Joining a party

Edit: I’m interested in joining a local Marxist party with whom I’ve had good organizing experiences in the past. It’s probably not your party, so I’m not looking for you to sell me on it.

My hang up on joining has been workload and the potential for burnout. I’m in my early 40s, teach in a public high school, and am waking up to the fact that my body isn’t as resilient as it was a decade ago. Also doing therapy for better mental health.

I was involved in organizing with an anarchist org for several years but burned out and left. Haven’t been directly involved in anything for a few years but am still plugged in with comrades I met when I was active.

I expect some level of commitment is required, but I already have significant responsibilities to others and myself and I’m worried about taking on more than I can handle.

I’m curious what people on this sub have to say about their experiences as party members. What was expected of you when you joined a party?

in Trotskyismby SEA-DG83

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hierarch17

As an RCA member I’m biased here. But I did want to say, I don’t think we should judge communist parties by their relationship to activist groups. Many activist groups are run by career non-profiteers, liberals and soc dems. They often hold movements back, and are far more conservative than the masses they claim to represent. We don’t need to “movement build” we need to build a party on a socialist program. Bit compromise with liberals who just want a return to the status quo.

But of course everyone should do their research and come to their own conclusions, just wanted to add a perspective.

cleon42

-5

I don’t think we should judge communist parties by their relationship to activist groups

That's not what I said, though, is it?

hierarch17

Literally “how they are perceived by activists and unions”. Is that not what you meant?

cleon42

-5

Obviously not. I said activists, you took this to mean leaders of activist groups.

But I get it - you need to have SOME way to explain away the fact that the RCP/RCA/IMT is horribly unpopular in pretty much every sphere it attempts to operate. The revolutionary approach would be to do some introspection about your perspectives, attitudes, and actions. The sectarian approach is to blame others.

ShawnBootygod

I’m also biased but it’s genuinely very clear the groups that don’t want the RCP operating in their sphere, are petty bourgeois or not trots at best.

The couple of times I’ve read about “RCP banned or whatever” it’s literally because they chose not to join a popular front and water down their ideas. Then those groups whine and cry and say “well we all gave up our integrity to unify, so should you.”

cleon42

-1

Oh yeah, that's gotta be it. It's everyone else's fault.

ShawnBootygod

I didn’t say it was everyone, there are hundreds of orgs we work side by side with that don’t have a problem with us.

If you actually take a second to look at why certain orgs don’t want to work with us, what do you see? Bureaucratic leadership of orgs who aren’t used to sharing those leadership responsibilities and they get salty when another org steps up and knows what they’re doing.

By your logic the bolsheviks were the problem because the anarchists and economists didn’t want to work with them, give me a break.

CommunistRingworld

i mean you pretend it's an organic hate, yet here you are doing exactly what these self-appointed activists do: any time someone mentions the RCP, shit on them and call them a sect and a cult and the most awful things under the sun. on the other hand, the RCP does not do this to any other org. so it isn't just about asking "why is the rcp so unpopular with the tiny groups who feel threatened by it outnumbering, outorganizing, and outgrowing them massively?". you should also be asking "why does the RCP not try to ban every opponent from the movement, like all the people who hate the RCP resort to when it comes to the RCP? why does the RCP not sink to their stalinist methods?"

cleon42

-3

Lol, sure. Whatever you want to tell yourself.

MTG10

I'm genuinely open to hearing critiques of the RCI from experienced comrades. No org is perfect and criticism should be a chance to learn and grow. But I feel like you are misrepresenting the actual arguments being put forth here without actually responding to them.