It's a strange game. You sometimes have to join these movements because they can motivate and educate "regular people", ie. people that aren't yet as politically educated and radicalised as you might be. You have to go where people are, if it's useful. You have to be with them, not condescending, not a bitter asshole, not pestering or complaining all the time, you have to do the work and stand with them, so they respect and trust you.

BUT, you also know electoralism almost certainly won't succeed or won't do much. Your goal is to educate and agitate, by genuinely being there and helping out. You also shouldn't hide your views and your opinions. You can be polite, diplomatic about it, but you shouldn't lie, you have to be honest about what you think will happen, what will or won't work.

BUT, if you're just helping cynically expecting everything to fail and you're just there opportunistically to agitate and nothing else, people will know, they'll notice or feel it. You have to, somehow, genuinely help these local things and genuinely try to win, even partially. Push as hard as you can. Even if you know it won't work, but just because you are here to help other people fight, to activate them and educate them.

If you lose, they'll learn from their mistakes and get wiser, and they'll trust you for having stood shoulder to shoulder with them despite your disagreements or misgivings.

If you win, a lot of people will get incredible motivation and hope, and you've got some energetic and trained people that can do good work. Some of them won't go further, some of them will stop caring, but every little crumb of improvement you can get, every little fight you can win, brings people with you.

[–] Sebrof@hexbear.net 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I liked your comment. You said in words my vague thoughts on it:

The masses in the US already see politics mostly through the electoral struggle. For most, it's their only political terrain. We'd love for the masses to be at a higher subjective level in the States, but you can't force such subjective changes of the masses.

So work earnestly with the masses in the terrain but always be pointing out the contradictions and limitations as you mentioned.

Through struggle, and with Communists pointing out these limitations while working with the masses, not scolding them, these contradictions become lived by the masses. The limitations are internalized and understood, and the terrain can shift. The struggle can advance, but the contradiction has to be lived and understood.

Only struggle, or practice, by the masses can actually advance the dialectic.

[–] grym@hexbear.net 2 points 22 hours ago

Well said!