by Gregory Lebens-Higgins

There could be a variety of reasons you don’t consider yourself “a writer.” The thought of writing might cause uncomfortable flashbacks to grade school essay exams and writing assignments. Maybe you fear nobody wants to read what you have to say, or that you have nothing new to contribute to the conversation. Perhaps you just don’t know where to start after picking up the pen.

It’s okay to feel this way. Even the most capable writers encounter difficulties. “It is more pleasant and useful to go through the ‘experience of revolution’ than to write about it,” Lenin wrote in the postscript to The State and Revolution. Indeed, there are methods of socialist organizing and agitation that might rightfully take precedence over longform writing. But compelling reasons remain to encourage strong writing as a foundation for the socialist movement.

To push back on the propaganda of capitalism, we must be able to skillfully articulate our arguments and critiques. This requires, first, developing our own thoughts. Writing forces us to lay out and defend our arguments with reasoning and evidence. It also compels reflection and aids in drawing lessons from our experiences. 

As socialists, we believe that the working class—regular people—have the ability to govern the world for the benefit of all. To govern, the working class must comprehend its historical role. To quote the masthead of the Marxist Unity Group’s monthly bulletin, “If every cook can govern, then every cook must write.” Even if we do not intend on publication, we should write to understand.

Accessible socialist writing contributes to the overall rise in class consciousness, and can provide new tools for analyzing the world. Each member of the working class holds a unique experience, and each perspective helps us to better understand the nefarious mechanisms of capitalism. “All men are intellectuals,” claimed Gramsci. Each “carries on some form of intellectual activity, . . . participates in a particular conception of the world, has a conscious line of moral conduct, and therefore contributes to sustain a conception of the world or to modify it, that is, to bring into being new modes of thought.”

To awaken political consciousness, we must approach our subject radically and “grasp the root of the matter.” By applying a socialist lens, we can explore the mechanics at work in our present moment and expose conditions for change. This means, first, a materialist analysis of cause and effect, and an understanding that ideology is reinforced by its material basis. Second, by thinking dialectically we can see how subjects both reinforce and reshape one another. Rather than living at an “end of history” punctuated by a series of meaningless events, the constant of change allows us to conceptualize the flow of time and history. Finally, we must present our theories as praxis, writing to “change the world,” rather than merely interpret it. Theory should provide a basis for action.

The difficulty with socialist writing comes with presenting ideas in a form the working class can grasp. “Accessib[ility] to the working class,” said Marx, is “a consideration which to me outweighs everything else.” Fortunately, good socialist writing does not have to be high-minded; it must merely incorporate our understanding of the world. According to Marxist writer Vijay Prashad, who teaches workshops on the subject, “Good socialist nonfiction writing does not assume that it emerges from the genius of the writer or an inspiration—but it comes from being absorbed by the common sense around us, and by being honest about elaborating it into philosophy of good sense.” We all live under capitalism, and good socialist writing makes intuitive the causes and effects we see and feel every day.

We now proceed to the mechanics of writing. First, you must select a topic. Think about why you are writing and what you want to accomplish. Do you want to tell a story? Make an argument? Explain a topic? Compare two topics? Or interpret a piece of art or literature? 

Much self-defeating worry occurs over offering a novel perspective. To develop an original essay, try looking at a new development, thinking about the unique overlap between two subjects, or focusing on a niche aspect within a topic. At the end of the day, it is okay to retread old ground in your words to a new audience—so long as you do not plagiarize the original insights of others as your own. Through writing, you will build a theoretical foundation to later reach for higher insights.

After picking a topic, you should brainstorm. What do you already know? This could take the form of bullet points, or maybe you just want to begin writing! Either way, it’s then important to draft an outline, taking a step back and organizing the information into a logical presentation. Paragraphs should build on one another, similar themes be grouped together, and arguments proceed logically. 

There are some standard formats worth considering. An argumentative essay presents the argument, then proceeds with evidence and reasoning. An expository essay explains a topic, by presenting the topic then adding organized details. A comparative essay presents one topic, then the other, before discussing how they relate. A critical essay might provide a summary, before presenting key themes and areas of agreement or difference with an author. Finally, a narrative essay can be creative, but should strive to tell a story in a compelling manner! Regardless of these standard formats, adapt the outline to most effectively convey your topic.

