Mapping Socialist Strategies

MAPPING SOCIALIST STRATEGIES

Reporting Back and Moving Forward

August 1-4, 2014 Edith Macy Conference Center 550 Chappaqua Road, Briarcliff Manor, NY Table of Contents

Reporting Back and Moving Forward

“Business is in Command”...... 2 Neoliberalism vs. the Public / the Commons...... 4 Exposing Neoliberalism’s Weak Spots...... 7 Tar Sands and Pipeline Campaigns Along the Canada-U.S. Border...... 7 Chicago Teacher’s Union and the Strike of 2012...... 7 Austerity, Collapse, and the Rise of the Radical Left in Greece...... 8 Jackson, Mississippi: Before and After Chokwe Lumumba...... 8 Overcoming Fragmentation and Rebuilding the Left...... 9 Socialism by Sector...... 10 Where Do We Go From Here?...... 11

Published by the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung, New York Office, September 2014

Compiled by James P. Hare

Editors: Stefanie Ehmsen and Albert Scharenberg Address: 275 Madison Avenue, Suite 2114, New York, NY 10016 Email: [email protected]; Phone: +1 (917) 409-1040

The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation is an internationally operating, progressive non-profit institution for civic education. In cooperation with many organizations around the globe, it works on democratic and social participation, empowerment of disadvantaged groups, alternatives for economic and social development, and peaceful conflict resolution.

The New York Office serves two major tasks: to work around issues concerning the United Nations and to engage in dialogue with North American progressives in universities, unions, social movements, and politics.

www.rosalux-nyc.org Mapping Socialist Strategies Reporting Back and Moving Forward

In the first days of August, 2014, the Rosa Lux- to proudly reclaim the socialist label. Many of emburg Stiftung—New York Office brought the participants in this gathering are among together one hundred influential leftists and those already engaged in struggles of survival, progressives from across the United States, resistance, and progressive reform. How can Canada, and Europe for an “un-conference” on we support this necessary work while at the socialist strategies. same time linking it to broader strategies for societal transformation? Can our movements The retreat was held at the Edith Macy Center, add up to something greater than the sum of located in Westchester County about an hour their parts? In an electoral context that is struc- north of New York City. Shortly before we be- turally inhospitable to socialist challenges, how gan on Friday afternoon, a powerful storm can the left constitute itself politically and with had swept across the Lower Hudson Valley strategic effectiveness? region, knocking out power lines and leav- ing the Center reliant on generators. Off the Unlike many conferences, this meeting was not Harlem Line train and through the post-storm divided into experts on stage and an attentive drizzle, guests gradually began to trickle into audience. Rather, the weekend’s work primar- semi-darkness. The reduced electricity served ily took place in various breakout groups and, to emphasize the surrounding beauty—large perhaps even more importantly, the ample windows opened out to rugged oak forests, time reserved for informal discussion, debate, a simple pond below, gathering mountains and networking. Plenaries were kept brief and above. We’d like to think of it as the calm be- were intended to spark discussion, not to pro- fore the storm of socialist strategizing to come. vide definitive answers. This gathering provided a space for new relationships to be formed While socialism has a long history in Europe, and old ones to be renewed. Without coming Canada, and even the United States, socialists together in a space of mutual respect and hos- on both sides of the Atlantic have found it dif- pitality, it is hard to imagine the left rebuilding ficult to fight the neoliberal tide of recent de- itself into an effective force in our societies. cades. Whether it is shifting class formations, the capitulation of center-left politicians to This conference was focused on political activ- neoliberal orthodoxy, or the rise of austeri- ism. As RLS–NYC co-director Albert Scharen- ty, the state of capitalism looks remarkably berg explained in his opening remarks, it was similar throughout the North Atlantic region. a space to discuss what we can do to rebuild Meanwhile, the term “socialist” has most often the left, especially in the U.S. but also in Can- been used as an epithet to denigrate any gov- ada and Europe. We aimed to learn from each ernment policy that benefits ordinary people other’s struggles and to build the networks we at the expense of the wealthy. need to move forward. This gathering brought together people from different geographical, RLS–NYC organized this meeting because we ideological, and social backgrounds in a spirit believe that it is time for those of us who op- of hospitality and friendship. It is only by com- pose capitalism and wish to transform society ing together in this spirit that we can create

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the possibility of working together. Everyone together to figure out how the left can, in a po- present at the meeting plays a leading role in litical context, reconstitute itself with strategic various left struggles. This weekend, we came effectiveness.

