Working Class Party Delegation

Not a Party Organ, But a Proving Ground

This one is for those who are in a revolutionary or working class party. So first of all, if the focus of your parties isn’t on providing real structures that materially empower the working class, then your parties are doing you, and themselves, a huge disservice, and a huge disservice to the working class as a whole. Luckily it doesn’t have to be permanent.

If your party IS already setting up council structures, then you’ll understand already. If not, let me explain.

Many of the parties that we have in the west are either grifting, all-rhetoric, co-opted, dogmatic, or limited to selling newspapers and organizing protests to ask the ruling class for concessions they never intend to give. This kind of cyclical toothless activism style has been coupled with a desire by these parties to be in charge of these events and their programming with little to no organic input of the crowds they gather. Sure, they do marches and call-and-response chants and feature speakers from organizations that collaborated on the events, but the masses that gather largely have no independent participation and nothing to do in between protests except join the party, which isn’t for everyone (and not just for the party cadre time and financial expectations either).

And all for what material gains? What constantly activated mass backing?

Another issue has been the lack of programming friendly to those with disabilities who want to help out but are not cut out for a mass protest. There are tons of things disabled people can assist with that aren’t toothless demonstrations in a loud environment where nobody is wearing masks or speaking clearly. There’s a time and a place for protests, but they need to be coupled with mass direct action and the ability to disrupt the machine, and an organized, activated working class at its head, including the disabled!

The parties need to be setting up structures of working class power. Some don’t do this because they don’t trust the masses. They think they’re entitled to lead without having first DONE anything to gain the trust of the masses. Right now the masses see parties getting nowhere and that’s causing them to lose traction and motivation.

Many of these parties, that are supposedly Leninist, clearly stopped reading after the hits and as such they’ve failed to account for history! Turns out every successful revolution has had workers councils, often worker-peasant councils and soldiers and sailors councils, and just about every revolution, im not kidding, has hinged on the success of failure of workers councils as the new and sole form of workers state power.

Whereas in Russia, Lenin convinced the party and the workers to declare the working class-created councils to be the permanent and sole basis of the Soviet (council) state and not just organs of the party or a wing of liberal government, even as early as 1905;

Whereas Lenin and the bolsheviks supported this new power and declared all power to the councils, Germany’s 1918/9 working class-created councils were led to be subordinate to social democrat parties and to a liberal government structure that robbed THEIR power for the interests of the rich, and destroyed their chance at revolution with the execution of its best chance at leadership, done by the Freikorp under the approval of socdem party leadership. Rosa Luxemburg, who was in favor of council power, was first left out of a council congress where German councils ended up voting to join a liberal constituent assembly containing capitalists, like what led to their failure in Russia 1905.

Not only is council power explicitly outlined in Foundations of Leninism (ch 4 #sec3), China began their revolution with worker peasant councils (see Mao’s report to the congress of Soviets (councils) 1934).

Vietnam began it’s revolution against the French in 1945 with workers councils. The DPRK set up peoples committees that are still the basis for its government today, Cuba set up general strike committees, like their first form in 1905 Russia, that turned into committees for the defense of the revolution, and have since been reintroduced. They’re even happening right now in the Philippines, where today the parties there are collaborating and setting up party-independent worker peasant councils all over the country, that spawn new organizations and pull existing ones into the fold with all the workers and peasants to do what needs doing. Even Venezuela, only moderately leftist, has declared their intent to expand their local community councils across the country! Despite all of this, American and Western parties for 100 years can’t seem to work together or do this vital work, and all think they need to be in charge if they did!

In the Worker-Tenant Councils, all working class parties share one delegation, and that means they finally must work together. Party liaisons of each organization can always be present to speak, make presentations, do education and advertise events and registrations, but the parties that will lead in the end, are those doing the best work with the best ideas who are the most connected to the local masses. There’s no shortcut to being the leader of a revolution, that comes from the experience of the working masses themselves and by who enables their creativity, meets their needs, and stays on the cutting edge of their movements. Whichever party leans hardest into setting up independent Worker-Tenant Councils has the best shot at leading, but right now none of them have proven they know the path.

Form the councils with no owner but the people, and let them come prove themselves worthy of respect, if they can trust and consistently direct the masses with real strategies and real results, they’ll have local revolutionary base areas to carry out effective mass actions to achieve tangible revolutionary results. If not, they’ll expose themselves through experience, win-win. This will weed out the bad parties and force the others to work together for a common front. If you’re in such a party, you should do your research on this topic, realize the critical need for these structures, and tirelessly explain and convince them to get on board and form councils. If they won’t do it, I won’t speculate on the reason, but if they won’t do it, we need to do it ourselves. The council is the only structure capable of waging class revolution and it DOES need a strong principled party to lead. I want that to be clear, leadership will be essential in the future. But those leaders have to change their tactics now and focus on the actual working class, not just on party building and limp protests. TRUST the working masses, unleash their creativity. Give them an alternative to this terrible system we suffer under.

How Does the Working Class Party Delegation Work?

The Working Class Party Delegation of the Worker-Tenant Council is a co-equal delegation, so no matter how few members it contains, the delegation still gets a full vote in council proceedings. All local members of working class parties and party liaisons are voting members of this delegation. The membership will elect its own, non-voting leadership to facilitate productive discussion and serve as the delegation point of contact.

While all parties must share a delegation, as organizations each party is autonomous to the council, and the council cannot force parties to merge their organizations. Association with councils is voluntary in both directions, and the full council may vote to expel any party from representation on the council for misconduct, unethical behavior, becoming compromised, or for attempting to unilaterally assume control over any Worker-Tenant Council.

The job of the Working Class Party Delegation is first and foremost to provide constant, patient, and sound material analysis, education, and guidance to the working class as a whole and as individuals, and to empower the working class itself in all possible respects to achieve its own total liberation through experience.

On Council matters pertaining primarily to revolutionary organization, mass actions, revolutionary theory, media literacy, and politico-economic education, leaders of this delegation will open and lead discussions, and membership will chair any Council committees on these topics.