In order to build surface tension, water molecules use the power of cohesion, a force that allows hydrogen bonds to attract one another and form bonds, coming together. In turn, surface tension allows water to resist rupture when disrupted or stressed, form droplets, and support small objects that adhere to it. Ultimately, this is one of the many millions of mechanisms that sustain and support the way we live.

Much like natural elements that make up water stick together, we can draw references that parallel political organizing in the same way.

Organizing towards an anti-imperialist and anti-capitalist future and resistance against the repression that we are likely to face is not something that can be done alone in secret or from behind a screen. In the same way that the cohesive forces of water facilitate the greater goal of surface tension, our political unity is what allows us to organize successfully. But our ability to construct political unity together is limited by ideological hangups that affect all of us, and have to be addressed and struggled with.  

Individualism is one ideological tendency that we face over and over again. This conception of personal freedom, personal responsibility, and self-reliance, was born with the creation of capitalism, and only serves the bourgeois. We can’t work collectively because we are pushed to isolate ourselves and to find worth solely in what we have ownership of. Examples of this can be found in the consumerism we witness all around us from cars, designer clothes, and the concept of the American Dream and home ownership. Even the college degrees we earn push us deeper and deeper towards this slippery slope.

Individualism frames issues we face personally and issues that we see day to day, as individual failure instead of being linked to the larger structural issues of capitalism and imperialism. Our goal as progressive militants should be to shift consciousness in a way that allows people to question the system as a whole!!  If we don’t address individualism… that impulse to handle and try to correct things on our own – in ourselves and in the people we organize with – the comradery and networks we have within our communities will dwindle.  The surface tension we are building will falter and we will break apart. 

We are at a critical moment in time, and are seeing increasing fascistic attacks on civil liberties and an undercurrent of deep rooted dissatisfaction with the status quo. In order to organize, we must look back on past movements and critique some of their limitations. We can look to the recent past to see a clear example of this. During the uprisings in support of Black Lives Matter and the unjust killings of people at the hands of the State, many people were galvanized to demand change. That resulted in countless protests around the country and globe, increased awareness on subjects like race and exploitation, as well as massive donations and overall support towards this movement. How many of us went to protests, or supported protestors from behind the scenes, and actually walked away with connections to other like minded people? Did the donations spur more political action, or were they substitutes for the actual political action we all desperately need?

We are now coming up on the second anniversary of these protests and the amount of revolutionary and radical change that many once hoped to see has barely transpired. We have not witnessed more justice, nor have we witnessed more peace. Instead what we’ve witnessed is growing skepticism from many who sympathized and organized for this movement. This is especially the case in recent days as some of the founders of this movement have come under fire for allegedly misappropriating funds. Missteps like this only fuel the notion that organizations are only incentivized by raising money or elevating the media presence of their own members. Without a solid political line that made a direct connection between racism, capitalist domination, and imperialism, there was a failed opportunity to further develop the politics of the segments of the population that were originally only motivated to organize through their own appropriation of identity politics. There was a lost opportunity to link these struggles to a progressive movement.

Having seen the pitfalls first and foremost we acknowledge the trepidations that people who are disillusioned with capitalism might have about organizing. We acknowledge that this wariness can stem from lived experiences or realities, and it is valid – but not helpful. This is why One Struggle organizes independently and we build political unity with one another without funneling our work into electoral politics or NGOs. We acknowledge that both of these tactics have only previously resulted in the work of organizers ultimately being consumed by corporations and political parties or have led to the acceptance of concessions that fail to bring about transformative change. The same passion and fire that fuels and motivates people to take to the streets in protest against police brutality or any of the other societal or structural ailments that plague us, is the same fire that can easily burn out. Through the process of evaluating our experiences with our political theory, One Struggle works towards maintaining a level of practice that constantly examines what we are engaging in and why. As such we hope to avoid the burn out that can result from operating in a reactionary way. We are combating being reformist and burning out so that we can build the sustained political action necessary for an independent combative mass movement! We know that certain alternatives, no matter how positive they may seem, may not be in our best interest or in the best interests of the masses. Even more than not being in the best interest, they often funnel back into systems that are outright dangerous

This is especially important as we continue to see mass shootings, increases in racial violence, inflation, rampant land grabs, speculation based on completely made up precedents, continued poisoning of land water and air, political turmoil & confusion, and increased repression along sex, orientation & gender lines escalate in recent headlines. The same repetitive cycles will repeat and our way forward is to offer alternatives that completely dismantle and re-imagine what our current reality looks like. 

One Struggle resists the opportunism that can arise when working in a group by fighting against bureaucratic tendencies and by not mimicking the organizational structures of other organizations. This is why we don’t operate clandestinely. We build unity amongst ourselves, potential members, and sympathizers regarding what our political line is. This is a collective process where everyone has the capacity to provide input. The line is what guides us – an end goal or vision that is constantly examined which allows us to be rooted and avoid the aforementioned pitfalls. We don’t cultivate this by doing what is easy. Individualism is what is easy, comfortable, and it tends to be the default for most people. We try do something more difficult but ultimately more effective: we seek to empower each member to be a leader, knowing that true democracy is made up of empowered individuals who respect their connectivity to our collective human plight, who see themselves as leaders, & who want to use that leadership to further empower others. Resisting individualism and leaning into one another’s strengths is how we amass people power. 

Injustices will continue to be flagrant as capitalism digs its own grave deeper and deeper . It is up to us to demonstrate that we hold the power and that we, the people, are the strongest force as long as we stick together.

We need to have unity beyond agreement. At the end of each article, social media post, or in-person event… we provide our contact info. This is for a reason!

If you agree and you’re not organized we ask … why not?