“Business is in Command”

Through the afternoon, participants arrived from below. The party organizes ordinary from their various corners of the world, set- people by regularly and consistently going to tled into what would be their sleeping quarters neighborhoods and talking about the prob- for the next three nights, then either rested, lems in the neighborhood and what can be explored the beautiful retreat grounds, or be- done about them, working together. We on the gan to catch up with old comrades and meet left need to remove the obstacles that stand new ones. Following the first of many excellent between ourselves and the people. Some- meals to be shared in the Edith Macy dining times, left organizations use strange language area over the course of the weekend, the group and symbols, and this can make us seem like of one hundred moved next door, to the main we belong to a cult. In the Netherlands (and auditorium and beginning of “official” weekend in many other countries as well), most people programming. think their children’s lives will be worse than their own. When you think about the tremen- The meeting’s first plenary, moderated by dous possibilities unleashed by technology, RLS–NYC co-director Stefanie Ehmsen, ad- this lack of confidence is striking. So who is dressed the current state of power relations ruining everything? It’s the one percent who in Europe and the United States—and what we are serving their own narrow interests at the can do to change them. Hans van Heijningen, expense of everyone else. Van Heijningen is party secretary of the Socialist Party of the proud that this approach has helped his par- Netherlands, explained that in his country— ty to become a mirror of Dutch society. This is and throughout Europe—governments run not the case for other political parties in the by social democrats and liberals claim to have Netherlands. It takes effort. Ordinary people “solved” the present crisis—by letting the poor don’t like to sit in conferences. They like to do pay—even as unemployment remains high. something and to change things. It’s critical to The left has advanced in some parts of Europe, be respectful of trade unions and other inde- but we need to be modest about our position. pendent organizations. We need to show what In a context where social democrats have sold side we are on in a practical way: we need to out and people are in despair, the gains made live the life that we’re preaching. by the left, while real, are not enough. We need to build something new while learning from Van Heijningen asked us to consider what mo- history. It’s not enough to talk about beautiful tivates us to be part of a left organization. We things; we need to act. need to seek an alternative to the current order and then go out and do something. If we Van Heijningen discussed the experience of argue about the Russian Revolution, there will the Dutch Socialist Party over the last several be 100 different opinions, but we can easily decades. They grew—and continue to grow— form a consensus about the situation in the

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Netherlands today and what’s needed to get The “activist, articulate, educated left”—that rid of the current government. It’s a question is to say the participants in gatherings like this of starting to work in a serious way. Nine out one—has dramatically overestimated its own of ten attempts may fail, but the tenth attempt importance, according to Piven. When the will be the start of something new. Second International got together, they talked about the masses and their movements and Frances Fox Piven, the noted political activ- their temperament. Today we talk about this ist, author and CUNY professor, summarized much less. We need to worry about this rela- power relations in the United States in even tionship more and to start unpacking some simpler terms: “business is in command.” Busi- of the truisms we’ve relied on for the last few ness is able to maintain control through deeply decades. People don’t get politicized through embedded biases in the U.S. electoral system. “education,” they get politicized by getting in- The public sector has been turned into a ba- volved in collective action. zaar for private profiteering. The United States doesn’t have a significant left-wing political Bhaskar Sunkara, the founding editor and party—a situation shared by much of Europe publisher of Jacobin magazine, referred to the as well—but there is some momentum on the much-cited Pew poll showing that young peo- left, particularly in social movements. Occu- ple have a better opinion of socialism than of py is the best known example, but there have capitalism. People’s impulses are in the right also been uprisings of public sector workers, place, and it is up to the left to build the kind of activism calling for a higher minimum wage, social movements discussed by Piven. With the and courageous strikes by low-wage work- partial exception of Greece, European coun- ers. This momentum won’t bring us socialism, tries don’t have mass left parties either, but but for the middle term, at least, the positive they have a visible horizon to build towards. prospects for change are with the social move- This is not the case in the United States. It’s ments. hard to build socialism if you won’t even use the word. For Piven, the near-term possibilities for form- ing a left party in the United States are not A small, militant left in the heart of empire has good. She explained that she’s not opposed an important role to play, according to Sunk- to party building efforts, or patience, or being ara. We don’t really know what a left social nice and making friends—whatever it takes to democracy would look like in actual practice. build solidarity—but in the U.S. calling for a When and if SYRIZA (the Coalition of the Rad- left party as the solution to current problems ical Left) takes power in Greece, we may find is just kicking the can down the road. The left out. It’s true that we don’t have the conditions needs to try to figure out what we can do to to form a left party in the United States right help make movements of poor and working now, but we still need to develop members. people and people of color more disruptive. Reading groups are one way to do this. How can we throw sand into the gears? What are the weak points in the system? How can This panel was followed by a lively discussion. we make it less governable? The Occupy Wall The Highlander Center’s Elandria Williams ob- Street call for a debt strike was provocative and jected to Piven’s distinction between activists problematic. The idea is potentially extremely and broader communities, insisting that she powerful, but it’s hard to pull off because of is not part of some “educated” activist cadre the isolating nature of debt and the legal reali- that is somehow separate from her communities in the United States. ty. Catarina Principe, from Portugal’s Left Bloc,

