The definition of internationalism is easy. It can be summed up in "Workers of the world unite!". At its basic meaning internationalist means someone who see's all peoples struggles in the world are one in the same. They aim to build a world without borders where all people from all the nations are equal and united. But that is what an internationalist wants as the end result but what does a internationalist do and how do they act in today's world?
First of all let me be clear that while there are individuals who are internationalist within "communist" groups within the United States there are few actual internationalist groups. I will tip my hat to the FRSO as they have proven to be true internationalist by helping the people of less fortunate nations. Since there is currently an on going trail against some of its members for alleged ties to certain groups I will not comment further but recognize their true commitment to internationalism. Also groups like the IWW and the RSU are true internationalist because instead of simply talking about international situations they sent material supplies to Cuba, Palestine etc
Some groups claim they are internationalist simply because they have different party branches in different countries. This alone does not make a group internationalist. Writing articles in a parties news paper about things happening in other countries also does not count as being an internationalist.
For example, how can a groups here claim to be internationalist when they constantly fight for only the betterment of conditions in this nation? A few groups advocate for a 30 hour work week with out a decreasing wage. And while I admit that would be nice how can they call themselves internationalist? They advocate for better pay in the USA while not giving any material aid or real support to less fortunate nations? Other than offering "solidarity" (usually for opportunist reasons) and having liberal slogans such as "hands off _____" or "out of ____ now!" very few groups in the US are really doing anything to help the global proletariat.
The international situation outside of the US and most other imperialist nations is one of great poverty and hunger and hardships. No one in the US has an excuse to be complaining of their living situation if they are not sending any kind of material aid to less fortunate peoples around the world. Organizers can help train people online in the poorer nations so that they can train people in their own country. People are a lot more likely to rebel in a third world nation then they are in a country like India or Nigeria etc etc where there are larger wealth gaps than here in the states. More than 300 million people in India live on less than 0.80 cents a day. We communist should be trying to help people in these countries who's living conditions are mostly beyond our comprehension not trying to make our lives more comfy so we can have more free time.
I have decided that I personally will not carry any slogans calling for a better life here in the US until the proletarian of the world holds and average income of 10-15 thousand dollars a year. I think it is selfish to demand a better life when people are starving because they can not afford food. The average American has a car, a computer, heat, AC, running clean water and hot water. The average person in the world has maybe one of these things. How bad do we really have it compared to the rest of the world?
PART TWO:
ReplyDeleteMoreover this access to capital is distributed across almost the entire U.S. population, albeit with considerable inequality. Even black people overall have access to a fair (albeit not a staggering) amount at this point.
But again, what does it mean to make statements and raise slogans like, to highlight a couple of the pseudo-Marxist ones I've seen in recent years, "America is being transformed into a land of mass misery" and "reject all pay cuts"? These are just lies and defenses of Yankee privileges respectively. Whether we are promoting the economic interests of this section of Amerikan exploiters (e.g. the big bourgeoisie) or that one (e.g. the labor aristocracy that pretty much completely constitutes the whole Yankee "working class") is really beside the point. The point is that in essence we're insisting that people who are net exploiters deserve their privileges, deserve more plunder, etc. That has nothing to do with, and runs in diametrical opposition to, advancing an equitable redistribution of the global product.
When it comes to activist work like protest, I think we should focus in on standing with the world's oppressed and exploited majority. That's one of the reasons I really like the idea behind the Revolutionary Anti-Imperialist Movement. It's organized specifically around issues like the aggressive wars and interventions this country wages around the world and around the censorship of information concerning that and so forth, and toward explicitly (as even the name implies) revolutionary ends. I think this is most positive kind of protest-type activist work that we can be doing in this country at present, as one part of developing an orbit around the Leading Light Communist Organization: a proletarian vanguard of a new type that aims to and is working to bring Maoist Third Worldism out to the world's oppressed and exploited majority in the third world.
(All this said, given the income levels you've described yourself as having, you probably actually would be among the few Amerikans for whom economic conditions would improve qualitatively under an authentically socialist redistribution of the global product. Specifically, the income level you described yourself as having last year would be less than half that which would be likely under genuine socialism. That probably is a big part of the reason you've found yourself inclined to investigate Marxism in a serious way. Your issues about not having running water or heat or a suitable coat to wear in the cold and other basic necessities are very legitimate. I don't believe you are spoiled, but rather a very rare, exceptional case. Even I make many times the income level you've described yourself as having. So I don't think you need to give yourself a guilt complex here. I think you are genuinely of an oppressed condition and have every right to complain.)