Viewpoint about IDF Necessity

Viewpoint about IDF Necessity
Opinion by:
Mike Lepore - 29 Redmond Way - Stanfordville, NY 12581 USA
First draft February 8, 2005

I write to argue in favor of a new proposal that all individuals and groups in the world who consider themselves De Leonists should now affiliate with each other into a new kind of federation.

A dispersion of individuals who are influenced by the writings of Daniel De Leon has taken place. Some individuals feel that they do not possess the requisite self-discipline, or certain other characteristics, to be members of a high-commitment organization, as De Leonists have traditionally viewed the role of a political party of socialism. Some have dispersed because, while they agree on several of the most fundamental principles, they may hold differences of opinions about secondary principles, for example, the precise demarcation between reformist and revolutionary activity, variations in the concept of the industrial union form of government, differences in their preferred terminology for communicating our goals, or other issues. Some sympathizers may view themselves not as activists primarily, but rather as nonfiction authors, socially concerned artists, history teachers, theoretical economists, philosophers, or other designations. Personally, and for reasons that have much more to do with my personality than with my socialist beliefs, I have never felt comfortable joining any closely organized group, although my affiliation with a more flexible federation of De Leonist sympathizers would suit me well.

The optimum action for all people who describe themselves as De Leonists would be to consider adding a new layer and dimension of affiliation which preserves our individual identities. In such a federation, both individuals and organizations should become newly associated in a form that I visualize as circles within circles. We would be clearly differentiated from one another in some of the principles that we hold respectively, and we would be neither required nor requested to abdicate those principles; and yet, we would recognize that we are members of the same working class who have positions which are clearly more similar with each other than the vast differences between ourselves and the liberals, the vanguardists, the anarchists, and certain others.

Early in 2005, less than a half-dozen previously unaffiliated people, who have studied and agree with the basic concepts of the case for socialism presented by Daniel De Leon, got together and took several tentative steps. We voted to refer to our new effort as an international De Leonist federation (IDF). We elected an acting office holder to help coordinate us and to send correspondences. We began to contact other individuals and organizations to propose our ideas to them. We began to use public discussion forums on the internet to compare our ideas.

In closing, if I were to choose two points for emphasis, they would be these: (1) If you are a member of a De Leonist organization in any country, and you feel that it would be beneficial to have some dialogue and some experimental cooperation with other people around the world who hold similar viewpoints, as long as you are never expected to compromise with your principles, then the IDF proposal is perfect for you. (2) If you are an isolated individual who agrees with the De Leonist program but, for any reason, does not hold a formal membership in an organization, then the IDF proposal is perfect for you.

To discuss the pros and cons of affiliating, or to indicate your choice to affiliate, everyone is invited to visit the online forum at deleonism.org .