Praxis has emerged as a short-hand for the dialectical unite of revolutionary theory and practice. It emerged within Gramscian Marxism, but more recently has been popularized by revolutionary anarchists of many stripes. The spirit within which the praxis committee was originally formed in 2010 was with an eye on uniting revolutionaries based on creative new thinking about how to transform our world, our culture, and our politics. We wanted to create space in which activists and organizers harboring revolutionary aspirations could build community, debate ideas, and take action, without regard to whether we chose to identify as socialists, Leninists, anarchists,or Pan-Africanists.
The committee's work was short-lived, but the project remains highly relevant to today's struggles, crises, and opportunities for forging a Left that can be relevant to transforming politics in the belly of the imperialist beast.
This election season has exposed immense polarization in U.S. society. On the left, tens of millions supported an open socialist as the Democratic Party's nominee. While Bernie Sanders failed to win the nomination, in part through underhanded tactics that have recently come to light, he succeeded in galvanizing a mass audience, and secured a DNC platform far to the left of any in recent memory. On the right, Donald Trump has exploited widespread concern about neoliberal trade policies, income inequality, and political corruption, to build the most unhinged campaign for presidency in generations--animated by virulent racism, unrepentant misogyny, and extreme xenophobia.
With Trump's electoral implosion now threatening to bring the GOP establishment down in flames, mainstream US politics are in profound crisis. If organizers hit the ground running, Hillary Clinton could find herself under significant pressure to deliver on some of what was promised in the DNC platform. Climate justice, transformational immigration reform, challenges to mass incarceration, and a living wage for working families could be placed on the agenda.
But we can be sure that the far right, emboldened by Trump's bombast, will fight to turn back the clock on every social issue under the sun. And without pressure from the left Clinton will be free to navigate the treacherous waters of highly polarized US politics, with a primary focus on meeting the demands of the corporations, Super PAC's, and wealthy donors who have heavily funded her campaign.
The crisis of mainstream bourgeois politics is real. The threat of capitalist economic crisis reemerging after the mild recovery overseen by President Obama will further radicalize and polarize US Society. Revolutionaries of various stripes have a critical role to play in this moment. The movement's born during the Obama years, from Occupy to Black Lives Matter, found political expression in the Sanders campaign, and can continue to play a vital role in shaping US politics in years to come. If any of this sounds reasonable leave a comment here on the page or send an email to david.thurston78@gmail.com
We have a world to win, and nothing to lose but our chains.
