[Marxism] The absence of real forces [was: The low point]

[Sayan Bhattacharyya]

On 8/1/07, Joaquin Bustelo <jbustelo at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> But my experience has been that even among those who clearly are under
> attack --Latino undocumented immigrants-- the current level of
> consciousness, even of those willing to mobilize, and even of the broader
> layer of activists, is not that these issues are intimately interrelated.
> You find that only among a narrow layer of very conscious leading activists
> in the movement.
>

The Woods tendency ("In Defense of Marxism") seems to have an analysis
completely opposite to Joaquin's. They see the immigrants' movement as
primarily a worker's movement and becoming more so:

<http://www.marxist.com/usa-immigrant-workers-movement.htm>:

"The movement was inevitably heterogeneous at first, with "immigrants"
of from all layers of society participating in its early days.
Business owners and factory workers marched together in the "spring
time" of the movement; there was a carnival atmosphere as millions of
oppressed workers felt the strength of their unity for the first time.
Latino radio stations and business owners jumped on board, pushing the
movement forward. But the seeds for the future division of the
movement along class lines were present from the beginning, and have
intensified in the months since May Day 2006. Because at root, this
was not a movement of "immigrants" – it was a movement of immigrant
workers, and the slogans and banners reflected this: "We are workers
not criminals!" "You accept our labor, now accept us!"

"The traditional, mostly petty-bourgeois leadership of the immigrant
rights movement was completely overwhelmed by the masses. Accustomed
to decades of slow, uphill work, with a few limited reforms as their
goal, they were completely unable – and unwilling – to channel the
colossal energy of the masses into real change. They were terrified of
the movement, and moved might and main to control it, to keep it
within safe limits. As has happened so often to mass grass roots
movements in the U.S., these "leaders" were quick to sell out the
movement to the Democratic Party, who promised larger "crumbs" than
they had ever imagined possible. In so doing, they betrayed the just
aspirations of immigrant workers for a complete and total amnesty. "

Full: <http://www.marxist.com/usa-immigrant-workers-movement.htm>

Joaquin, what do you think of this analysis? (I don't necessarily endorse it).