After preparing an outline, research your topic to fill gaps and back up assertions. We won’t go into the minutiae of research here; but it is important to emphasize the use of reliable sources and the need for citation. Add these findings to your outline where they are needed; though remember that your piece should not be merely a patchwork of quotations and reference, but should form its own tapestry.

Finally, you are ready to begin drafting. Just write! While composing a first draft, it is important not to get hung up on individual words or phrasing. You will address these concerns during the editing process. The initial draft should be about getting your ideas on the paper. One approach is to write like you talk—How would you explain your topic to a friend?

Feeling stuck? Return to your outline and focus on responding to one section at a time. Drafting does not necessarily occur in sequential order. Consider drafting the introduction last; using it to draw the reader’s attention, present key themes, or lay out a roadmap for the following paragraphs. A conclusion should summarize themes or inspire a reader toward further action.

Once you have an initial draft, it can help to give the piece some space; reading with fresh eyes before engaging in the editing process. Reading the piece in a different context—reading aloud, for example, or printing a copy and editing by hand—is another useful review technique. Editing should consider grammar, flow, and comprehension. It can be useful to address each of these with separate passes, rather than focusing on multiple aspects during the same read-through. 

Comprehension ensures the piece is understandable. Difficult words and key concepts should be explained by providing definitions and examples. Flow ensures the piece is interesting. It is worth trying different paragraph orders or sentence arrangements for a more effective option. To help one paragraph or idea lead into the next, consider transition sentences. Similarly, signposts such as “first,” “then,” or “finally,” direct the reader’s attention.

Proper grammar ensures the piece is legible, without distracting spelling errors or poor word usage. Use a spellchecker! Also, there is no shame in using a thesaurus to find the appropriate word, and writing will be more interesting if you avoid repetition (though repetition can be usefully employed for emphasis). But overuse of a thesaurus can be confusing, and will become evident to the reader if you’re using anomalous adjectives.

Asking a friend is a vital step in the editing process. Using the “comments” or “suggestion mode” features in your word processor are a great way to collaborate. Along with correcting grammar, your reviewer should note areas of confusion and lingering questions. Respond to these for the benefit of other readers! 

If you’re interested in publishing the piece, you should gather an idea of what to expect from the process. First, check the publisher’s submission guidelines. Some publications prefer a pitch over a completed piece. There could also be word limits or a style guide. Looking at other articles in the publication provides a sense of expected tone and style, which will help get your piece accepted. Don’t be surprised or offended if your piece requires heavy editing prior to publication—see it as a learning experience!

Since you’re reading this in Red Star—here’s an invitation to submit by using this form: bit.ly/SubmitRedStar. Our publication seeks to carve out a left media sphere that will form the intellectual basis for a vibrant socialist politics in our region. We’re interested in including your voice to forward this mission! Together, our writing will keep the spirit of socialism alive, and show the way toward making the world a better place.

The post Writing the Wrongs: Documenting Life Under Capitalism and Agitating for Change first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

Thorn West: Issue No. 217

State Politics

• AB X2 – 1, which requires oil companies to maintain higher reserves with the goal of preventing gasoline price spikes, was approved by the State Senate today in a special legislative session. All that remains now is for the Assembly to approve the Senate’s amendments. Governor Newsom promoted the legislation and called for the special session.

City Politics

• DSA-LA has released its voter guide for this November! Read and share!

• Across California, ballots are in the mail. Here is how to register to vote.

• A quarter of the way through the current fiscal year, the city has already spent the entire $100 million budgeted to settle liability claims against the city. The Controller’s office had previously broken down which city departments are most responsible, with the LAPD responsible for over half of the city’s liability.

• Following the latest round of settlement payouts, the city’s reserve fund is now below 4% of the total general fund, and is likely to dip further. Per the Controller’s office, dropping below 2.75% triggers an official “fiscal emergency.”

