So as some of you might know, I’m a member of a marxist party, maybe one of the biggest of Western Europe currently.
The party is not ML. It takes part in electoral politics, though its main focus is building class consciousness at the work places and in the local communities. Getting into parliament is beneficial because 1) money and 2) raising awareness.
The party gets criticized by groups on the margin. They sometimes specifically criticize the MLs in our party for joining, because we are not part of what Lenin described as a Vanguard Party. I guess they are not entirely wrong, I’m not going to call my party ML even though there is (increasing) room for ML sentiment.
My problem is, I don’t really know what to do with these critics. Leaving the current party, with tens of thousands of active members and actual political influence, for a ‘true ML party’ with several dozen people who struggle to organize a book club, does not sound like the way to go. Stop calling myself a ML? That would seem weird as well.
How do you guys look at this?
I think reading some of Lenin’s earlier works such as “What Is To Be Done” should shed some light on this dilemma you’re having. There are times when as a communist party it is necessary and justifiable to work within bourgeois parliaments, and times when it is not. When it starts to look like the Netherlands is getting closer to some kind of revolutionary situation it will make sense to abandon parliamentarism and begin work primarily in the more actively revolutionary sphere. Until then i think it makes sense to continue building class consciousness and militant labor organizations. However during this time ideological struggle within the party should be placed at the forefront of priorities, as unless the party itself becomes sufficiently revolutionary and militant in its theoretical outlook they will be unprepared to seize the moment to mobilize the masses when the opportunity comes. Instead if the level of Marxist-Leninist ideological education is insufficient and if the party line is overly reformist or trade unionist then they will either freeze and dither when the critical time comes, or worse they will side with the social democrats in repressing the most revolutionary section of the working class.
In short, your task is to ensure that your party grows through vigorous internal ideological struggle to become disciplined, organized and ideologically firm like the Bolsheviks, rather than end up like the Social Revolutionaries (Right SRs) or the Mensheviks. You must combat opportunism and liberalism. And most importantly you must get your comrades to read, read, read (and discuss with each other what they have read to deepen their understanding).
Thank you for your input, and I agree. I was struggling to put in words what my POV is but you managed to do just that.