[lbo-talk] Response to MG -- Was Poll....

[James Heartfield]

The problem with the sketch set out by ‘Dissenting Wren’... ‘One key task of leftists is to build an organized left.’ ... is that it sees the left’s problem wholly as one of the most effective deployment of its own people, as if they could simply be used more effectively.

In other words, the basic ideas are sound, but they need to be given a proper chance.

I fear the problem is more profound. The left’s program has not found an echo because it is insufficient to the moment. Statist socialism of the reformist variety has been tried and failed in west Europe, of the dictatorial variety has been tried and failed in East Europe. The Labor movements allied to those political programs have languished and become a shadow of their former selves. The working class internationally has learned the lesson that the left does not speak to its concerns, but is overwhelmingly preoccupied with holding office.