In Defence of Che (and our use of his image), among other things.

In the past Socialist Youth has come in for huge criticism on Indy Media, from various leftist elements. This is an open letter to all concerned, in which I, as a member of Socialist Youth and in my own capacity, hope will clear things up.
To start with, the most recent comment was from one ‘Che’, asking why we use his image on our Website. Che Guevara, in case you have misread your history, was a Marxist, who believed in Marxism, nothing else. This means he believed in the dialectic and historical materialism. He was a communist before Castro was. Now, we use his image because he was/is a symbol of international socialist struggle. For anyone who is interested in our views on the deformed workers state of Cuba, you should read the CWI pamphlets “Che Guevara – Symbol of Struggle” and “Cuba – Socialism and Democracy.” (Both can be found on our Website  http://www.worldsocialist-cwi.org).
You then ask why, if we support Che Guevara’s violent methods, do we not support the violent methods of the so-called ‘Black Bloc Anarchists’. The answer to this is simple. Have you ever heard the phrase “objective historical circumstances”? What this means is that at the time of the Cuban Revolution in 1957-59 the circumstances were right for the violent overthrow of Batista’s regime. The July 26th Movement enjoyed mass support for their actions, they were fighting a war.
The BB on the other hand, do NOT enjoy mass support for their actions. They have taken it upon themselves to be the violent manifestation of opposition to world capitalism. They have no basis within the working class struggle. If a vote was held among every group involved in the Anti-Capitalist movement, I’m confident that the vast majority would not show support for their actions. Their actions are counter-productive for the movement as a whole; they give the opportunity for the ruling classes and their agents in the world police to unleash repression against the movement. They can call us ‘terrorists’, and use the new Draconian ‘anti-terrorism’ legislation against us. They can break up our demos and beat up at random. They can (and do) call us a violent and programmeless lunatic fringe who don’t believe in democracy only anarchy (and not anarchy in the anarchist sense of the word). Dialectically, they do absolutely nothing for the workers movement.
Ok, so they confront the ‘face of capitalism’ by smashing up banks and McExploiters. But as I asked before; what does this actually achieve? The shop is smashed. The shop re-opens a week later, after losing some minimal profits, and continues to trade. In the meantime, the people who work there may loose a week’s wages. Way to get the workers on your side guys! “But they are confronting capitalism with direct action against its symbols.” So was Osama bin Laden! The attack of Sept 11 served only to set back any kind of workers movement in the U$ and ushered in a new repressive era, which enjoys mass support (as well as mass opposition!) around the world. But hey, it destroyed the two most important symbols of capitalism in the world, so that’s ok yeah? Should we support these attacks? I think not!
“The workers, the workers, the workers. You guys are always going on about the workers!” As I explained before, we are Marxists, and unashamedly so. We believe in the scientific teachings of one Karl Marx (and Engels, Lenin and Trotsky!). “But Marx lived over 100 years ago, how can he still be relevant?” Well you see, Marx dedicated his life to the study of history and he came up with the only science of history that can consistently and accurately explain humankind’s historical development. Now scientists such as Newton and Darwin and Einstein came up with their theories a long time ago. Does this mean that we should stop believing them? Again, I think not. If some crazy Christian fundamentalist tries to tell me that evolution is a lie, that creationism is the true way, I won’t stop believing in evolution because it’s a proven fact, just like Marxism. These are not utopian ideals we just picked out of the sky, they are beliefs rooted in the scientific history of the world. The main teaching of Marxism may be explained in the line from the Communist Manifesto: “The history of all hitherto society, is the history of class struggle.” Marxism correctly explains that in the Capitalist era, the ONLY agent of revolutionary change is the organized working class as they are the majority of the world, and they are the most oppressed sections of society, no matter what country they are in. The ‘enlightened middle class’ may play a role in the development of socialism, but the workers must be to the fore. Now I’m not going to go into a full on rant here, but if you come here to slag off socialism, you must first at least have a basic knowledge of the science that lies behind our beliefs. You call us utopian. Conversely, I would argue, that any programme for the advancement of society that is not socialist is utopian; as the science of history dictates that any such transformation is not possible. This what we, as revolutionary socialists, believe. If you have a problem with that, have your problem, but don’t come here and slag us off for our beliefs. We are 100% open about them, and to criticism, but not to simple slagging because you don’t believe in Marxism. My opposition to the methods of the Black Bloc is qualified; the attacks on Socialist Youth are not. And just for the sake of it, would anyone who has posted messages such as “Viva La Black Bloc” and the like, care to explain to us all what exactly the BB (or even your own) programme for the eradication of capitalism is? We are 100% open about ours (that is not to say we are infallible), so what are yours?
Many will no doubt say: “I don’t know” or “The Anti-Cap movement is everything.” Without a programme, I’m afraid we are lost. The Anti-Cap movement MUST be linked with the wider workers’ struggle, as on its own it is only a tri-monthly get together of people with a basic common aim. The struggle against capitalism must take place every day, on the streets, in the workplace, even in the pub. We cannot change the world with a street party every so often, although don’t get me wrong here, the big demos are essential for the movement as they prove to people that we are not sheep, and to build confidence within the movement. I for one came away from Brussels (my first big demo) with such a feeling of pride and confidence with the movement. As for that infamous weapon; the petition. The petition is not designed to change society, but to register opposition and/or support for something. Petitions give people a voice, albeit a largely ignored voice. And I thought that Evil Gerald article was funny (socialists have a sense of humour too y’know!).
And for people to say that we are “against” all other protesters in the movement, this is wrong. We, well I, am critical of certain elements because I don’t feel their programmes can achieve the change the world requires to lift us from the quagmire created by the capitalist system. This is not to say I hate them or anything like that. In fact some of my best friends are anarchists and reformists, and while we disagree on certain things, the debate is always good and lively and never descends to the level of bitchiness thrown at us on Indy Media. We are all entitled to our beliefs, and I believe that the BB actions are wrong for the whole movement for the reasons outlined above – I am not against smashing up McExploiters on principle, I just think that it is counter-productive for the whole movement.
Comradely,
C, Dearg