November, 2006

The Future is Up to Us!

Why the workers need their own political party

Editor's note: This column is based on excerpts from the book, "The Future is Up To Us: A Revolutionary Talking Politics with the American People ," by Nelson Peery. We encourage our readers to join the discussion. Send your thoughts to info@peoplestribune.org. Order the book by sending $12 to Speakers for a New America Books, c/o People's Tribune, PO Box 3524, Chicago, IL 60654-3524.

Conscious revolutionaries have to create a different kind of movement, a revolutionary movement with ideology, vision, and a scientific strategy to make the vision of a new cooperative America a reality.

The first stage of the revolution is to politicize our class, to make them socially conscious, give them an understanding of what our society really is. We must teach them to identify with one class and stand in opposition to the other class. This stage is completed by the formation of a political party of the class.

I want to emphasize that social consciousness leads to the formation of a party to defend the interests of the class under this system. It therefore is a class party rather than a third party, such as are being formed today. Third parties are an alternative to the exposed two parties. These are populist or mass parties that attempt to be all things to all men. If they don't take a class position they inevitably end up being political apparatuses to take the militant edge off the struggle for social consciousness.

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