Got activism ideas? Interested in a certain type of activism?

I'd like to encourage our members to suggest their own activist ideas, what they see as immediate or near-future potential activist opportunities, and what types of activism interest them personally here.

Don't be shy. We want to encourage and enable any fruitful activism that is beneficial for our people and our Cause.

SN Labor Champion wrote:I'd like to encourage our members to suggest their own activist ideas, what they see as immediate or near-future potential activist opportunities, and what types of activism interest them personally here.

Don't be shy. We want to encourage and enable any fruitful activism that is beneficial for our people and our Cause.

I have an idea that can possibly increase our numbers. Socialist Nationalists are relatively obscure at the moment therefore few people know about us. Like many have written before we need to increase our numbers. To increase our numbers more people need to learn about our ideology. That means we must educate more people about our ideology. In this day and age of advanced technology , public speaking and street agitation has decreased in importance. Not as many people will listen to random individuals on the street talking about political ideology compared to the old times. Not to mention that in many towns and cities one needs a permit from the local government to hold a mass rally or to speak to a large crowd. Such a permit can be easily denied by a local government because of our views. So I propose that besides public speaking and street agitation, we use alternative methods to educate more people about our ideology. Two primary methods ( television and wide circulation print such as newspapers) require much start up capital which we probably lack. Not to mention the fact that licensing required for such enterprises can be denied to us due to (again) our views. Less people read books nowadays therefore operating a bookstore would not be of much success. So we must come to the conclusion that ( for the time being) the Internet and street activism ( public speaking, handing out flyers, etc) must be our primary methods to grow our numbers. So I propose that we use street activism in order to direct people to the Internet for the purpose of educating them about our ideology. We should create ( or use an already existing website) exclusively for the purpose of educating people. The Executive Committee's website can be used or we can create another one for this purpose. That website should contain important writings that explain our ideology. A good model as to how a website like that should look like is this one: http://library.flawlesslogic.com/. We should use street activism ( as a primary method) to get people to come to this website. In other words pass out flyers on the street, put them up on telephone poles ( or similar places), etc. Then there will be an opportunity for our numbers to grow via education. This task requires specific skills: There must be someone who creates ( and/or maintains such a website), someone who puts up the material or creates written material that should be put up, a graphic designer ( who creates flyers that can be passed out to let more people know about the website), and people who pass out the flyers. Other skills can be useful but these are the most basic ones. Of course other avenues can ( and must) be used to gain more numbers. My point is for the time being we probably lack the capital to start up a television station or a newspaper so it is best that we use this avenue for now. Of course if any of us has the capital to set up a television station ( or something similar) then they should by all means do so and the rest of us should assist. So for now we should use street activism and the Internet to grow our numbers. As soon as the opportunity presents itself we should utilize other methods as well.

Rebel Warrior 59 wrote:

SN Labor Champion wrote:I'd like to encourage our members to suggest their own activist ideas, what they see as immediate or near-future potential activist opportunities, and what types of activism interest them personally here.

Don't be shy. We want to encourage and enable any fruitful activism that is beneficial for our people and our Cause.

I have an idea that can possibly increase our numbers. Socialist Nationalists are relatively obscure at the moment therefore few people know about us. Like many have written before we need to increase our numbers. To increase our numbers more people need to learn about our ideology. That means we must educate more people about our ideology. In this day and age of advanced technology , public speaking and street agitation has decreased in importance. Not as many people will listen to random individuals on the street talking about political ideology compared to the old times. Not to mention that in many towns and cities one needs a permit from the local government to hold a mass rally or to speak to a large crowd. Such a permit can be easily denied by a local government because of our views. So I propose that besides public speaking and street agitation, we use alternative methods to educate more people about our ideology. Two primary methods ( television and wide circulation print such as newspapers) require much start up capital which we probably lack. Not to mention the fact that licensing required for such enterprises can be denied to us due to (again) our views. Less people read books nowadays therefore operating a bookstore would not be of much success. So we must come to the conclusion that ( for the time being) the Internet and street activism ( public speaking, handing out flyers, etc) must be our primary methods to grow our numbers. So I propose that we use street activism in order to direct people to the Internet for the purpose of educating them about our ideology. We should create ( or use an already existing website) exclusively for the purpose of educating people. The Executive Committee's website can be used or we can create another one for this purpose. That website should contain important writings that explain our ideology. A good model as to how a website like that should look like is this one: http://library.flawlesslogic.com/. We should use street activism ( as a primary method) to get people to come to this website. In other words pass out flyers on the street, put them up on telephone poles ( or similar places), etc. Then there will be an opportunity for our numbers to grow via education. This task requires specific skills: There must be someone who creates ( and/or maintains such a website), someone who puts up the material or creates written material that should be put up, a graphic designer ( who creates flyers that can be passed out to let more people know about the website), and people who pass out the flyers. Other skills can be useful but these are the most basic ones. Of course other avenues can ( and must) be used to gain more numbers. My point is for the time being we probably lack the capital to start up a television station or a newspaper so it is best that we use this avenue for now. Of course if any of us has the capital to set up a television station ( or something similar) then they should by all means do so and the rest of us should assist. So for now we should use street activism and the Internet to grow our numbers. As soon as the opportunity presents itself we should utilize other methods as well.