Police Violence and Community Resistance

• Amid a budget crisis, Charter Amendment FF would spend 23 million to give certain police officers and park rangers better pensions. The LA Times (and DSA-LA) endorses a no vote.

• Non-stop fear-mongering from media, politicians, and law enforcement about a non-existent crime wave appears to have made an impact on voters. Nathan Hochman, considered the most right-wing primary challenger of incumbent LA County District Attorney George Gascón, leads him in the general by high double digits, according to a recent poll. Similarly, Prop 36, which rolls back criminal justice reforms voters approved in 2014, also shows broad support in polls.

Labor

• 2,400 Kaiser Permanente behavioral health workers in Southern California, represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, have announced that they will go on indefinite strike beginning on October 21 if their demands are not met. At issue are several concessions won by a similar strike of Kaiser workers in Northern California, in 2022.

Transportation

• AB 761, which further enables California municipalities to take advantage of federal loans to fund critical infrastructure projects, has officially passed. The new funding opportunity has been suggested as a way to expedite the planned extension of the Metro K Line from LAX to West Hollywood.
• This Sunday from 9am – 4pm, CicLAvia will hold one of its biggest car-free open streets events of the year, closing a route sprawling from Echo Park to East LA to all auto traffic.

Climate Justice

• The California Air Resource Board will soon consider whether to amend the Low Carbon Fuel Standard to require that gasoline manufactured in California produce less carbon-intense emissions. Meanwhile, the media has focused on the likelihood that this would likely raise the price of gas.

The post DSA-LA Voter Guide is Here + LA Over Budget On Liability Claims appeared first on The Thorn West.

This month we are proud to present part two in our three-part series on noted Maine socialist and naturalist, Norman Wallace Lermond. This episode focuses on Lermond’s political radicalization, his active role in the early socialist movement in America, and his efforts to help the Brotherhood of the Co-operative Commonwealth establish the Equality Colony in Washington state. Please listen, share, and enjoy!

The post Maine Mural: A Maine Socialist – Norman Wallace Lermond, pt. 2 appeared first on Pine & Roses.

Editor’s Note: The following remarks were delivered by ROC DSA’s Internal Organizer Skye, at the March to End Fossil Fuels, held Friday, September 27 and organized by Metro Justice and other ROC DSA allies.

Poverty. Global warming. The ongoing genocide in Palestine. These are just some of the threats of our time, and to win against them we must recognize they are all the same struggle: The struggle against capitalism. It is the capitalist’s endless quest for profit that keeps workers deciding between whether to buy groceries or to pay their ever increasing rent. It is the war profiteers who benefit when they sell a bomb that is used to wipe out a Palestinian family. It is the owner class putting their own interests over those of the working class that is killing our planet! Let’s tackle these one by one. 

Every megayacht and private jet polluting our atmosphere represents the unpaid wages of the workers who put in the labor that allowed the capitalist to purchase their fancy toys in the first place. Wages that could have provided their family financial stability, put food on the table, bought a house, put a kid through college. It is the workers who do the work, it is the workers who should reap the reward! 

Locally, there’s a company you might have heard of, RG&E. They extract 100 million dollars in profit from their rate payers Every. Single. Year. That $100 million in profit goes to their shareholders, including those of their parent company Iberdrola, which isn’t even based here! It’s all the way in Spain!

Imagine what we could do with that money if we, the ratepayers, owned RG&E: We could lower rates, keep more local union jobs, and build more publicly owned renewable energy. A future that is not dominated by the insatiable profit motive means a future that is bright, clean, and democratic. 

Lastly, how does Palestine fit into all this? Since October 7th, Israel has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, both in Gaza and the West Bank, with US supplied bombs. Bombs you and I paid for. The official count is close to 40,000 dead, but we all know it’s higher than that, with uncounted bodies trapped under the rubble throughout occupied Palestine.

It is in the best interests of the shareholders of Raytheon, Lockheed, Boeing, and right here in Rochester—L3HARRIS—to continue the genocide and keep the sale of weaponry flowing.