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observed that broad left parties don’t exist be- a “socialist speed dating” icebreaker activity, cause people decided to have a party; they ex- in which participants got to know each other ist because people got together to do the work. through a series of two-minute conversations. Petter Nilsson, from Sweden’s Left Party, in- Who is your favorite social justice super hero? sisted that we need to make sure we talk about Why are you here this weekend? What’s your strategy, not just accumulation of tactics, and favorite type of ice cream? How better to get LeftRoots’ Steve Williams reminded us of the to know each other than at the end of a long importance of explicitly speaking from where travel day, in a steamy breakout room where we’re coming from within the movement. We body mass has overwhelmed air conditioning are all in favor of socialism, but this point of capacities, through a series of rapid-fire ques- unity can obscure actually existing fragmenta- tions both serious and silly? At the end of the tion. Beware of false unity. evening, now getting into the swing of things, people began to write what socialism meant to After the panel the discussion continued over them on a large cardboard cut-out titled “So- drinks in the Center’s main lobby, as well as cialism is…” THE AMERICAN DREAM? We’re not its large outdoor decks overlooking the slop- so sure about that. THE FUTURE? We sure hope ing forests. Inside, RLS–NYC staff prepared so.

Neoliberalism vs. the Public / the Commons

In the wake of repeated financial crises and sidered to be a particular balance of class forc- economic collapses, neoliberalism has been es, which is to say that it is capitalism without thoroughly discredited on the intellectual effective working class opposition. Neoliberal- plane, yet empirically it seems more powerful ism can also be defined as a particular form of than ever. Saturday morning, in the weekend’s the state (per Greg Albo); the neoliberal state second plenary, Leo Panitch, from York Univer- is often thought of as being deregulatory, but sity and Toronto’s “Socialist Project,” sought to this is a misunderstanding. This state-form is address this apparent bankruptcy, which con- very active. It uses heavy regulation to further trasts with the fact that neoliberalism is very market relations in society. This misunder- much a living vampire. He cautioned that we standing is one way in which the left has mise- should avoid the idea that neoliberalism is tri- ducated itself. In this kind of capitalist state, umphant, either intellectually or in practice. there is very little room for reform, short of Neoliberalism is not a well-thought-out ideol- turning each state’s financial system into a ogy that can be put into practice by the people public utility. who manage the capitalist state. These people are deeply pragmatic, in any case. We need to ask if our form of organization is adequate to this context, Panitch insisted. Do There are a few different frameworks avail- we have the kinds of parties and organizations able to us for thinking about neoliberalism. that can communicate a sense of alternatives Neoliberalism can be considered to be a set of to people? When people don’t have any strate- policies. It can be thought of as strategic (per gic sense of possibilities for change then they David Harvey and Naomi Klein). It can be con- try to hold on to whatever toehold they have