This. We should definitely write some make some fliers to passed around. I was thinking maybe we should try to get Bladridigan to do it, because from what I understand he's a pretty good graphic artist. I would be willing to write something, unless someone else wants to take the job (I'm a pretty good/decent writer)

Comrades, these are all decent ideas, but I think we need to abandon the idea of creating a mass movement, the hour is late and the candle is burning low for the people of the West, the era of popular uprisings, massive marches, and fiery oratory has passed us by. The time has come for the creation of what is called, in Leninist circles, a revolutionary vanguard party. I will expand upon this further, but right now I must retire for the evening.

Bladridigan wrote:Comrades, these are all decent ideas, but I think we need to abandon the idea of creating a mass movement, the hour is late and the candle is burning low for the people of the West, the era of popular uprisings, massive marches, and fiery oratory has passed us by. The time has come for the creation of what is called, in Leninist circles, a revolutionary vanguard party. I will expand upon this further, but right now I must retire for the evening.

I agree that we cannot create a mass movement and that political activism cannot be our only plan. We should only continue to spread propaganda in order to grow our numbers.

Bladridigan wrote:Comrades, these are all decent ideas, but I think we need to abandon the idea of creating a mass movement, the hour is late and the candle is burning low for the people of the West, the era of popular uprisings, massive marches, and fiery oratory has passed us by. The time has come for the creation of what is called, in Leninist circles, a revolutionary vanguard party. I will expand upon this further, but right now I must retire for the evening.

True but even Lenin still needed mass action. His 'vanguard' would have had little impact on the Russia of 1917 without the revolutionary uprising of the masses. Lenin merely took advantage of the situation. Without a mass movement we are nothing, no more effective than other 'revolutionary' groups of the Left or the Right.

I believe, as others have already expressed, that we need simple activities designed to increase our numbers (even the creation of a 'vanguard' will take numbers). I would say that the simplest activity is a flyer or leaflet that can be handed out or left in a suitable location. Therefore as we advertised on the collective so long ago, we need people who have the skills to produce the pamphlets. So if any comrades here have the necessary design skills (plus the software obviously) and can do some, please do so and let us see the results.

Isakenaz wrote:

Bladridigan wrote:Comrades, these are all decent ideas, but I think we need to abandon the idea of creating a mass movement, the hour is late and the candle is burning low for the people of the West, the era of popular uprisings, massive marches, and fiery oratory has passed us by. The time has come for the creation of what is called, in Leninist circles, a revolutionary vanguard party. I will expand upon this further, but right now I must retire for the evening.

True but even Lenin still needed mass action. His 'vanguard' would have had little impact on the Russia of 1917 without the revolutionary uprising of the masses. Lenin merely took advantage of the situation. Without a mass movement we are nothing, no more effective than other 'revolutionary' groups of the Left or the Right.

I believe, as others have already expressed, that we need simple activities designed to increase our numbers (even the creation of a 'vanguard' will take numbers). I would say that the simplest activity is a flyer or leaflet that can be handed out or left in a suitable location. Therefore as we advertised on the collective so long ago, we need people who have the skills to produce the pamphlets. So if any comrades here have the necessary design skills (plus the software obviously) and can do some, please do so and let us see the results.

I agree with Isakenaz. What I think we need is a vanguard party to lead the protests and anger of the people to revolution.

Well we definitely need to grow our numbers that is for sure. I know nothing about graphic design or setting up/maintaining a website but I can pass out or post flyers. I am also willing to help write simple articles.

I also think a good way to gain numbers would be via blogging. One small website might disappear in the sea of larger ones but if many of us start up blogs about Socialist Nationalist ideology and pass out ( or post) flyers with their addresses on it then we might grow our numbers. So I strongly recommend that as many of us as possible start blogging and passing out ( or posting) flyers displaying the Internet addresses of those blogs.

Socialists need a uniform, and symbol and a music scene.

-- a distinct subculture.

Bladridigan wrote:Comrades, these are all decent ideas, but I think we need to abandon the idea of creating a mass movement, the hour is late and the candle is burning low for the people of the West, the era of popular uprisings, massive marches, and fiery oratory has passed us by. The time has come for the creation of what is called, in Leninist circles, a revolutionary vanguard party. I will expand upon this further, but right now I must retire for the evening.

A vanguard party without sufficient support is worthless. Politics has not and never will change as long as humans remain humans. The coming "end" is not an "end" of mankind but an end of the current civilization; specifically, an end of the predominant social framework. As the social fabric decays, the stirrings of revolution will inevitably sweep the nation states of the West. There is absolutely no manner of avoiding this any longer; the elite have ventured too far to return. There are greater forces at work than the petty ambitions of a handful of plutocrats. The divide between rich and poor is accelerating at an ever faster rate as the asset rich gradually consume the remaining wealth. They know this, which is why they abhor socialism and any mention of workers' unions. They loathe the masses because they are terrified. They are beginning to realize the grievous mistakes of the past. They fully understand the class tension that exists, latent, but omnipresent in our societies.

Frankly, there is no longer any method of concealing the glaring wealth inequality, the political corruption, the expanding cesspools that constitute our inner cities, the environmental degradation, the burden of taxation that befalls the working class due to the capitalists' penchant for tax evasion, the forced diversity, and the general repression of working class interests (e.g., Wisconsin). The elite no longer speak of the virtues of capitalism; they prefer not to speak at all. Their silence regarding the most crucial issues pressing our nation states implicates them all. It is not that the masses do not care for these issues, but they cannot have consensus and so remain complacent. They require leadership, and this is where the notion of a vanguard party becomes plausible: to galvanize and channel the tremendous force harbored by a disenfranchised and thereby radicalized mass.

We should never discount the possibility of mass action; in fact, it is imperative that we do not forget it for our success is unlikely without mass support. The days of lone wolf "activism" and mainstream political participation are over for serious nationalist movements. We will be the third party, which is external to the system. We will draw the masses away from the stratified platform of modern politics and show them an alternative to perpetual decline.

To conclude, I will reiterate that without the shoulders of the masses to elevate us, there can be no political action in our contemporary political climate.

Revolutionary Wolf:

Very true.
The trouble with advocating a 'Leninist' type vanguard movement is;
Firstly, I would say that as a true 'socialist' party (one that bases it self on syndicalism) we have to be part of the working-class itself not an organisation that sits atop it and dispenses orders to the workers below.
Second, Lenin's vanguard party has been (rightly in my opinion) as 'usurping' a socialist revolution and imposing an 'authoritarian-capitalist' (State-Socialism) structure.

Unfortunately some do not see the dangers inherent in Lenin's adaptions to the original Marxist ideas. That is why I see this forum as being so important. There is still much to learn and as 'NS Labor Champion' said in a post;

Wow, I'm very pleased to see the course of discussion here about what a vanguard party actually is, and how it is NOT some cut-off fringe substituting itself in place of the role that the working masses themselves must play in changing the course of history in the service of their own interests.

Below, I'll outline a few of my own views about vanguard parties which are relevant to this discussion:

