L. B. Foote / Winnipeg Free Press Archives
1919 Strike
Crowd gathers at Victoria Park
Sometime in the 1990s, it became fashionable for many socialists to refer to themselves as “anti-capitalists.” I’m not sure why this was the case, but I suspect it involved a large measure of opportunism; socialism (at least that variant represented by recently imploded Soviet Union) had become discredited but the dominant capitalist system still refused to deliver the goods, hence the “anti.” Anti-capitalism also worked nicely with the “anti-sexist, anti-racist, anti-homophobic, anti-imperialist” patter that Leftists liked to rattle off whenever ask to describe themselves. Unfortunately, upping the ANTI made it difficult for the uninitiated (and for younger comrades who lacked the history), to understand what it was we stood FOR.
In Canada, the NDP purged the word “socialism” from its program and relegated the Regina Manifesto to the memory hole. Activists increasingly described themselves primarily in terms of ethnicity, race, gender and physical ability. Lacking an overall vision that could inspire and unite all of these various identity groups, activists have been unable to stop the downward spiral of living standards. Rather than challenge the system responsible for the impoverishment of growing numbers of Canadians, the Left fragmented into fighting single issues in isolation from one another, forever on the defensive, increasingly ineffective and incoherent.
I think it is time we began to say what we stand FOR. Furthermore, I think it is time to reclaim the socialist vision that underpins so many of the progressive aspects of Canadian society. More on that in future posts.
Paul S. Graham 