[Marxism] The DSP's fresh approach to applyingdemocratic centralism

[Joaquin Bustelo]

Louis writes, "The link took you to a web page with the majority and
minority line documents of two factions in the DSP. It is to my knowledge
the first time that a 'democratic centralist' group has made its internal
debates public."

I believe the DSP comrades did this last time around also, however not until
after their Congress. 

And of course, the Leninists --the real ones, the members of the RSDLP and
later the RSDLP(B) and RCP(B) did this all the time, the "internal bulletin"
having been unknown to them until after the seizure of power, as Louis
notes.

Just from a cursory reading of the two documents, it isn't clear to me why
they have remained polarized this way, apparently along essentially the same
lines as a couple of years ago. I know this tactical difference goes back to
before their last Congress, but surely all the comrades understand -- this
seems clear from both the majority and the minority text -- that current
political circumstances are such that neither of these tactical choices can
be expected to bring significant advances, and fighting about it isn't
really going to change that. Absent some real external "help" in solving the
difference, I suspect the internal alignments aren't going to change much
and I would hope the leaders of both sides might start thinking about some
sort of cease fire/compromise/modus vivendi that might unwind some of the
polarization in the group.

In particular the minority side seems to be saying that the SA has now
become little more than a public face of the DSP, and that the DSP should do
more general propaganda work in its own name, taking off the SA t-shirt, so
to speak. If perhaps the question of the uniform could be put aside for a
bit, and the focus placed on just what the comrades ought to be doing,
whether in the DSP's name or through their work in the alliance, either
common ground or further clarity or the exact nature and extent of the
differences might emerge.

There is lurking underneath the surface I suspect what COULD (note the word
could, as in possibly, not necessarily) be the beginnings of a much "larger"
issue, with the minority comrades heading off in a traditional direction in
absolutizing "The Party" or the majority dumping the cult of "The Party"
altogether as Peter Camejo was urging them all to do 10 or 12 years ago in
his excellent article "Return to Materialism." But unless I misread the two
texts, that doesn't seem to be developing here.

These comrades have, I think a much more nuanced and grounded version of
what I call the Zinovievist strategy, developed over many years especially
as a result of their interaction with and differentiation from the U.S. SWP.
I wish they would go further in abandoning the
correct-paper-program/propaganda league schema but that would seem unlikely
until they get a push from further political developments. 

Maybe some of us longtime marxmailers should draft and send collective
greetings to their confab ... they are certainly one of the most interesting
and reasonable groups around in the English-speaking imperialist countries.

Joaquin