1. Leadership is necessary. But which kind of leadership, by whom and for whom and whose interests?

2. A vanguard party is not a substitution for the needed organization, action, and rule of the working people. Did any of you see the recent huge march in London against the cuts, where a few handfuls of anarchists broke away from the anti-cuts crowd (numbering half a million people, mind you), where they then (unsuccessfully) attempted to bust up some bank and shop windows, threw some lightbulbs full of white paint at cops, and a few staged a short-lived sit-in in one store?
Comrades, this sort of substitution for militant MASS ACTION is NOT what a vanguard party does, especially when you have half a million working people protesting out there with you!!! The problem wasn't the anarchist attempt at militancy directed against capitalists. The problem is that they should have been doing what they could to motivate and guide at least some significant segment of that 500000-person anti-cuts protesting crowd to take a specific and obviously needed militant mass action against a specific heinous capitalist target that the crowd widely felt deserved special attention (advice: less vandalism and small skirmishes with cops, more unbreakable mass picketlines and occupations which even 100s or thousands of cops would fear being sent in to bust up). Think about the fact that with only a fraction of that huge anti-cuts protest crowd in London, you could have completely shut down any bank or business or political office or media station along the route, with massive picketlines and even mass occupation of the targeted facility. Want to make a powerful statement? Call the media from inside a capitalist facility that is being mass picketed and mass occupied by thousands of working people in protest. You don't have to permanently hold that enemy facility at this point...you merely are making a powerful and inspiring point, then you get the crowd back into the main protest event. Even better, hold an immediate short worker's mass meeting during the occupation, have the gathered meeting vote on sending a particular brief protest demand message, and then adjourn and end the occupation to rejoin the other working people in the streets. Everything done here sets the right inspiring example about mass action and mass worker's democracy, and thus teaches important lessons to working people...and of course certainly will scare the hell out of the bad guys! And, your vanguard intervention led to something far more significant action and results then even the whole TUC and Labour Party leadership (or their analogies in other countries) ever dreamed let alone attempted to accomplish, and now these big misleaders are put on the spot to publicly support the mass action you led, or to publicly speak against it and thus prove through their betrayal to many of the anti-cuts protesters that a new leadership alternative for working people in necessary (can you guess who they'd be thinking of?).
The worst that could happen is that you try to motivate taking a more militant form of mass action and the masses basically say 'no, we're not ready to do that yet'. If that happens, just continue on with the march and talk about it with the protesters along the route and where the march ends. They have to decide they are ready and then do it in significant numbers, or it will not happen that day. A vanguard ceaselessly tries to motivate the masses to take the next step in their consciousness, mass organization, and activity exercising their mass power.

3. Let's de-mystify "vanguard" and "vanguard party". Vanguard means the relatively smaller layer of working people who are most advanced in their degree of consciousness, who are most organized on the basis of this advanced degree of consciousness in order to further it, and who are most ready to lead and participate in the most advanced mass militant working class activity in class and social struggles. A real vanguard party is a political activist organization and leadership alternative made up of as many of these most advanced workers as possible. A real vanguard party must always belong to these most advance workers. A real vanguard party becomes more ideologically coherent and cohesive and united, more disciplined, more revolutionary, and more able to lead the masses as these developments actually occur amongst the layer of most advanced workers who belong to it.

Yes, this might surprise you, but inside a real vanguard party, the vanguard of the vanguard (AKA the vanguard party leadership, the most advanced of the most advanced workers) can't just so whatever it wants and issue orders from above. They still have to debate and persuade and educate the membership within the vanguard party, they are still held accountable for what they do during their day-to-day leadership activity between the general membership meetings and party conventions, and the rank-and-file membership still has the ultimate decision-making power through their voting rights in these general meetings and conventions! In a real vanguard party, every full member has a right to speak freely to the internal general meetings and conventions, to initiate proposals to be put forth to a vote of the general membership,to nominate candidates for promotion to full membership or candidates to an internal leadership body of the party, to organize alternative tendencies/factions/platforms if they feel necessary (as long as these remain compatible with the general outlook and mission of the vanguard party), and of course to cast their vote however they choose on all matters put forth and submitted to the democratic decision of membership meetings and conventions.

That is how a healthy vanguard party is supposed to work, and how the real deal actually works.
Can a vanguard party degenerate and sometimes get usurped? Of course it can, like any other group...if its members allow it to happen.
Do vanguard parties make mistakes? Of course they do, like any other group of leaders does...the question really should be whether they learn from mistakes and adjust accordingly or not.
Do you have to agree 100% with the line of a vanguard party's leadership in order to become and remain a member in good standing or even to be a candidate standing for election for a party leadership position? No! If you qualify for full membership based on quite specifically clear criteria about your expressed agreement and demonstrated active commitment to the general principles, outlook, and mission of the vanguard party, then a vote for your inclusion as a full member with full rights within the vanguard party would be put to the vanguard party's local general membership and they would democratically decide whether you are ready now or need a bit more time as an official sympathizer or candidate member (ie, an active supporter who has specified limited internal rights, but who still is deemed in need of further development).

