the contribution of the communist party

[michael perelman]

Let me second Doug's analysis of the communist party.  His example of the
taxi drivers suggest that it was not so much the policies of the party but
the people.  I cannot think of a group that seemed to have more good people
(and not just good in a political sense) than the ex-communists that I have
met.

Of course, to some extent, this kind of person gravitated to the party; but
even so the party helped many to gain a sense of community and political
experience that might have been difficult otherwise.

Louis Proyect has told stories of the contributions of the Trotskyist
movement to union organizing.  I do not know many of those people -- only
the Hal Draper and the Independent Socialists that I knew in Berkeley.  So I
do not know how to compare and contrast the contributions of the two groups.

--
Michael Perelman
Economics Department
California State University
Chico, CA 95929

Tel. 530-898-5321
E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu