Issued: n.d.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
Copyright: This work is in the Public Domain under the Creative Commons Common Deed. You can freely copy, distribute and display this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit the Encyclopedia of Anti-Revisionism On-Line as your source, include the url to this work, and note any of the transcribers, editors & proofreaders above.
EROL Note: This resolution was submitted to the New England Regional OCIC Conference, September 1980.
* * *
WHEREAS the key task for the OC, in the present period, is to struggle against the white chauvinist ideology of the white OC members and to transform our individual and collective practice, and
WHEREAS, the campaign as it has been conducted so far is not going as well as it should because ”while most white OC members support the campaign in words ... in practice, they do not take up the struggle against racism ... many comrades remain quiet ... other comrades raise soft and weak criticisms ... white comrades will often posture ... or they’ll scapegoat the most backward forces ... many white comrades refuse to deal with the criticism and break with their white chauvinism ...others will agree with everything and so, in reality, accept nothing. Still others, ... will lie to cover up their white chauvinism ...”
WHEREAS this strong indictment of the campaign against white chauvinist ideology, shows the need to reconsider the way in which this campaign was take n up, and in which it has been conducted, and
WHEREAS these failures are due to the fact that this campaign as currently conducted,
a. refuses to submit the political bases of the campaign against white chauvinist ideology – all political practice has an underlying political line – to discussion,
b. squashes political discussion and two-line struggle under the guise of struggling against white chauvinist ideology and racism,
c. is idealist in that it focusses exclusively on criticisms of individual attitudes. It ignores study, and, most importantly, measures to improve members’ practice,
d. works counter to the goals of the OC of unifying the tendency by ultra-left attacks on the Women’s Movement,
e. substitutes scapegoating, name-calling, irresponsible labeling, misinterpretation of what other comrades ray or write, reducing all errors to one or two stereotypes, being stubbornly defensive, for principles and uncompromising criticism, and confuses comrade 1iness with liberalism. This behavior is ultra-left and sectarian,
f. proceeds haphazardly and has, so far, failed to involve more than a small number of members of the region.
BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, THAT:
1. The RSC prepare a political analysis of the current campaign against white chauvinist ideology in the near future and submit it to the membership for discussion. This political analysis would include the RSC’s view of the root of the political isolation of our tendency from the movement of national minorities, how this campaign will remedy that problem, as well as a plan for the way in which this campaign will process.
2. The campaign against white chauvinist ideology be continued, at least for the period presently planned, but be restructured as follows:
a. Criticism/self-criticism of racism and white chauvinist ideology in the context of individual and organisational plans and actions for outreach.
b. Criticism/self-criticism of racism and white chauvinist ideology in the context of study of the history of racism in the US.
c. Criticism/self-criticism of racism and white chauvinist ideology in the context of a study of past practices with respect to racism in the CPUSA and other left organisation.
3. We recognise the white chauvinist and anti-working class ideology of the Women’s Movement, but repudiate the claim that they are the essence of the Women’s Movement, as well as repudiate the sexism of singling out the Women’s Movement, among all the existing reform movements, for this criticism.
4. The leadership of the region be asked to make a thorough self-criticism for the conduct of the campaign so far.
Dennis F.
Peter F.
Liz McC.
Rachel S.
a. Criticism/self-criticism divorced from practice turns into self-flagellation. All members of the OC have their practice in building the OC. Most, if not all, have additional practice outside the OC.
Criticism/self-critidsm must be conducted in the context of efforts to unite with national minority/working class persons. Each member must discuss the ways in which they can move towards building a truly multinational and solidly working class OC Each must criticise the errors that have kept them from doing this work effectively already.
Criticism/self-criticism is not enough. Attitudes and ideology must not only be exposed, but attitudes, ideology and practice must be changed. Each member must draw up a plan for action, setting goals from improving attitudes, ideology and practice. At subsequent meetings, each member must report on their success in meeting their goals or, if there are failures, these failures must be analysed and better plans for action worked out.
To replace the present haphazard and anarchical attack on individual members with a systematic approach in which all members of the OC can be fully involved, these study and criticism sessions must be conducted in groups of suitable size so that everyone can fully participate.
Criticism/self-criticism must be fearless and uncompromising. It must also be very specific. But it must be comradely and supportive at the same time.
Stereotyping errors, labelling without defending the labels, distorting another comrades’ statements, refusing to listen to them because they or someone holding a similar view, made a white chauvinist error while putting forward this view, being defensive – all these are obstacles that hold back this campaign and should therefore be stopped. We must also end the practice of reducing ail errors to white chauvinist ideology. Errors misinterpreted cannot be rooted out.
b. An important obstacle in the way of the struggle against white chauvinist ideology is the lack of understanding by OC members of the urgency of this struggle. This can, in part, be remedied by study of the history of national minority people in the US, and of their oppression, focussing particularly on the links between the oppression of national minorities and the exploitation of the white working class, and official anti-communism.
When discussing the readings in these study sessions, each member should not only be asked to comment on the readings but on ways in which he or she has been influenced in the past by bourgeois ideology to underestimate the depth of racism and white chauvinism, and the damage that does to the workers’ movement in the US. Self-criticisms must pay particular attention to the ways in which these errors have affected the practice of members in the OC and outside of it.
c. Further insights into white chauvinist ideology, and into correct and incorrect ways of struggling against it come with the study of the practices of the CPUSA and other left organisations, both of their racist errors and their attempts to remedy them.
Here again, study must be accompanied by the criticism/self-criticism of each member of the errors they have committed, similar to those that we learn of in our study.