Important: joining a real vanguard party is an intense process that usually takes at least one year from a supporter's application for membership to the local party membership's decision for inclusion into the party as a full member. Think of it as similar to the process involved in an apprenticeship program (that's basically what it is). We'll encounter many people who are supportive of what we're doing, but that don't really fully understand it yet and are yet actively involved with us or submitting themselves to the binding democratic decisions of the vanguard party at the level that full members of the vanguard party...so this is what the "apprenticeship" membership process is for. It is also for weeding out the flakes, those with loose-lips and lacking any capacity for the needed organizational discipline, the spies, the agent provocateurs, and the nutjobs, and any other folks that obviously shouldn't be brought anywhere near the internal life of the vanguard party. So, you should also think of the "apprenticeship" process toward membership as performing necessary front-line defense and quality assurance duties for the organization. Some folks are simply not cut out or simply will not be willing to genuinely embrace the duties that life as an organized vanguard revolutionary activist and CHAMPION LEADER FOR OUR PEOPLE would impose upon them. Vanguard party membership is no joke and no place for the half-hearted unserious types. Those who aren't ready and able yet can support the vanguard party from outside of it as much as they desire, and I'd suggest getting them involved in our mass organizing and mass action efforts (it might help them wake up and grow up a bit, and inspire them to learn more and take a more serious course for a bigger purpose with their lives).

I hope this helps comrades understand "vanguard" and "vanguard party" bit better, and I hope it stimulates your thinking further.

Double wow. Great post with plenty of gristle to chew.
The question of leadership is one that has come up time after time and each time it does we seem to get no nearer to any resolution.

I posted this on the old collective page, but as that has gone, a victim to the purges, here it is again;

Found this interesting description of a leader in ‘The Miners Next Step’A pamphlet written by the ‘Unofficial Reform Committee’ a group of syndicalists and socialists involved in the Cambrian Combine strike of 1910-11. The main author of this pamphlet was believed to be Noah Ablett.
Although a critique of the then Welsh Miners Trade Union leadership, I think it is worthwhile to refer to in respect to this thread.

ARE LEADERS GOOD AND NECESSARY?

This is not a double question, since if leaders are necessary, they [are] perforce good. Let us then examine the leader, and see if he is necessary. A leader implies at the outset some men who are being led; and the term is used to describe a man who, in a representative capacity, has acquired combined administrative and legislative power. As such, he sees no need for any high level of intelligence in the rank and file, except to applaud his actions. Indeed such intelligence from his point of view, by breeding criticism and opposition, is an obstacle and causes confusion. His motto is, "Men, be loyal to your leaders." H[i]s logical basis: Plenary powers. His social and economic prestige, is dependent upon his being respected by "the public" and the employers. These are the three principles which form the platform upon which the leader stands. He presents, in common with other institutions, a good and a bad aspect.

THE GOOD SIDE OF LEADERSHIP
1. Leadership tends to efficiency
One decided man, who knows his own mind is stronger than a hesitating crowd. It takes time for a number of people to agree upon a given policy. One man soon makes up his mind.
2. He takes all responsibility
As a responsible leader, he knows that his advice is almost equivalent to a command, and this ensures that his advice will have been carefully and gravely considered before being tendered.
3. He stands for Order and System
All too frequently, "What is everybody's business is nobody's business," and if no one stands in a position to ensure order and system, many things are omitted which will cause the men's interest to suffer.
4. He affords a standard of goodness and ability
In the sphere of public usefulness there is a great field of emulation. The good wishes of the masses can only be obtained by new aspirants for office showing a higher status of ability than the then existing leaders. This tends to his continued efficiency or elimination.
5. His faithfulness and honesty are guarded
Hero worship has great attractions for the hero, and a leader has great inducements on this side, apart from pecuniary considerations to remain faithful and honest.