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within the system—usually at the expense of and understand the central role of race and the “other.” racism in the neoliberal context. We need only look at Detroit’s current struggle over access What, then, are the possibilities for resisting to water as a right to see how desperate things neoliberalism, however we define the term? have become in some communities. We need Rachel LaForest of the Right to the City Alliance to re-assert a connection between public pro- proposed the paradigm of “the commons”/the vision and basic needs. Neoliberal authoritari- public as a necessary foundation for any kind anism has emerged as the new normal. We of- of anti-capitalist or anti-colonial program. The ten think of the welfare state as the norm and commons are shared spaces and shared re- neoliberalism as a deviation, but maybe it’s the sources that are not exclusive to those who are other way around: neoliberalism is a return to able to pay for entry, nor are they a pseudo-so- the normal state of things in a capitalist soci- cialist place for those who are able to show up, ety. In this context, who makes up the “work- as was the case with Occupy Wall Street. Those ing class?” How can class consciousness play who are most affected by neoliberalism need a role in building resistance to neoliberalism? to be central decision makers in building resis- Criminalization and disenfranchisement have tance. served as a weapon against working class capacity for action. There has been a diminution LaForest explained that Right to the City fo- of democracy. How do we address questions of cuses on campaigns that will ease people’s self-determination and anti-colonialism, both immediate burdens while including “transfor- locally and globally? mative demands.” They are critical of a left that seems incapable of visualizing an alternative to There were rich discussions of the meaning of market-based society that seems vibrant, fun, “the commons” and the public, as well as of and joyful, that is an alternative that people whether this paradigm can serve as an effec- want to be part of. The paradigm of the com- tive basis for resistance. Some asked whether mons is about tapping into the imaginations discussion of the commons was indicative of of ourselves and our communities. We need to a retreat from politics and a move toward lo- move beyond measuring success in terms of calism. There were worries that the idea of the scale or breadth and to start cultivating lead- commons can be too easily co-opted by capi- ership among those who want to build a com- talism. Companies like Uber and Airbnb evoke mons-based alternative. the commons in their marketing, and common goods—like free public transportation—may Following these presentations, the “un-confer- be desirable but can exist under capitalism. It ence” began in earnest as we divided into ran- may be better to insist on socialism and avoid domized breakout groups that each brought the fuzzier notion of the commons. Others together people from different countries, re- asked what constitutes the commons. Since gions, sectors, and social backgrounds. These capitalism does not try to seek consensus, com- discussions took Panitch’s and LaForest’s mons-based resistance faces great challenges. presentations as a starting point but quickly Looking at fruitful examples of commoning moved into broader discussions about how to may be a way to learn how we can open a space understand and therefore better resist neolib- for popular power. Expanding the commons eralism. can be a transformative strategy. By creating niches within capitalism that are not commod- Neoliberalism does not affect everyone equal- ified and individuated, people experience an ly. There is a pressing need to acknowledge alternate way of relating to each other and the

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material world around them. They may even We don’t need to choose. They complement realize that public ownership is beneficial to each other, and we need both. them and to society as a whole. Counter-examples to the current order are sorely needed, but Another important area of discussion cen- we must be patient in creating them. When we tered on questions of what an anti-neoliberal speak about commons, we should remember alliance looks like. Part of this discussion was that commons begin with nature. These aren’t a tension between hierarchical and horizontal just places to hang out; they provide necessary forms of organization. In different countries, components of life. These are spaces that must there is a felt need for a national organization: be off limits to corporate domination. people are tired of being localized. Organiza- tions cannot help but have some aspects of There was much productive discussion about hierarchy, but problems of bureaucratization how to relate to the state, electoral politics, need to be faced. Left unity is needed, as is and—in particular—the Democratic Party. an understanding of the importance of elec- Consensus on this topic remains unachiev- toral politics and institution building. There able. On both sides of the North Atlantic, there is a great need for capacity building in social has been a broad-based rejection of political movements. There are immense opportunities elites, a situation which has created opportu- for the left on the local level. Local organizing nities and risks. One salutary consequence has provides opportunities to experiment with been the growth of left forces in some parts different models for building a better society. of Europe, such as Greece, Spain, Portugal, But there is a need to connect the local with and Ireland. In North America, Québec solid- a broader context: big reform demands and aire has led the formation of a fusion coalition concrete experiments are needed. This tension combining socialist and non-socialist forces in is related to questions about how to organize fights against austerity. DIE LINKE faces both different communities in order to create what challenges and opportunities in Germany, and Antonio Gramsci called a “historic bloc” and to progressive politics can be reinvigorated in the achieve hegemony in society. We need to win United States through renewed focus on the la- majorities, and that’s not going to happen just bor movement and the African American strug- by focusing on the margins. gle for rights and equality. Some participants argued that taking control of state and local These discussions did not lead to consen- governments and participating in coalitions sus—the risk of false unity was averted—but are concrete tangible goals, which are needed. mutual understanding was advanced in areas Protest is not enough; we need to enter the of how to understand the present moment, state. Some argued that radical politics can be how to constitute a broad resistance to neo- practiced through the Democratic Party. There liberal capitalism, how to engage with electoral are not really two parties in the United States: politics, and how to build the kind of political there are approximately six factions, and so- movement that is capable of transforming socialists should support the Progressive Demo- ciety—or at least of reversing austerity. For crats of America. Others argued that even the many on the left, the sharpest disagreements most progressive of elected politicians rarely tend to occur at the most abstract of levels. stick to their campaign agenda and even those There were many jokes throughout the week- who do only pass watered down bills at best, end about which year the Russian Revolution unless there is momentum from social move- went wrong. But when it comes to particular ments to push for reforms. Some insisted that campaigns, it is oftentimes possible to achieve the party/movement dichotomy is a false one. a great deal of left unity and to mobilize social

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forces that are not always willing to accept left how we can build the kinds of alliances that will leadership. These campaigns have lessons for be necessary to challenge neoliberalism.

