"Where are the leaders and what are their
demands?" will be the question puzzled professional politicians and media
pundits will be asking when the Revolution comes. They will find it inconceivable
that a socialist movement could survive without an elite at the top. This view
will be shared by some at the bottom. Lenin and his Bolshevik cohorts argued
that we couldn't expect the masses to become effective revolutionaries
spontaneously, all on their own. To achieve liberation they needed the guidance
of a "vanguard party" comprised of an expert political leadership
with a clear programme. The Trotskyist/Leninist Left may remix the song over
and over again all they want but the tune remains the same: leaders and the cadres
of the vanguard can find the answer; the mass movements of the people cannot
liberate themselves. The case for leadership is simple. Most working-class
people are too busy to have opinions or engage in political action. There’s a
need for some…
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