From:    ken howard 
To:      marxism-international
Subject: Re: M-I: Reformism or sectarianism ?  (Ben replies to Louis Proyect)
Date:    Tuesday, April 07, 1998 4:26 AM

For most of this century revolutionaries have been grappling with the
'problem'of reformism and the need to expose and destroy it. In the heyday
of the revolutionary grouplets obviously anyone who was not a member was in
one degree or another tinged by the evil of reformism or worse still, horror
of horror centrism.
Well the heyday is over and all that remains are the sects who are now
smaller and more marginalised then ever. I would suggest that the
'unrelentless'pursuit of reformism wherever it shows its head is in fact a
gross waste of both time and energy. I say this not because reformism has in
any way become acceptable, but rather because the singleminded war against
reformism has cut a path of devastation through the ranks of the working
class and alienated many more who would move towards solutions to the
problems of everyday life that the bright future of communism would
solve.What has to be recognised is that the notions of the 'advanced
sections of the class' being there just waiting for the correct
anti-reformist line of the revolutionary left are well gone, and the fact is
that the working class movement is as fragmented and marginalised as it was
at the begginning of the century. The need is not to politicise the vanguard
but rather to rebuild a workers movement capable of changing the system of
capitalism.

So, how can that be done? Obviously there are no magic answers, but I would
suggest that it does involve those of us who consider ourselves to be
marxists focussing not on on how to build the revolutionary party par
exellence, but rather on how to relate to involve and engage those whose
consciousness and experience takes them into conflict with capitalism and
alienation at every level. By this I mean that the test for revolutionaries
and those who call themselves such is not whether an activity, formation or
event is reformist, but rather can consciousness be effected.And this means
getting away from party building and as Louis Proyect posits exploiting the
fault lines in capitalism. And of these there are many both nationally and
internationally.

It seems that a part of this process can be facilitated by Ben Seattle
notion of electronic news. It is estimated that there are some 17 million
trade unionists now capable of involvement in the internet, There are many
good sites and news pages. The problem I see is one of cyberalienation, i.e
information overload and management. For myself following cyberpolitics is
both an exiting and overpowering thing, as unlike the seemingly outmoded
forms of knowledge accumulation, i.e. books and pamphletts, speakers etc.
the computor is both singular and forgetfull,( push the back button and its
gone) It seems to me that this is a problem that any electronic news
facility must grapple with it 



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