Exposing Neoliberalism’s Weak Spots

After lunch, we returned to the auditorium movements to clarify what we want in positive for the afternoon plenary, on exposing neo- terms. liberalism’s weak spots. In order to begin a discussion of how to build alliances that will Clayton Thomas-Muller, co-director of the In- challenge neoliberalism in concrete terms, we digenous Tar Sands Campaign, pointed out considered four case studies—drawn from the that everyone involved in the struggle against United States, Canada, and Greece—where left these pipelines deserves a pat on the back, forces have successfully challenged neoliberal but if we don’t stop this at the source then our hegemony. grandchildren’s children will still be campaign- ing against pipelines and other fossil fuel infrastructure projects. Without a strategy that Tar Sands and Pipeline Campaigns stops business as usual, it’s going to keep hap- Along the Canada-U.S. Border pening. We need an alliance between workers and the true owners of the natural resources: Lara Skinner of the Cornell Worker Institute indigenous people. provided an introduction to the struggle against the Keystone XL pipeline, one of the most diverse and broad-based social move- Chicago Teacher’s Union and the ments we’ve seen in a long time. This move- Strike of 2012 ment has dispelled the idea that the climate fight is a white, middle class struggle. It has Ethan Young introduced the 2012 Chicago involved more civil disobedience than we have teacher’s strike by explaining that this strike seen in the United States since the Vietnam wasn’t just about protecting teachers; it was War. After five years, the pipeline has not been about the quality of public education. And the built, and it may never be built. union built ties in Chicago communities—especially communities of color—to make this real. So what are the lessons for trying to forge an eco-socialist left pole? The Keystone XL This case study shows what class-based trade struggle makes the failure of mainstream en- unionism can do. National Nurses United has vironmental organizations’ strategy and of adopted a similar approach rooted in patient green capitalism clear. We have not reduced advocacy, and the Amalgamated Transit Union emissions. Rather, fossil fuel companies are is following this example by organizing bus rid- using their wealth and power to create more ers. infrastructure. This campaign has created a rupture in the labor movement—and that’s a Marilena Marchetti, a teacher who participat- good thing. It has forced those of us who are ed in the strike, observed that what is happen- on the left of the labor and environmental ing in Chicago is awful and that the 2012 strike

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was about the whole community standing up er and middle classes—resulting in 30% gener- against Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s neoliberal al unemployment, 60% youth unemployment, agenda. The strike radicalized the entire city. an explosion of homelessness and suicide, loss It was transformative. Withholding labor was of social security and healthcare—set the stage powerful. Even those who didn’t want to go for an unprecedented rupture in the formerly out on strike didn’t want to go back to work. hegemonic sociopolitical block. In 2012, SYRIZA Instead, they set their eyes on the next strug- became the main opposition force for the first gle, which came quickly. After the strike, there time. The 2014 European elections, however, was a horrific backlash, with a “Hunger Games” were historic. SYRIZA won, establishing itself style process of closing schools that pitted one as the main political force in Greece. SYRIZA, a school against another just to stay open. child of radical social movements, has created a hegemonic shift in Greek society. The Caucus of Rank-and-file Educators (CORE) had to form to resist the neoliberal agenda being imposed on Chicago schools. This caucus Jackson, Mississippi: Before and Af- was formed by different socialist groups with ter Chokwe Lumumba different tendencies coming together. They started as a reading group and read Naomi Chokwe Lumumba was able to win office in Klein’s Shock Doctrine, a book that was not affil- Jackson through the combination of a variety iated to any one particular tendency. of tactics: by creating multiple ways to inform and educate the community about the con- nections between local, national, and interna- Austerity, Collapse, and the Rise of tional issues; picking key fights to wage against the Radical Left in Greece neoliberalism’s impositions; coordinating a network of political allies; and creating alterna- SYRIZA’s Giorgos Karatsioubanis and Yiannis tive sources of power and legitimacy. Follow- Bournous provided an account of Greece’s ing Lumumba’s untimely death and his son’s, recent history, from the Civil War in the 1940s Chokwe Antar, electoral defeat, there has been until the present. The Civil War and dictator- a regroupment. In the face of friction and de- ship set the stage for democratization accom- mobilization among allies and new alliances panied by the persistence of certain deficien- among enemies and opponents, the New Af- cies in the Greek state, such as clientelism, an rikan People’s Organization and the Malcolm X under-developed welfare state, tax evasion, Grassroots Movement are now centering their and corruption. However, they strongly resist work on rebuilding and revitalizing the Peo- the narrative that Greeks are to blame for the ple’s Assembly and doing concentrated work crisis, arguing that these deficiencies are not on the struggle for economic transformation unique to Greece but are organic and systemic by developing cooperatives. characteristics of capitalism. Greece is the first guinea pig in a European project of “austeritar- Cooperation Jackson’s Kali Akuno explained ianism” which violently and undemocratically that the foundation for the campaigns in Jack- shifts wealth and resources from the bottom son was laid by decades of work building a du- to the top of society. rable basis for political action. Jackson is different from many other cities in that it has never The massive human suffering caused by this ex- had a particularly well-developed industrial periment set the stage for the rise of the radical base. It has mainly been a node on transpor- left. The violent “proletarianization” of the low- tation networks connecting Dallas-Ft. Worth

