What's So New About New Socialism?

by Alan Sears


The magazine you are reading and the socialist organization that publishes it are less than a year old. The launching of a new socialist organization in 1996 might seem odd to many people. After all, people aren't exactly flooding into socialist groups these days. In fact, there are probably fewer organized socialists in Canada today than at any other time in the 20th century. But there are plenty of little socialist groups.

And then there's that name, "New Socialist." Corporate capitalism has made people quite rightly cynical about that "new" label. We all know that "new and improved" usually means the same old crap packaged to be more profitable (yes, they make a lot more profit on those handy little boxes of "ultra" detergent than they did on the old big boxes). The New Socialists came on the scene right around the same time as the telephone company was relaunching itself as the "New Bell." So what's New?

The Times They are a-Changin'

Once upon a time there was a protest song by a guy named Bob Dylan. Then the big, bad Bank of Montreal took that song (well, bought it really -- they are probably paying royalties) to use in their campaign. Can a bank change? Not really, of course, except that their record profits show that they have found new ways of squeezing money out of us (using new technologies like bank machines to lay off tellers and hire cheaper labour in industrial-style data processing centres). And just wait for those mortgage-style income-contingent student loans ...

But the transformation of yesterday's protest song into today's corporate jingle (for a bank, yet) is a sign of the times. The 1960s and early 1970s saw a massive wave of protest sweep across much of the world: demonstrations against the war in Vietnam, strikes and labour militancy, women's liberation, the Black Power movement, Québecois nationalism, student activism, lesbian and gay liberation, environmentalist activism. Many people became socialists in that period. Socialist ideas of militancy, mass action and workers power from below seemed to fit in a period when radical struggles were on the upsurge.

Through the later 1970s and the 1980s that wave of struggle was stopped. Now, it is the other side that is on the attack. Employers demand concessions, so that many of the strikes we see are defensive (trying to protect at least some of what we've won) rather than offensive (seeking improvements). Governments of every stripe have taken up the corporate agenda and are trying to drive down working class living standards, destroy social programs and weaken the labour movement.

So, here's a contradiction. The Metro Days of Action in Toronto will probably produce a bigger demonstration than any we saw even during the big upsurge the 1960s and 1970s. But the climate is different. There is a lot of demoralization on our side. There is not much indication of rank and file independence in the labour movement; things are pretty much coming from the top down. The grassroots movements (women, lesbian and gay, anti-poverty, anti-racism) usually have a hard time mobilizing beyond a relatively small core of really committed types. This could change, but for that to happen we need to see a new kind of grassroots mobilizing (in the unions and in the movements) to take this protest beyond a single week.

So, banks are singing protest songs about changin' times and those of us who want to change the world are feeling a bit sick to our stomachs. Actually, a lot of people probably think we're a bit sick in the head, too. So, what's New?

Back to the Future?

The difference between the New Socialists and the "old" ones comes down to something pretty simple. We admit that the times really are changin' and that socialists don't have all the answers. A lot of existing socialist groups use socialist theory as a set of blinkers to keep themselves from being distracted and confused by events in the real world around them. The blinkers help them keep trudging along the road that leads forward to... 1917.

The problem is that 1917 won't happen again. Certainly, the Russian revolution of that year was of crucial importance. For the first time, a working class took power, developing new forms of democratic and collective self-rule called "soviets" or workers' councils. There is a lot to be learned from that experience. But it is a bit much to believe that we can use a map of Russia in 1917 to find our way around Canada at the end of the 20th century.

The problem is that capitalism is a dynamic system. Yes, it has certain built-in features, like capitalists exploiting workers. And a lot of trendy theorists who call themselves post-something or other ignore that. But, many "old" socialists make the opposite error and underestimate the importance of the changes that actually have occurred. The years since 1917 have seen changes like: the welfare state, the bureaucratized trade union movement, mass social democratic parties that alternate in and out of government office, lean production, environmentalism, globalization and the challenges of feminism, lesbian/gay liberation and anti-racist organizing.

These changes matter. They shape the ground we are fighting on and have a big impact on the consciousness of workers. The challenge for socialists is to get the balance right in assessing how capitalism changes in order to maintain its system of exploitation. But for most socialists, the balance has not been right. It's time to renew socialism to keep pace with changes in capitalism and developments in the movements for freedom.

What's My Line?

Socialist renewal requires a different kind of socialist organization. It must be a grouping of independent thinkers and activists who agree to work together to be effective. Too often, socialist groups have emphasized the development of a leadership that comes up with a "line" and a membership which learns it and follows it.

