Rev Left Radio

"What is Maoism" + Q and A for August

Added 2018-08-30 03:07:42 +0000 UTC

Seth (@CornCobMaoist on Twitter) joins Brett to explain and discuss Maoism and answer your questions.

(Let us know if you have trouble accessing it. You may need to sign up for dropbox, but after that it should work fine!)

Questions we answered:

- What are some of the myths or misunderstandings surrounding Maoist thought, and how can we better understand Mao's ideas? - Shane Neal

- Do you think vanguardism is a valuable concept for contemporary organizing in the United States? What is the relationship between vanguardism and mass line? - Alyson Escalante

- Two-parter question: 1. You've said before that you think left-wing groups should unite and work together where they can but they also shouldn't sacrifice their principles to ally with groups they fundamentally disagree with. What do you think are the general guidelines that leftist organisers should bear in mind when deciding whether or not to organise or ally with another group? 2. You've said before that you think that when leftist groups aren't united and working together, they can experiment with their different approaches and learn what works. What kind of situations do you think are better takcled by this kind of approach (a sort of "left plurality") and which are better handled by working together/left unity? -F Fred

- Do you know of any organizations practicing a mass-line approach in the US? If not, what are your thoughts on the best methods to getting something like that established? - Mike Anderson

So my question is sort of two-pronged: What, if you have any, are your critiques of the Solidarity Economy framework, and how would you advise me to push my organization further to the left from within? - Max

- How can people reconcile the ideas of anarchism and communism? Also what is identity politics? - DavDavid Allison