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to Atlanta and New Orleans to Chicago. In this campaign. As with the morning’s breakouts, context, a sharing economy—not to say a soli- participants were randomly assigned their darity economy—has been commonplace. sessions in an attempt to bring them out of their comfort zone and compel them to en- What happened in Jackson has meaning not gage people and issues that they otherwise only for Jackson but also for Mississippi and might not have. the South as a whole. The Highlander Center’s Elandria Williams explained that in a context The rest of the afternoon was spent informal- where there are fewer organizations, people ly, with hikes through the labyrinthine trails can be more likely to work together and sup- surrounding the Center, a soccer game, and of port each other’s work. There are of course course more discussion about socialist strate- weaknesses, including, to put it mildly, major gies. Guests then came back together to share infrastructure challenges. dinner.

After listening to these case studies together On Saturday evening, director Mary Dore pre- in the main auditorium, the morning’s eight sented her filmShe’s Beautiful When She’s Angry. breakout sessions were combined into four, This documentary tells the story of the origin and each was assigned one of the cases for and rise of the women’s liberation movement discussion. These breakouts provided an op- in the 1960’s and early 1970’s through rare ar- portunity to shift from the morning’s relative- chival footage and revealing interviews with ly more abstract, theoretical conversations Kate Millett, Fran Beal, Heather Booth, Ellen toward more concrete examinations of the Willis, Rita Mae Brown, Linda Burnham, Vivian strategies involved in one specific left-wing Rothstein, and many others.

Overcoming Fragmentation and Rebuilding the Left

Saturday’s case studies had offered a chance are free to collectively decide our actions so to discuss particular campaigns and to consid- we can live without causing others terrible er their lessons for the fight for the commons, suffering. socialist strategies, and cross-sectorial alliances. On Sunday morning, the conversation Movements exist that are working to strength- turned toward a broader discussion of what en the “commonist” foundations of modern so- it will take to build left alliances and current ciety. No one can be free unless the least well- trends on the left. off in our societies are free.

Michael Brie, from the Rosa Luxemburg Brie described some of the potential alliances Stiftung in Berlin, focused on the importance in society. Drawing from recent political for- of building a “middle-bottom” alliance. He mations in Germany, he mentioned Gerhard opened by referring to Karl Polanyi’s obser- Schroeder’s “New Middle” and Angela Merkel’s vations on the problem of the liberal order, “Alliance of the ‘Better-off.’” On the left, we’re where we cannot be responsible for the results trying to build up a solidarity-based alliance— of our own actions—his famous “Mandarin-kill- an alliance of members of the working class, ing” problem. Socialism is a society where we the threatened wage-earning middle class, and

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critical educated elites. Polanyi reminds us that The Alliance of Guestworkers for Dignity is a anti-democratic forces have a story to tell, and small organization based out of the New Or- we need to tell our own story—that of the com- leans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice. They mon people overcoming the market. won an important victory and got a lot of at- tention by taking on the case of a group of in- Sarah Leonard, senior editor at The Nation, ternational students who came to the U.S. on provided more concrete examples of promis- a cultural exchange and were put to work in ing campaigns and alliances. She focused on a Hershey factory. Like other emerging parts developments in the labor movement, which of the labor movement, they face significant are necessarily emergent: at 11% union densi- questions around the issues of funding and ac- ty, the labor movement in the United States is countability. They are funded mostly by foun- almost too small to fragment. dations, not members’ dues.

The National Domestic Workers Alliance has Another promising example is Bargaining for made great strides in a sector that seemed the Common Good, which has brought broad- impossible to organize. They are changing er social issues into the collective bargaining the conversation about care work. Often- process. The Fix L.A. Coalition has, through times, nurses, educators, and caregivers for city workers’ unions, demanded that Los An- young children are described as “part of the geles renegotiate bad deals with Wall Street family,” which means they don’t need to be banks—L.A. currently spends more on bank- paid. What the National Domestic Workers ing fees than on street services. Unions usually Alliance is doing is feminism. There may be negotiate about wages, benefits, and working an opening for bringing working-class issues conditions, but this campaign expands the col- into the mainstream conversation about lective bargaining process to incorporate so- feminism. cial unionism.

Socialism by Sector

Michael Brie’s and Sarah Leonard’s description socialist educators; this in turn requires we and analysis of emerging left alliances set the commit ourselves to expanding useful educa- stage to consider what it means to be a social- tional materials. ist in the sectors in which we work. How can we move from working in various fields while hap- The alternative and independent media work- pening to be socialists to acting strategically as ing group began with a discussion of the state socialists in these fields? of the mainstream media and turned to the connection between local and national work The challenge facing the political education as well as between media-making and social working group is how to turn thinkers into movement work. In recent decades, both left fighters and fighters into thinkers. There is and mainstream media have collapsed; we are a need to rekindle the socialist imagination back at the stage of leafleting. There is no media through political training, mapping, and bring- on the ground left to cover local issues. How do ing thought leaders together in a congress of we fill this void? A lot of media is coming out of

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social movements. How can this be profession- We need to address racism and sexism head alized? How can we build shared infrastructure on—and we need to have more of these dis- to overcome the challenge of scarce resourc- cussions about how to move our working-class es? What can we build together? But even as movement forward. we build something new, we’re not giving up the hope of influencing the mainstream media, The community organizing and institution build- and we should identify and seize the openings ing group transformed into a self-organized created by the crisis of the media sector. breakout addressing race and white suprem- acy. This group initially focused on how to The electoral politics working group had a organize to develop a radical consciousness fruitful conversation—one that they hope to and build the left. There was discussion of the keep going. It’s a sobering point that despite “nonprofit industrial complex” in which non- the global economic crisis, only Greece has profits become bound to their funders rather experienced a hegemonic shift. Nowhere else than the communities in which they organize. has there been a qualitative turn in the elec- The importance of conducting political educa- toral arena. There are lesson to be learned tion among community leaders and organiz- about fostering a “fusion” process to create ers was noted. Time needs to be set aside for multi-tendency formations that are influen- this. tial within social movements but also within the state. In Europe and North America, we’re The sectorial groups were followed by four all dealing with similar challenges. Some of us self-organized breakout groups. Topics were: have had the chance to be part of coalition governments or to govern regions or municipali- 1. The fight against new “trade” agreements, ties, but once we are there, how do we use our i.e. the Transatlantic Trade and Invest- position to make an impact? We need to ask ment Partnership (TTIP, or TAFTA), and the the right questions and not allow our struggles Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). to be defined by our opponents. 2. What are the specific challenges of being a socialist in the United States? The labor and unions group considered the 3. Marxist feminism: how can we theoretical- role of socialists in the labor movement. It’s ly reflect and practically address the issue really about the ABCs of going back to the way of gender in our struggles? unions were organized many years ago. Unions 4. And how can we address white suprema- need to take on the struggle of workers in their cy and racism within our movements and communities as well as in their workplaces. struggles?

Where Do We Go From Here?

After an afternoon break that included infor- liquidates natural human relationships. So mal conversation and continued enjoyment who does the work of reconnecting us? Those of our beautiful surroundings, Laura Flanders who can dream of a new society that can take from Grit.tv opened the final plenary by citing the shape of men and women. The media does Karl Polanyi on what capitalism does to us: it much of the work of separating us and elimi-