THE BAD SIDE OF LEADERSHIP
1. Leadership implies power
Leadership implies power held by the Leader. Without power the leader is inept. The possession of power inevitably leads to corruption. All leaders become corrupt, in spite of their own good intentions. No man was ever good enough, brave enough, or strong enough, to have such power at his disposal, as real leadership implies.
2. Consider what it means
This power of initiative, this sense of responsibility, the self respect which comes from expressed manhood, is taken from the men, and consolidated in the leader. The sum of their initiative, their responsibility, their self respect becomes his.
3. The order and system
The order and system he maintains, is based upon the suppression of the men, from being independent thinkers into being "the men" or "the mob." Every argument which could be advanced to justify leadership on this score, would apply equally well to the Czar of all the Russias and his policy of repression. In order to be effective, the leader must keep the men in order, or he forfeits the respect of the employers and "the public," and thus becomes ineffective as a leader.
4. He corrupts the aspirants to public usefulness
He is compelled in order to maintain his power, to see to it that only those, who are willing to act as his drill sergeants or coercive agents shall enjoy his patronage. In a word, he is compelled to become an autocrat and a foe to democracy.
5. He prevents solidarity
Sheep cannot be said to have solidarity. In obedience to a shepherd, they will go up or down, backwards or forwards as they are driven by him and his dogs. But they have no solidarity, for that means unity and loyalty. Unity and loyalty, not to an individual, or the policy of an individual, but to an interest and a policy which is understood and worked by all.

Finally he prevents the legislative power of the workers.

http://www.llgc.org.uk/ymgyrchu/Llafur/1926/MNS.htm

Double wow to your contribution, quoted here!
Let us never forget that we are dealing with---and we ourselves are---human beings. I'm sure you've all heard of the 'seven Deadly Sins' before (wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony). I'm also sure that you haven't met a single person in your entire life who hasn't sinned in every single one of those seven ways and then some (willful stupidity should be considered a sin too, IMO---this is not the same as ignorance). I'm sure that you have done so yourself, probably quite a bit. I plead guilty guilty guilty to repeatedly committing every one of those seven deadly sins, and I am certain to commit every single one of those sins again and again in the future. Never ever worship any man or woman...for all are 'sinners' and none are inerrant or omniscient. Respect them for the good that they do, and appreciate them with the balanced understanding that they are still relatively faulty and limited and selfish human beings (and so are each one of us).

This is totally relevant to our discussion about vanguards and leadership. What Isakenaz has posted here about the reality of leadership is true...all of it is true, and all of us need to honestly admit these truths. Now, that doesn't mean that we reconcile with the bad tendencies and just say "yeah, I'm a sinner...so let's be bad and sin, ftw". Because, we're not really talking about sin against some supernatural God or whatever otherworldly mumbo jumbo, but actually here by 'sin' I mean to commit an offense against our own people. It is our duty to prevent and minimize as much as possible our commission of sins against our own people, and to not BS whatsoever about it if we have sinned against them. It is even more our duty if we are in a leadership role, and it is in these roles that we will face the challenges of sin more sharply, and thus we need to be held more accountable. Isakenaz's post clearly expresses this heightened challenged and greater need for accountability---and the fact that we can't just leave the others to play the role of sheep-like followers, but instead must exert ourselves in attempting to make them as conscious and as capable of leadership as we can, should we or any other of the current leadership fail in our roles and duties and require replacement for the sake of our Cause.

While no vanguard party formulation can be considered a perfect panacea, because obviously it is made up imperfect human beings, I do believe that the concept can be used to maximize and encourage the necessary "good side of leadership" while preventing and minimizing and giving the membership the real ability to resolve problems from the "bad side of leadership".

To put it another way, I'd suggest making Isakanez's post here about the reality of leadership a mandatory reading assignment for anyone who is deemed essentially ripe and ready to join the vanguard party as a full member...and yes, there's gonna be a quiz and discussion to make sure they really understand it.

Isakenaz wrote:Double wow. Great post with plenty of gristle to chew.
The question of leadership is one that has come up time after time and each time it does we seem to get no nearer to any resolution.

I posted this on the old collective page, but as that has gone, a victim to the purges, here it is again;

Found this interesting description of a leader in ‘The Miners Next Step’A pamphlet written by the ‘Unofficial Reform Committee’ a group of syndicalists and socialists involved in the Cambrian Combine strike of 1910-11. The main author of this pamphlet was believed to be Noah Ablett.
Although a critique of the then Welsh Miners Trade Union leadership, I think it is worthwhile to refer to in respect to this thread.

ARE LEADERS GOOD AND NECESSARY?

