Our experience with leftist organizations is that they tend to treat newcomers in a number of disrespectful ways. One way is to suck them right into the core of the organization, overwork them until they burn out, ultimately become disillusioned, and leave. This is the way leftist political cults operate. The second practice is either to ignore newcomers or not be able to orient them as to the ways in which they could become involved in the organization.
In order to avoid all these pitfalls we have developed the nested spirals of involvement. These allow people to become involved at the level they feel most comfortable without any pressure.
If you want to see some of our activities, check out our calendar.
A. Attend a Film Screening on the crisis of capitalism or on workplace democracy
B. Attend a quarterly Forum Discussion Group Dialogical Investigations
C. Play a Board Game and learn about building worker cooperatives
D. Join our monthly Book Club on either the crisis of capitalism or workplace democracy
E. Write articles for our Perspectives page
F. Participate in Socialist Planning Circles
G. Develop a Group Political Practice
H. Build a Labor Exchange Network
A) Attend a Film Screening on the crisis in capitalism or on workplace democracy
Together we watch a film after which a discussion follows. Light snacks to be shared. Here are some of our film recommendations.
B) Attend a quarterly forum discussion group: Dialogical Investigations
The group selects two topics in advance for a three-hour discussion. The topics can include, but are not limited to the crisis of capitalism or workplace democracy. Other topics include geopolitics, propaganda and spirituality under capitalism. See the section on Forum Topics.
C) Play a Board Game and learn about building worker cooperatives
Is there such as thing as economic propaganda? If you ever grew up playing “Monopoly” you won’t have any doubts. But In these monthly evening meetings we will train ourselves in the principles of work-place democracy by playing a board game called Co-opoly, which teaches the principles of cooperation in a hands-on-way!
D) Join our monthly Book Club on either the crisis of capitalism or workplace democracy.
We host monthly meetings in which we read analysis of the crisis of capitalism from the point of view of socialist theorists. We alternate that with books on worker self-management whether they are worker cooperatives or workers councils. Check out some of our reading recommendations.
E) Write articles for our Perspective page
Through the result of film screenings, discussion groups and book clubs if we find we have a common perspective, you are welcome to use your analytical skill to write an article in the Perspective section of our website. We are also interested in developing collective research in news-gathering and probing of journals, which publish up-to-the minute trends in capitalism around the world. The results will be published on our website.
F) Participate in Socialist Planning Circles
Most of the history of the left has consisted of pointing out systematic failures of capitalism. There has been almost no attention paid to proposing a clear and concrete vision of what could replace it. Even more lacking is a step-by step process of the stages in between where we are right now and where we ultimately want to be.
During these monthly meetings each of us will be expected to develop our own social plan. These will be in various areas of social life such as food, housing and transportation systems. Our meetings will consist of comparing, synthesizing and criticizing what we have developed into a group social plan. This activity builds collective confidence that we are capable of planning the future. It also gives us practice in talking to others and encouraging them to take themselves seriously as social planners.
G) Develop a Group Political Practice
At the deepest level the most active members would engage in collective political actions based upon the plan that was developed. Three of our pet projects include:
- Rocking the stock market from below — intervening and disrupting financial institutions systematically
- Collective systematic refusal to pay debts
- Economically and politically supporting worker takeovers of work places and the institutionalization of worker self-management
H) Build a Labor Exchange Network
This involves setting up skill sharing networks among members for sharing skills we already have cultivated and satisfying needs that capitalism does not meet. This is not a proposal to reinvent the wheel. A similar program was implemented during the 1930’s depression. This activity promotes interdependence, trust and collective imagination.