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Midwestern Marx seeks to distinguish itself from the greater tendencies of modern American socialism through our adherence to the following principles:
1) The working class, i.e., the class engaged directly in the moment of production, remains the historical revolutionary agent. Although a revolutionary effort requires support from the popular classes, it is this working class which is at the pressure points of bourgeois economy, and as such, continues to wield the most power. Unlike the modern left, we consider it of absolute necessity to organize this class where they are at; to build our movement towards socialism from the industrial battle and to have the political battle as an extension thereof. 2) Unlike the modern left, we do not think the history of the US can be merely defined by conquest, enslavement, exploitation, and expropriation. For us, this one-sided view proves historically false and tactically futile. We consider of utmost necessity the task of recapturing the rich and eclectic traditions of socialism we have stretching centuries back in our country. We must situate our struggle as a moment in this historical thread. Doing so is not just a task of historical honesty, but of tactical importance, for no working class will follow a revolutionary organization who holds, in a totalizing manner, their country in contempt. 3) We firmly believe that an American socialist project must remain staunchly anti-imperialist. Our fight as inhabitants of the empire requires us to participate in the ideological destruction of any imperialist propaganda used to legitimize the conquest of other nation’s resources and autonomy. We must stand in solidarity (albeit at times critical) with countries under the boot of American imperialism and participate in the form of meaningful internationalism that acknowledges and acts to protect a nation's right to self determination. 4) Reality is Marxist, as such, our interpretive framework must be too. We thus embrace the examination of all events in their historical, contextual, relational, and dialectical coming about and adhere to a dialectical and historical materialist outlook which examines the world in the contradiction riddled complexities in which it exists. We consider these core principles of central importance in any revolutionary effort in the US. |