The New Socialists need to be something different. We need a lively and democratic tradition of exchange and debate. Members will have different perspectives on socialist politics depending on where they are active. A CAW member who works at Chrysler' s might have a different sense of what is possible that an OPSEU worker in an Ontario government office. The Chrysler workers won real gains in their contract without striking, while OPSEU workers limited their losses after a bitter five week strike. Socialist theory and practice can only develop through interchanges based on real experience.

What's-my-line socialism often serves to insulate members from pulls in the real world. Members are always being warned against "adapting" to the environment wherever they are active. They therefore remain alien, involved in snatch-and-raid missions to seize a few recruits and beam back to the mothership.

It is a real challenge for socialists to navigate the path between adapting to their milieu and remaining alien. It means being able to think on your feet and learn from those around you, while at the same time applying socialist politics to make arguments about the way forward. It requires a really difficult balance: one the one hand, modesty and open-endedness; on the other hand, audacity and principle. A socialist organization has to help develop the skills of its members to find their own way through this tangle.

This means that every member has to be an activist. Of course, we have to recognize that there are different ways of being a socialist. The rhythm of political activity is different on a university campus, in a union or in a social justice coalition. The demands on our time vary if we are a parent, or work full-time or juggle part-time and school work. But everyone needs to find some area of work in which they can engage with others trying to change the world. They need to be influenced by the world at the same time as they try to change it.

So the New Socialists need to be an organization of activists. At the same time, every member has to be a theorist. No, this does not mean that everyone has to be philosopher who is comfortable with heavy books. But a socialist needs to be able to use ideas creatively to understand the world and try to change it. We need to be able to think critically, to take the best from socialist traditions and to learn from others who have something to say about the struggles of the day. Only on a group based on freewheeling exchange of ideas combined with an ongoing commitment to activism can hope to become a grouping of independent thinkers and activists.

The Big Picture

Okay, why bother? Maybe the best way to develop independent thinkers and activists is to totally get rid of the idea of organization. Michael Moore, who made the movie Roger and Me and the television series TV Nation, certainly criticizes the left for responding to every issue by calling yet another meeting. Many younger radicals are influenced by anarchist ideas and their rejection of conformist organizations which encourage dogmatism and stifle creative expression. So, can this group be different?

That is the challenge. But it is worth trying. Why? A socialist organization provides a framework in which we can understand specific struggles in the context of the big picture. To get the big picture, we need to learn from the past and attempt a global view of the present. Lessons from the past are crucial in understanding what radicalization really feels like, when masses of people are really interested in politics and have the confidence and organization to fight. The global view of the present means trying to relate struggles to an overall understanding of how the system works and how to build the power to change it.

In particular, the global view of struggles means challenging the view held be many socialists that working class unity is an automatic process hindered only by bad leadership which has caused divisions and imposed conservatizing frameworks. In contrast, we have to argue that solidarity is something that must be fought for, challenging the divisions based on sectionalism (seeing the whole struggle through the lens of your own immediate circumstances), employment or unemployment, age, gender, race or ethnicity, sexuality and so on. This means paying attention to the complex and contradictory interests that workers might have in a particular situation, for example why a relatively well-paid employed worker might feel he or she had an interest in welfare-bashing and getting a tax cut.

Now, there's no way a tiny group of socialists can really attain a global view of struggles. That is part of the reason that modesty has to be part of the equation. But we can work in that direction, always being pulled by a tension between really rich understandings of specific struggles and a general overview of the system as a whole.

Just Add Lenin and Stir

Wait, this is all a bit fuzzy still. I've mentioned some of the ingredients of a New Socialism -- but what about the recipe? Well, that is the problem (and also the opportunity). The recipes out there keep cooking up the same old thing: stale groups with the what's-my-line approach.

Now, this doesn't mean we don't try to figure out what to do next. Some things are clear. We need to be engaged with others, both in debate around socialist ideas and in action to build the fightback. There are particular opportunities on university campuses for discussing socialist ideas with new layers of people. It is an important moment in the struggle against Harris to try to get stuck in to build the grassroots movement that can sustain this fightback. We need new partnerships with others on the left, who might not be interested in joining this organization but have a lot to offer in terms of experience or insight.

The key thing is that we need to be building a lively, active, democratic current of socialists who are facing up to the real challenges we confront without giving up on the idea of organizing for socialism.

So, what do you think? Does this New Socialist project make sense? If so, you can help. We need your unique perspective and experiences. Some people might want to join and participate directly in the NS project for socialist renewal. Others might subscribe to this magazine, or take a small order every issue for distribution to friends and coworkers, or via a local bookstore. Still others might come to our conference in Toronto on November 8-9 or write a letter to us at newsoc@web.net in response to this (or any other) article.

But if you find yourself in significant agreement with the project of socialist renewal on which we've embarked, we invite you to contribute in whatever way you can.