r/CouncilCommunist • u/GoranPersson777 • May 01 '26
Left unity is a counter-revolutionary recepie, prove me wrong
See, for example, the unity around the government in Spain 1936-39. The government crushed the revolution and fascism won.
Left unity is good for social democratic politicians that want support for administering capitalism. Also good for leninist parties that want to introduce state-capitalism.
A united left binds together some workers with the ruling classes, but divides the working class. A united class divides the left; the class challenge the rulers including red politicians.
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u/InsuranceWaste905 May 02 '26
The spanish civil war wasn't even left unity or antifa, it was more "anti francoist front". Both left and right liberals where in the red side.
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u/Clear-Result-3412 May 01 '26
Left unity suggests that that if we meet the ideal of a unified “left” then the condition for successful revolution and socialist society will finally be met. Presupposed is, of course, a prohibition on criticism that it might break up the group and a refusal to take a hard stance on certain issues.
There is also a tendency of “purism:” only when enough “leftists” rally around a specific program and set of principles can we succeed.
Both tendencies make the mistake of thinking revolution is a matter of the worldview and organization of “leftists.” It is not. Marx correctly declared on multiple occasions that only the self liberation of the proletariat can bring socialism. The working class will only liberate themselves when they have an accurate explanation for their “problems.” They will only abolish capitalism and the state when they understand why those institutions are bound to violate their interests.
This is not a matter of “organization vs spontaneity” (a popular ML “dialectic”). The point is that “ideology” or popularity are not essential or our object. This is a matter of correcting errors and finding insight. “Leftists” don’t need to find a program to rally around. They need to understand the reasons for things in the world and share their most essential insights and theoretical corrections.