionary work, which they see as undemocratic. Everyone else in the potential coalition sees these DemSocs as naive for not understanding that the ruling class, in any society, only allows a semblance of democracy until its rule is threatened, at which point it resorts to brutal violence. Ask Rosa Luxemburg and Salvador Allende.
Anarchists, DemSocs, MLs, and MLMs all hold fundamental positions that are irreconcilable with each other. That’s why we’re separate factions in the first place.
But while we can’t join into a single organization, we can and do still work together in our fight against Capitalism. Mostly we work separately in our different groups and stay out of each other’s way, but you’ll see all factions at strikes and protests.
We share a common enemy and similar final goals. Real fighting amongst Socialists is a luxury that nobody in the left wants to engage in, and won’t be necessary until we finally near the overthrow of Capitalism. I guess we’ll see what happens then. But for now, just work towards Socialism by whatever means you think are most effective.