This is not a double question, since if leaders are necessary, they [are] perforce good. Let us then examine the leader, and see if he is necessary. A leader implies at the outset some men who are being led; and the term is used to describe a man who, in a representative capacity, has acquired combined administrative and legislative power. As such, he sees no need for any high level of intelligence in the rank and file, except to applaud his actions. Indeed such intelligence from his point of view, by breeding criticism and opposition, is an obstacle and causes confusion. His motto is, "Men, be loyal to your leaders." H[i]s logical basis: Plenary powers. His social and economic prestige, is dependent upon his being respected by "the public" and the employers. These are the three principles which form the platform upon which the leader stands. He presents, in common with other institutions, a good and a bad aspect.

THE GOOD SIDE OF LEADERSHIP
1. Leadership tends to efficiency
One decided man, who knows his own mind is stronger than a hesitating crowd. It takes time for a number of people to agree upon a given policy. One man soon makes up his mind.
2. He takes all responsibility
As a responsible leader, he knows that his advice is almost equivalent to a command, and this ensures that his advice will have been carefully and gravely considered before being tendered.
3. He stands for Order and System
All too frequently, "What is everybody's business is nobody's business," and if no one stands in a position to ensure order and system, many things are omitted which will cause the men's interest to suffer.
4. He affords a standard of goodness and ability
In the sphere of public usefulness there is a great field of emulation. The good wishes of the masses can only be obtained by new aspirants for office showing a higher status of ability than the then existing leaders. This tends to his continued efficiency or elimination.
5. His faithfulness and honesty are guarded
Hero worship has great attractions for the hero, and a leader has great inducements on this side, apart from pecuniary considerations to remain faithful and honest.


THE BAD SIDE OF LEADERSHIP
1. Leadership implies power
Leadership implies power held by the Leader. Without power the leader is inept. The possession of power inevitably leads to corruption. All leaders become corrupt, in spite of their own good intentions. No man was ever good enough, brave enough, or strong enough, to have such power at his disposal, as real leadership implies.
2. Consider what it means
This power of initiative, this sense of responsibility, the self respect which comes from expressed manhood, is taken from the men, and consolidated in the leader. The sum of their initiative, their responsibility, their self respect becomes his.
3. The order and system
The order and system he maintains, is based upon the suppression of the men, from being independent thinkers into being "the men" or "the mob." Every argument which could be advanced to justify leadership on this score, would apply equally well to the Czar of all the Russias and his policy of repression. In order to be effective, the leader must keep the men in order, or he forfeits the respect of the employers and "the public," and thus becomes ineffective as a leader.
4. He corrupts the aspirants to public usefulness
He is compelled in order to maintain his power, to see to it that only those, who are willing to act as his drill sergeants or coercive agents shall enjoy his patronage. In a word, he is compelled to become an autocrat and a foe to democracy.
5. He prevents solidarity
Sheep cannot be said to have solidarity. In obedience to a shepherd, they will go up or down, backwards or forwards as they are driven by him and his dogs. But they have no solidarity, for that means unity and loyalty. Unity and loyalty, not to an individual, or the policy of an individual, but to an interest and a policy which is understood and worked by all.

Finally he prevents the legislative power of the workers.

http://www.llgc.org.uk/ymgyrchu/Llafur/1926/MNS.htm

Isakenaz wrote:

Bladridigan wrote:Comrades, these are all decent ideas, but I think we need to abandon the idea of creating a mass movement, the hour is late and the candle is burning low for the people of the West, the era of popular uprisings, massive marches, and fiery oratory has passed us by. The time has come for the creation of what is called, in Leninist circles, a revolutionary vanguard party. I will expand upon this further, but right now I must retire for the evening.

True but even Lenin still needed mass action. His 'vanguard' would have had little impact on the Russia of 1917 without the revolutionary uprising of the masses. Lenin merely took advantage of the situation. Without a mass movement we are nothing, no more effective than other 'revolutionary' groups of the Left or the Right.

I believe, as others have already expressed, that we need simple activities designed to increase our numbers (even the creation of a 'vanguard' will take numbers). I would say that the simplest activity is a flyer or leaflet that can be handed out or left in a suitable location. Therefore as we advertised on the collective so long ago, we need people who have the skills to produce the pamphlets. So if any comrades here have the necessary design skills (plus the software obviously) and can do some, please do so and let us see the results.

Alright, understood, but just how 'massive' is a mass movement? I think I should have phrased myself differently, what I meant is that a revolution does not require a majority of the population to participate in order to suceed. If a vast majority simply remain passive and does not actively oppose the revolution, a highly dedicated minority, say, five percent of the population, can easily make the revolution a reality.

I apologize if I caused any confusion.