SL/U.S. National Conference: A Revolutionary Road in Reactionary Times

As the world enters a historic turning point, the challenges confronting revolutionaries are immense. U.S. imperialism has ushered in an epoch of intensified crisis. The ruling class has grown more aggressive. The working class remains divided and politically disoriented. The left itself suffers from fragmentation and remains tethered to liberalism, costing it all credibility in the eyes of workers. Marxist organizations possess little authority in workplaces, limited tendrils in unions and minimal capacity to mobilize workers independently. Yet none of this eliminates the possibility of revolutionary intervention. It merely defines the tasks that we must undertake in this period.

The aim of our 17th National Conference held in late June was to politically consolidate the Spartacist League/U.S. around our tasks a year and a half into the Trump regime, elect a new national leadership and delegates to the 9th International Conference of the ICL. As the basis for electing delegates, we discussed and approved the draft of the main ICL document titled “Workers of the World, Unite Against the U.S. Empire!” This document gave us the political and analytical scaffolding to assess the various economic and political trends in the U.S. We also took stock of the current mood of the working class to determine where exactly revolutionaries fit into the picture. The discussion of the International Conference document helped frame the other agenda points on the national situation, trade-union work, the DSA and the black struggle.

The main National Conference document, “A Revolutionary Road in Reactionary Times,” provides a road for regrouping revolutionaries and strengthening the workers movement, which is ill-equipped for the battles ahead. The U.S. economy has not yet suffered the collapse we projected at the beginning of Trump’s second term, but tough times are on the horizon. The working class must collectively brace itself in anticipation of heightened attacks. Attempting to prepare workers to meet these challenges will be a focus of our activity, especially in the unions. The objective must be to minimize the damage as much as possible, so the working class can turn the tables and go on a counter-offensive.

At present, the right is actively competing for the loyalties of working people. It provides “answers”—however reactionary—for declining living standards and economic uncertainty. Anti-immigrant policies, DEI purges and wars all exacerbate divisions and reinforce social conformity, as living standards continue to deteriorate. The overall trend of society is to the right, as demonstrated by the growth of right-wing populism. Instead of confronting this reality, much of the left buries its head in the sand and interprets every protest or strike as evidence of significant leftward motion.

The “Revolutionary Strategy for Immigrant Defense” motion outlines steps to take to build support for union defense of immigrants. Consciously anti-liberal methods are key at a time when union members are either Democratic voters passively awaiting the elections or MAGA enthusiasts who have been crushed by liberal elites. As economic conditions worsen, the ruling class will increasingly whip up white nationalism and reactionary polarizations to pit workers against one another, deepening the retreat from collective struggle. The motion provides arguments to cut through the poisonous divisions that exist in the working class.

The “Perspectives and Tasks Toward the DSA” motion is particularly timely, as the country’s largest socialist organization debates whether to endorse AOC for a 2028 presidential run. The Democratic Party operative AOC is vying to dupe dissatisfied youth and workers into lining up behind that imperialist party. Nearly the entire DSA Left is capitulating to the “progressive” Democrats by refusing to fight for a clean break from them in the DSA. The continued alliance between socialists and Democrats within the DSA will only bury the name of socialism in the mud as far as the working class is concerned, further distancing us from our ultimate goal.

Our conference was enriched by the attendance of invited delegates from two other Marxist organizations, the Maoist Communist Union and the International Socialist Alternative (Revolutionary) (ISA-R). Both groups gave greetings at the start of our conference, followed by greetings from the ICL’s International Secretariat that emphasized our revolutionary internationalist duty to defend Cuba against U.S. imperialism.

The discussions with ISA-R comrades at our National Conference contributed to the later pursuit of fusion discussions at the ICL’s International Conference. The comradely exchanges of views among the three organizations took place throughout the SL/U.S. conference proceedings and at socials afterward. Differences were discussed over the class nature of China, the need for revolutionaries to fight for a clean break inside the DSA and making the fight for black liberation a primary focus of our work, including in the unions. It was on this last point that unevenness between us and our guests was expressed most clearly on the national terrain.

The presentation on the black struggle by comrade Cairo Turner (to be published soon) was a definite highlight. This presentation underscored the duty of revolutionaries in this reactionary period to take up the struggles of the besieged black population, to find ways to intersect the most oppressed and help them fight back. The rise of right-wing reaction and betrayals of liberalism have resulted in demoralization and fear that bear down on black comrades and black workers especially. The class reductionism of much of the left in the unions only makes matters worse. The presentation motivated the necessity of fighting to overcome racial divisions and fusing the struggles of the specially oppressed with the struggles of the working class.

Overall, our National Conference underscored that we look to establish a revolutionary current in the working class. To accomplish this requires prioritizing areas where meaningful connections with workers and the oppressed can be developed: trade-union work, interventions in housing struggles, organizing among black and Latino communities, solidarity with immigrants and broader campaigns against U.S. imperialism and state repression.

Through such activities, we can challenge the popular-front politics that repeatedly lead social movements into dead ends. We can demonstrate, in practice, that alliances with so-called “progressive” representatives of the existing order cannot substitute for independent working-class action. We can show that economist, nationalist and liberal strategies each fail because they are obstacles to building class power.

This is how we can begin establishing a revolutionary alternative.