Whenever I see people working community farms or churches helping homeless people I feel like it’s a bad thing because people may get their needs met within capitalism and we should be doing it instead as part of base building. When I was reading ‘Cows save the planet’ and hearing about petite bourgeoisie doing things that relatively help the environment I was thinking that we are screwed as communists if [people are made to think that] entrepreneurs are saving the planet. Then I, of course realized we are screwed instead because of climate apocalypse. Is it bad if a church who is communist at heart is doing good work without intending to transcend capitalism as opposed to an anti-capitalist group doing the same? Am I being irrational, and/or is this normal?
It is an understandable but misguided sentiment. There is plenty of work for the communist orgs to do, I think, and some of the more progressive community orgs may even be friendly or ambivalent to the communists. Maybe instead we should be relieved that our relatives and neighbours are finding ways to try to improve their situation, even though they lack a radical perspective and critique of capitalist society. We know charity has limits and deficiencies. Does anywhere have a food bank that has good enough food in good enough quantities, with no hoops to jump through?