Featuring guests Alex Han, Astra Taylor, and Rachel Gilmer, this live Dig interview at a Socialism Conference discusses organizing and socialist strategy. They explore topics such as building a movement of movements, the importance of cadre organization, political education, navigating challenges, and organizing in relation to debt.
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Quick takeaways
Building a strong base of like-minded individuals is essential for organizing and pushing for systemic transformation.
Collaboration between labor unions and non-labor social movement organizations is crucial for mutual strengthening and achieving common goals.
Strategy development, leadership development, and political education are crucial for effective organizing and building durable political power.
Creating a movement of movements with shared goals and strategies requires building unity through strategic efforts and collaborative relationships.
Deep dives
The Importance of Organizing: Building Collective Power
Organizing is defined as the process of bringing people together around a shared vision, problem-solving, and working collectively to build power. It is distinct from activism, which often focuses on individual actions and lacks the durability and strategy required for long-term change. Organizing involves base building, creating meaningful engagement, developing leadership, and identifying community problems and solutions. It is essential to have a base - a collective of like-minded individuals - to build power and push for systemic transformation. Building a strong movement ecosystem, including cadre organizations that unite different movements and strategies, is crucial for unity and collective action. Collaborative efforts are needed to address systemic issues and build transformative power.
The Role of Labor in Social Movements and Collaboration
The labor movement plays a significant role in transforming society and winning socialism. Collaboration between labor unions and non-labor social movement organizations is crucial for mutual strengthening and achieving common goals. For example, teachers' unions in Chicago and LA have utilized bargaining for the common good to extend labor struggles into other domains, creating solidarity and addressing broader working-class issues. Collaborations between labor and non-labor movements should aim to benefit from each other's strengths and empower both sides. The relationship between labor and non-labor movements requires finding common ground, offering mutual support, and leveraging collective power to challenge oppressive systems.
The Necessity of Strategy and Developing Leadership
Strategy is the conscious development of a plan to achieve specific goals over time. It involves assessing and reassessing the political terrain, understanding the causes of injustice, and identifying effective ways to overcome them. Strategy guides decisions about who to organize, how to organize them, and the end goals of organizing. A solid strategy helps prevent confusion and ensures the movement is progressing towards its ultimate objectives. Developing leadership is crucial for effective organizing. Leadership should be earned through organizing experience and a deep understanding of shared strategic goals. Political education and practical training play important roles in nurturing both ideological coherence and practical skill sets to build durable political power.
Building Unity and Collaboration Across Movements
The current movement ecosystem can sometimes be fragmented, lacking coordination and collaboration across different organizations. Building unity requires strategic efforts to create a movement of movements with shared goals and strategies. This could involve the formation of cadre organizations that unite various ideological traditions under a common liberatory vision and strategy. However, it's essential to avoid sectarianism and dogmatism and instead foster openness, transparency, and democratic decision-making. Such organizations should work collaboratively with other mass organizations, unions, and social movements, creating a broader movement ecosystem that bridges differences, promotes shared values, and enables collective action.
Direct Service Provision and Political Education
The podcast episode discusses the importance of direct service provision and political education in building a strong organization. Direct service provision involves meeting people's immediate needs while also helping them envision a future where they receive what they are entitled to. The organization runs various sessions to provide political education and raise consciousness among members. The goal is not only to build members but also to develop leaders who can take initiative and make the organization more powerful in the long run.
The Importance of Organizational Infrastructure
The podcast highlights the need for a robust organizational infrastructure to sustain a movement. This infrastructure helps absorb and train young people who are being radicalized and activated. It allows for the formation of clear goals and strategies, ensuring a coordinated and focused approach. Moreover, having resources and funding specifically geared towards training and leadership development becomes crucial, as it prepares organizers for the challenges they may face and makes them better equipped to seize future moments of mass enthusiasm for the struggle.
Navigating Geography and Scale in Organizing
The podcast explores the challenges of navigating geography and scale in organizing efforts. While targeting specific cities and communities can be effective for focusing efforts and building power, it is also important to be mindful of different types of geographies and the specific needs and opportunities they present. Understanding the landscape of different areas, such as poor and working-class cities versus larger urban centers, helps inform strategic decision-making. Being adaptable and having a clear assessment of the social base and goals, while also maintaining a collective approach, enables organizations to effectively scale their efforts and mobilize people across various geographies.
Featuring Alex Han, Astra Taylor, and Rachel Gilmer on how we build powerful organizations that win both short-term fights and the long-term struggle for socialism. A live Dig recorded at the Socialism 2023 conference in Chicago.
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