This genocide is directly impacting the climate. The climate impact of the first 60 days after October 7th was equivalent to burning 150,000 tons of coal; almost half of this from US cargo aircraft flying weaponry and equipment from the US to Israel. That was just the first 60 days—we’re on day 356. To save lives and the planet, this genocide must end. 

These struggles stem from the same cause: capitalism, and that demands a united response. A movement bound together in common cause, a movement united in solidarity, a working class movement to advance the cause of socialism! 

The post Chapter Statement: All the Same Struggle first appeared on Rochester Red Star.

Thorn West: Issue No. 216

State Politics

• The deadline for Governor Newsom to sign or veto state legislation passed on Monday. Prominent legislation vetoed by the governor include SB 1047, an AI safety bill, SB 961, a bill that mandated new cars sold California warn drivers when they’re speeding, and AB 3129, which would have allowed the state to block private equity purchases of health care facilities. Further roundup here. 

• Newsom approved several bills that derived from the work of the California Reparations Task Force, including one that required the state to acknowledge and formally apologize for the its role in American chattel slavery. However, Newsom vetoed SB 1050, which facilitated restitution for those who had property taken through racially motivated eminent domain, because it relied on a separate bill to establish a Freedmen Affairs Agency, which was stalled just before the legislative deadline.

• It’s rarely noted in media coverage of vetoed legislation, but of the 189 bills Newsom vetoed, 170 passed with veto-proof majorities in both chambers. However, the legislature has not overridden a governor’s veto since 1979.

City Politics

• Newly appointed City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson sat for an interview with LA Public Press

• Leaked documents revealed that the state attorney general wants Los Angeles to redraw council districts ahead of the 2026 election, after the most recent redistricting process in 2020 was discredited by scandal.

• Mayor Bass has appointed former Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell to serve as chief of the LAPD. Next, City Council will vote on the appointment.

• Two candidates from DSA-LA’s 2024 endorsement slate have received endorsements from the LA Times: Karla Griego for School Board District 5 and Ysabel Jurado for CD 14. To help get DSA-LA’s endorsed candidates elected, see our event calendar, or sign up for a working group here.

Housing Rights

• DSA-LA was part of a coalition that organized a tenants and workers solidarity march on Saturday to demand affordable rent and liveable wages. This year, the city will reconsider the formula that determines how much  rent on the city’s rent-stabilized units can be raised each year. DSA-LA is organizing to ensure that the adjustments favor tenants; see here for more.

• The city of Los Angeles must increase its zoning capacity by 250,000 residential units to comply with state housing law. The LA Times notes that almost all of this added capacity is currently being planned for already dense areas. This makes it more likely that building the new units will come at the expense of tenants, and will require demolishing existing rent controlled units.

The post Tenants and Workers Rally for Fair Rent and Wages + Gov Newsom Vetoes 16% of 2024 Legislation appeared first on The Thorn West.

Last month, several GRDSA folks traveled to the Straits of Mackinac for a gathering of Great Lakes Water Protectors. We joined a potluck, a kayak paddle-out, a water festival and a day of workshops on a gorgeous campsite.

The impetus for this annual gathering is the struggle to stop the construction of the pipeline tunnel across the Mackinac straits and ultimately shut down Line 5 completely.

In many ways, it’s fitting that this took place over Labor Day weekend. This holiday is disproportionately enjoyed by those who work weekday 9-5 jobs, while many working class people, often doing essential jobs, still have to work.

We know that the current and coming environmental crisis will disproportionately affect working class people who don’t have the resources to adapt to disasters caused by pipeline spills and continued reliance on fossil fuels. These challenges range from access to clean water to mitigating damage from floods and extreme weather events.

The struggle against Line 5 is also deeply related to indigenous land and water rights as it trespasses on tribal land and threatens access to traditional food sources. They would be disproportionately hurt if it were to ever break, despite having no say in its construction or maintenance. Every day Line 5 is allowed to operate risks disaster, if it were to fail it would cause incalculable damage to our environment and drinking water for generations. That’s why it’s so important we protest it every chance we get, only a mass movement of those most affected can finally remove this threat.

The post Protect Our Water: End Line 5 appeared first on Grand Rapids Democratic Socialists of America.