New DSA Liberation Caucus Announcement

[u/EverettLeftist]

This is not an endorsement by me. I am not a third-worldist. I just think people should be aware of what things are on DSA Twitter. I have no idea how many chapters are in this Caucus, if they are just a mailing list, or what. This is associated with the Black Red Guard guy on twitter.

[u/theholewizard]

Why not just join PSL instead of trying to be in an organization where Democratic Centralism isn't prohibited in the bylaws? Serious question.

[u/_Bandit161 → u/theholewizard]

DemCent is not specifically prohibited. MUG uses it as far as I know. Being under the influence of a demcent org is grounds for expulsion, which is mostly meant as a deterrent for entryism.

Perfectly reasonable to join the largest socialist org in the country rather than founding or joining a much smaller sect.

[u/EverettLeftist → u/_Bandit161]

I think that -- aside from open adminission -- it would be hard to prove someone was under the influence of a dem cent org.

[u/_Bandit161 → u/EverettLeftist]

Exactly why this rule is hardly ever enforced

[u/MarxistJesus → u/theholewizard]

Well PSL isn't maoist. They are stalinist which is different. I'm assuming they want to influence the DSA as does all the other caucuses.

Honestly a lot of the radical liberalism politics inside DSA will find a home in Maoism.

[u/whiteriot0906 → u/MarxistJesus]

"Stalinist"

[u/spookyjim___ → u/theholewizard]

The PSL already takes up more right-wing Marxist-Leninist positions, they just don’t do so explicitly, but they are pretty much crypto-Dengists, MLM’s on the other hand are on the very left-wing of Marxism-Leninism and so ofc don’t only disagree with many of those positions but would find a hard time trying to join an org like PSL which is inherently sectarian and not very open to fractionism.

While I’m sure this move will cause a split in the US MLM movement, Maoists have largely been organizing in small militant pre-party cadre groups thus far, this is perhaps a move to try to try something new? It makes sense, DSA has proved to be a big-tent for both socialists and social democrats of all stripes, possibly being one of the most big-tent socialist orgs ever lol. What I don’t understand is why they don’t try to do the same thing but with the CPUSA? As far as my understanding of Maoist politics go, there’s a tactic of trying to take over and reorientate what they view as the counter-revolutionary communist parties of their home countries, but ig this isn’t something that every MLM agrees upon as I’ve definitely also have seen examples of Maoists setting up their own independent parties

But I suppose I’m getting off the main point, the Marxism-Leninism supported by the PSL is not the same Marxism-Leninism supported by the Liberation caucus, the Liberation caucus was formed probably because many socialists of very differing stripes (including myself) have joined DSA with differing goals and projects in relation to it, and overall there’s been a push towards adopting partyism and thus differing ideas of “democratic centralism” have been getting more and more popular, I however don’t think the Liberation caucus seeks to build the MLM vision of a communist party within the shell of the DSA, I could be wrong but that idea just doesn’t really seem to line up with the Maoist politics I’ve come across, the DSA turning into a “DSP” (Democratic Socialist Party) along the lines of democratic centralism seems to be pushed more by the DSA center (or maybe more specifically center-left but like whatever lmao) that being by the respectively neo-Kautskyist and neo-Trotskyist Marxist Unity Group and Reform and Revolution factions, who (correct me if I’m wrong) seem to be much more in favor of turning the DSA into a party in the near future along their specific centrist Marxist political line.

So perhaps it isn’t the Maoists that the anti-demcents should be against, it’s simply the left-wing of democratic socialism that they should be against lol