Debates


Giving credit to the wrong class
Did workers “pivot” toward striking for union recognition because of New Deal legislation, as Eric Blanc claims? Kim Moody looks at what really drove the labor upsurge of the early 1930s.

Class independence and the broad parties
Tempest’s Andrew Sernatinger responds to a debate with Left Voice on how revolutionary socialists should relate to broad parties.

The contradictions of internationalism from above
Travis S. argues that a more promising road forward for effective confrontation with the U.S. empire lies in disruptive power from below.

Worker insurgency and the New Deal
Kim Moody interrogates Eric Blanc’s account of the relationship between the Democrats and working-class self-activity in the New Deal era.

To organize, give people work they want to do
Zyad Hammad of DSA’s NYC Labor Branch argues that what’s missing in DSA organizing is a “scaffolding” of different tiers of engagement that provides opportunities for members take on labor work with low barriers to entry and then advance to deeper involvement as they learn and grow in commitment.

Solidarity with the Ukrainian resistance!
Ashley Smith reviews the ongoing Left debates about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the continuing need to defend Ukrainian resistance as the starting point for rebuilding international solidarity from below.

Revolutionary defeatism, yesterday and today
Simon Hannah reviews the varied Left positions in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and how to understand Lenin’s position of “revolutionary defeatism” in the current war.

Zionists fear the picket
Joel Reinstein unpacks Liza Featherstone’s recent defense of DSA’s ostensible solidarity with Palestine, and finds logical fallacies and factual mistakes.

Against Purgatory
Adam Turl responds to Bhaskar Sunkara’s “The Left in Purgatory” , the lead editorial in the recent print issue of Jacobin, No. 44, Winter 2022.

Building a mass movement with no apologism
Within and outside DSA, many on the Left have aligned themselves with the Communist Party of China (CPC). Guest author Travis S. submitted this piece to Tempest in the interest of furthering debate on the question of how the left should relate to the CPC. He explores the contradictions and implications of tying the Left…

On (not) expelling Jamaal Bowman
After weeks of public debate about DSA’s relationship to Congressional Representative Jamaal Bowman, DSA’s leadership announced that they will not expel Bowman. Andy Sernatinger reports on how the crisis unfolded and examines the forces at play.

Apartheid is a red line
Leandro Herrera argues why socialists cannot afford to compromise on solidarity with Palestine.
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