Category Archives: Movement Culture

Mamdani and the United Front We Need

What should we make of Mamdani’s stunning victory? Much of the commentary —regardless of vantage point— is grandiose, highly speculative, and without context. So let’s ground ourselves in the broader politics, available evidence, and, above all, history.  Then maybe we … Continue reading

Posted in Capitalism, Corporate Power, electoral strategy, History, Labor Movement, Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Strategy, police state, Racism, Red Scare, revolutionary strategy, Strategy, unions, Working Class | 1 Comment

Tips for Organizing at the Big Rally

Here are some organizing rules of thumb. They may be useful in many circumstances, but in this article, I will focus on multi-issue or Democratic Party-led protests. The “Hands-Off” protest or the Sanders/AOC revival meetings are so useful to the … Continue reading

Posted in Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Method, Organizing Strategy, revolutionary strategy, Working Class | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Are Democrats Weak or Strong?

Be alert to a very common, subtle, but ultimately deceptive narrative we have heard repeatedly since Trump’s election. This story claims that the Democrats are paralyzed, pathetic, weak, invisible, disappointing, and feckless. In short, we are supposed to believe that … Continue reading

Posted in electoral strategy, Green Party, Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Strategy, Working Class | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Left Can Only Win if There Is A Left

Also, find this essay in CounterPunch. “The U.S. couldn’t choose the Left: There wasn’t one. When there is no more left, there is no limit on the Right. When there is no fight over programme the election becomes a casting … Continue reading

Posted in austerity, Capitalism, Corporate Power, electoral strategy, Empire, Green Party, History, Labor Movement, Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Strategy, police state, revolutionary strategy, Socialism, Strategy, unions, War, Working Class | Tagged , | 2 Comments

I Ain’t Marching Anymore

This essay also appears in CounterPunch. Chris Lombardi’s book,  I Ain’t Marching Anymore: Dissenters, Deserters, and Objectors to America’s Wars, couldn’t be more on time. As the US ramps up its proxy war in Ukraine and paves the way for even wider … Continue reading

Posted in American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Climate Change, Corporate Power, History, Military, Movement Culture, Organizing Strategy, revolutionary strategy, unions, War, War creates Climate Change, Working Class | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Stand With The Peace Movement

These are challenging times for the US peace movement. We are struggling to find our bearings. The people of the US have been subject to a level of propaganda and censorship unprecedented in recent history. How can we respond? There are … Continue reading

Posted in American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Capitalism, Climate Change, Corporate Power, Empire, Green Party, History, Labor Movement, Military, Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Strategy, police state, Red Scare, Strategy, unions, War, War creates Climate Change, Working Class | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Cold War Liberalism and The Labor Movement: The Epic Fail

Cold War Liberalism During the Cold War, Labor unions violated the basic principle of solidarity by joining forces with Imperial elites to weaken militant trade unionism abroad — usually under the mantle of anti-communism. By undermining unions, AFL-CIO foreign policy helped corporations … Continue reading

Posted in Capitalism, Corporate Power, Empire, History, Labor Movement, Military, Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Strategy, Red Scare, Socialism, Strategy, unions, War, Working Class | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Organizing White Workers When The Klan Is In The Shop

With the rise of the extreme right, the Klan and its modern descendants are definitely “in the shop.” Here’s a story from a long time ago but it could have happened only yesterday. This is not a heroic tale just … Continue reading

Posted in Capitalism, History, Labor Movement, Martin Luther King, Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Method, Organizing Strategy, Racism, Red Scare, union organzing, unions, White Privilege, White Supremacy, White workers, Working Class | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

What We Have Here is a Failure to Negotiate

No relief worth a damn? No healthcare? What we have here is a failure to negotiate. And that is a direct outcome of the failure to challenge power. I was only chief negotiator once but I sat at enough bargaining … Continue reading

Posted in Capitalism, Cooperation, Corporate Power, electoral strategy, Labor Movement, Movement Culture, organizing, Organizing Strategy, Socialism, Strategy, union organzing, unions, War, Working Class | Tagged , | 2 Comments

The Last Third Party to Win: The Republicans, The Civil War, The “Slave Power,” and The Current Crisis

“Third parties can never win” or so you have heard a thousand times. Except — and it’s one huge exception — under historical circumstances much like the conditions we currently face. We are living in a rare historical moment when … Continue reading

Posted in American Culture, American Exceptionalism, Capitalism, Climate Change, Corporate Power, electoral strategy, Empire, Green Party, History, Movement Culture, Organizing Strategy, Racism, revolutionary strategy, Strategy, War, White Privilege, White Supremacy, Working Class | Leave a comment