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I had a lot of comments I wanted to reply to but instead of spamming it I’m just gonna go out and say, I’m kind of shamed of all the people shitting on mutual aid in here.
As communists, where does our political power come from? Is it pandering for money and spouting ideology while ignoring the needy? Or is by helping people and working to build the organization that way? As a yellow Parenti once said, “if communists want for power, then why do they side with the powerless?” Our strength comes from our desire to help people. If we stop helping people for the pursuit of money and political power then we might as well just go join the libs.
Indeed, mutual aid is the most fundamental aspect of building power. It’s absolutely incredible that anybody who calls themselves a communist wouldn’t understand that.
Owl Fact:
If an org is too weak to feed people its too weak to worry about taking political power.
There seems to be debate around mutual aid and political power in the comments. Let us recall this famous quote from Mao Zedong: 枪杆子里面出政权 “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” Other quotations that might be relevant can be found here: https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/works/red-book/ch05.htm
Mutual aid must be sustained with resources, but more importantly it must be protected by an armed force. Do not forget the lessons paid in blood by revolutionaries throughout history. The history books are not even needed, because genocidal Zionists and their imperialist accomplices are reminding us continuously that one does not have to be communist to be a target for eradication.
I have been thinking of joining a party recently to at minimum add an extra member to help build numbers (which matters if a party wants to be seen by normies as “legitimate” and give options). And would hope to further meet more real leftists IRL and help out in whatever ways I can. Has been down to basically CPUSA and PSL. But seeing the CPUSA feeling the need to follow the Dems after the Trump shooting thing (they could have just posted nothing and it would have at least kept some face in the matter). And after the recent purging of a whole chapter for the crime of quietly and without any big show leaving the panel from the Israel party. Along with the added condemnation of that chapter for being out trying to help people and the moment.
It seems that the CPUSA has forgotten that there can’t be a revolution if we just play by the rules made up (and always changed to benefit keeping out third parties) by the two “allowed” parties. Mutual aid and showing deep solidarity with real struggling working and poor people is how we both teach what we really are and about. It is how we learn what does and doesn’t work and how to adapt our efforts in waking people up to the lies. And it is most importantly how we keep our humanity.
Currently it seems that PSL is likely where I will apply for membership. I just need to commit myself to reading their provided information first as I don’t want to waste their or my time applying without knowing the party and programs. Just sad to see that the oldest communist party in the US fall into the same regressions that the USSR lost their way in by allowing the capitalists to dictate what is and isn’t acceptable. And the CPUSA hasn’t even had the benefit of being in power. At least the USSR actually had a revolution and made giant leaps for humanity and the people.