11 MAPPING SOCIALIST STRATEGIES REPORTING BACK AND MOVING FORWARD

nating our sense of possibility. This is an excit- Childcare can be an integral part of building a ing moment: there is more potential here than movement for social change. Marisol Ocampo we realize. She then created a space for some Munoz described how the community organiz- of this potential to become manifest. ers who came together to form LeftRoots are all part of organizations where childcare, in- Tammy Bang Luu of the Labor/Community terpretation, and food are all givens, so when Strategy Center in Los Angeles talked about they held a seven-week boot camp for those the Community Rights Campaign, the Bus Rid- interested in joining, childcare was provided ers Union, and other movements led by Black as a matter of course. Volunteers provided the and Latino communities in L.A. She insisted on care, but it wasn’t just a room with toys, it was a first mobilizing as leadership those communi- concerted effort to create a culture where kids ties who are most affected by neoliberalism, are wanted and engaged. This kind of childcare not those who currently have relatively more is part of the change that we’re working for. clout. Maria Svart from the Democratic Socialists of Bill Gallegos discussed the work of Commu- America discussed their work building bridges nities for a Better Environment, a Richmond, between contingent academic labor—a group California-based campaign against a proposed that is newly open to radicalization—and pre- expansion of Chevron’s refinery there. This carious workers in other fields. campaign was led by mostly Black, Latino, and Laotian working-class folk, most of them Steve Williams spoke to the question of how to women. They had to fight the building trades sustain independent left organizations. Many unions, who saw the expansion as a source members of his organization, LeftRoots, work of jobs. They were backed by a progressive, in 501(c)(3) nonprofits, so they are familiar with Green mayor, and after three years, they man- the necessity of constantly pandering to the aged to stop the project. They had to fight in wealthy for donations. To avoid this contradic- every arena. The struggle built a sense of com- tion, LeftRoots decided to form as a dues-pay- munity power and led to a realization that they ing member organization, with members con- need to build alternatives if they don’t want to tributing between one and five percent of their be a plantation of Chevron forever. That’s the income. There are leftists everywhere, but we next struggle. don’t have enough opportunities to come together as leftists. Our communities have be- Emily Kawano of the Solidarity Economy Net- come disconnected from the left. work introduced her work pulling cooperatives together into a more coherent economic After these inspiring reports from the field, system that works for people and planet. She there was an opportunity for reflection on the gave examples like the agreement between weekend as a whole. Mondragon, the federation of worker cooperatives, and United Steelworkers to develop Not everyone arrived at the meeting with an union co-ops and the successes won by the entirely positive view of “socialism.” Clayton Evergreen Cooperatives in Cleveland, Ohio. Thomas-Muller, from the Indigenous Tar Sands Unions and cooperatives have a long shared Campaign, said that he came to the conference history. They were born out of the same strug- with a lot of biases. When he hears the word gle, but that’s been forgotten. They are start- “socialism,” it’s usually old white men talking ing to come back together and to scale up their about things that happened a long time ago efforts. and disrupting organizing efforts taking place

12 MAPPING SOCIALIST STRATEGIES REPORTING BACK AND MOVING FORWARD

now, but this weekend created a valuable op- ping, however, can be a dangerous project. Af- portunity to connect with other social move- ter all, Flanders observed, wars are fought over ment organizers. We need to become more so- maps. Early map makers would write, “here be phisticated about these kinds of spaces. There dragons” on the unmapped parts of the world. is a lot of power waiting to be unleashed on There is a lot to be said in favor of maps, she both sides of the border. concluded, but there is also something to be said in favor of dragons. Gatherings such as this one provide a starting point for changing the political conversation. The plenary closed in song, and with it our Catarina Principe, from Portugal’s Left Bloc, “official” programming for the 2014 Mapping observed that part of the task of the left is to Socialist Strategies un-conference. But the break the discourse of the inevitable. “There is evening was still young. Friday’s storms had no alternative”—the slogan of neoliberalism— by now given to a beautiful, clear-skied late reduces the possible to what already exists. summer evening, and participants gathered outdoors to share a barbeque and soak in the This meeting offers an opportunity for us to last of each other’s company. New friends and begin moving forward together. Ethan Young, old; socialists and social democrats; commu- from Portside.org, enthused that this meeting nity organizers and party officials sat to break shows the left at its best. The high quality of the bread together as comrades in shared struggle discussion is a reason for optimism. We are not against neoliberal capitalism, and in support of on a crest. This is not the mountaintop. There people and planet over profit. False unity? No. can be no mistaking that we remain in a deep But a shared space to learn about each other’s valley, but we can move in the right direction. work and grow mutual respect where suspi- cion and sectarianism has too often been the We came together in order to undertake the norm in the past? Yes, please, an extra-large task of “Mapping Socialist Strategies.” Map- helping of that.

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13 PARENTAL ADVISORY EXPLICIT SOCIALISM

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