> Jerry, it is because those differences are so real and insidious that
> unity is so important to us - and so difficult to achieve.
Paula:
Unity is hardly ever achieved in praxis simply through a call for unity.
Indeed,
demanding unity is often the biggest obstacle to achieving unity since you
will
only have unity when the differences within the class are recognized and
dealt with. We have a lot of history about this in the US. For example,
African-Americans and women were told by some leftists not to persist in
raising demands against racism and sexism. This was the policy of the CPUSA
during most of its history - as well as that of numerous sectarian groups.
But, that only succeeded in further *dividing* the class. If you want
genuine
working-class unity, then you have to fight against racism and sexism within
and outside of the workers' movement. This is one of the important factors
which distinguishes progressive trade unionism from other forms of
unionism. Those who are actually engaged in struggle know - or should
know -
that the best way to receive solidarity is to have a history of offering
solidarity
to other workers' and progressive struggles.
In solidarity, Jerry
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Received on Wed Feb 10 18:16:50 2010
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