Statement of the Podemos Platform
The meteoric rise of Podemos into the mainstream of Spanish politics poses a number of questions for the British Left. We think that the methods used by Podemos can be effective in this country and that a shift of focus is needed in Britain. We are the Left and our focus is to empower the disenfranchised – this should be our explicit focus and message. In order to do this we need to connect with the ideas and perceptions that already exist widely in society that recognise and challenge inequality. We need to redefine politics from Left vs Right to Us vs Them, creating a new discourse that exposes the privilege of those who hold power in society.
Strategically we need to gather and focus existing anti-establishment feeling until we become its voice. Our task is to absorb as many as we can into the movement.
We need to find a new way of reaching a wider audience. We believe that we must be more populist and use the tactics and strategies of mass (and new) media in communicating a simpler message. We must harness the power of the media to get our message across by working smarter, not harder.
We propose
We create alternative media on the internet that provide a leftwing source of news and analysis to challenge the neoliberal mainstream media agenda.
We engage with television and radio outlets and pursue becoming a presence in populist media without being too precious.
We market our ideas in ways that reflect the sleek branding that people are used to seeing every day. This means creating a professional image, seeking PR assistance and taking our image seriously as a means to building a credible reputation for left ideas that constitutes a viable alternative to neoliberalism.
We believe in a new method of organising that is more radically participatory and therefore both engaging and demonstrative of a new approach. Our methods reflect our values and represent the kind of politics we want to create.
We propose
Experimental new formats of member assembly and action from the existing dry methods of meetings and protests. App and online voting, art workshops, skills shares, are some ideas.
Evaluate rigorously the success of each experiment and build a model of best practice.
Experiment with crowdfunding platforms and ask for donations to fund specific initiatives. Crowdfunding is a more democratic and engaging way of funding and making things happen.
Too much discourse in the existing left is alienating to the majority and instead we must address people on values they hold in language that is universally understood. It would do us well to shed the jargon and intellectual grandstanding.
We must be bolder, more passionate, creative, and more emotional than the British left has ever dared be before.
We must promote alternative narratives that interact on an emotional level, and in doing so we must articulate the public’s anger and frustration.
On the question of leadership and representation we must strike a balance between the hyper-democratic Occupy movement and the hierarchical politics that has existed in the left.
A physical presence is underestimated. The assemblies of the Indignados movement existed as hubs for radical thought that embedded alternative political discourse into communities. Creating a stable place to meet and assemble is an important step.
6 comments
6 responses to “Statement of the Podemos Platform”
Left Unity is active in movements and campaigns across the left, working to create an alternative to the main political parties.
About Left Unity
Read our manifesto
Left Unity is a member of the European Left Party. 
Read the European Left Manifesto
ACTIVIST CALENDAR
Events and protests from around the movement, and local Left Unity meetings.
ongoing
Just Stop Oil – Slow Marches
Slow marches are still legal (so LOW RISK of arrest), and are extremely effective. The plan is to keep up the pressure on this ecocidal government to stop all new fossil fuel licences.
Saturday 27th April: national march for Palestine
National demonstration.
Ceasefire NOW! Stop the Genocide in Gaza: Assemble 12 noon Central London
Full details to follow
More events »
GET UPDATES
Sign up to the Left Unity email newsletter.
CAMPAIGNING MATERIALS
Get the latest Left Unity resources.
There is no doubt we in Left Unity can learn lessons from PODEMOS, in terms of imaginative methods of gaining a hearing amongst a wider audience, particularly the angry and dispossessed. We need to remember however that Britain is not Spain, either in relation to the depth of the crisis or the response to it. Neither is the working class traditions and culture the same. PODEMOS members need to learn about Britain and we need to learn about Spain, out of that might come a productive engagement.
Do we need to “redefine politics from Left vs Right to Us vs Them”? No we don’t. The right wing populists in UKIP want to redefine politics in this way – UKIP standing up to “the political establishment”, the “outsiders” fighting for ordinary people, the “insurgent peoples army” etc.
The us and them, the have’s versus the have nots, has to be defined by us as the Left having the socialists answers, versus the Right defending neo-liberal capitalism in every struggle.
The platform says “On the question of leadership and representation we must strike a balance between the hyper-democratic Occupy movement and the hierarchical politics that has existed in the left.” Yet from all I have read, Left Unity is far less hierarchical than PODEMOS which organizes itself around a charismatic leader Pablo Iglesias who rejects the idea of collective leadership and seems to model himself on Hugo Chavez. Left Unity has regular national conferences that decides policy, PODEMOS has two yearly “citizen’s assemblies”.
Democracy, accountability, control by active local branches and the membership, defines a democratic, socialist organization. PODEMOS in Britain should ask about the success of parties here led by “populist” leaders – George Galloway’s Respect, Tommy Sheridan’s SSP and Arthur Scargill’s SLP – if they want to see some of the dangers of populist methods of organization built around charismatic leaders.
Hopefully we can have a constructive and fruitful dialogue between LU and PODEMOS in Britain which will lead to the strengthening of both organizations.
The Podemos Platform is a welcome perspective for left agitation and public relations in the UK.
Stuart King, “dead Germans” have shown how “populist methods of organization built around charismatic leaders” can achieve worker-class independence. The General German Workers Association was led by what the “dead German” Marx called a “workers dictator,” whether that was Ferdinand Lassalle or Jean-Baptiste von Schweitzer and their “democratic centralization” (yes, those charismatic Germans and not Russians). However, the ADAV’s agitation and public relations was crucial in the emergence of the worker-class movement in Germany.
The problem for left agitation and public relations is, therefore, two-fold.
1) Building *cadres* of charismatic figures instead of relying upon one: This has been a historical left deficiency. If the Podemos Platform is to be criticized on this aspect, it is its unwillingness to combine *hierarchical* politics with engaging with media outlets, marketing left ideas with sleek branding, creating a professional image, seeking PR assistance, not using jargon, etc.
2) Agitation is not the be-all-and-end-all: This has also been a historical “activist” left deficiency since the political amnesia of the Comintern. Despite what the Podemos Platform criticizes as “dry methods,” the “activist” left placed a premium on such activity over above proper political education (with its “propagandism” and jargon) and actual substantive organizing (community organizing, solidarity networking, alternative culture, etc.). Another “dead German,” Wilhelm Liebknecht, said “Educate! Agitate! Organize!” in that order for a damn good reason.
I forgot to add that proper political education and actual substantive organizing should *not* follow the chain-of-command hierarchical politics that is much more appropriate for the maximum effectiveness of left agitation and public relations. Marx’s criticism of the ADAV was a very incomplete one.
I think that the ‘diagnosis’ listed in the statement above and the ‘prescription’ is also well thought out. How is it going? We are starting from scratch, which brings some advantages and disadvantages – but hopefully we can learn from each other?
To be anti-capitalist, is to understand Capital.
Understanding moves thought beyond wish lists and moral argument.
Nothing wrong with the working class brain, it’s in perfect working order. Merely requires some information.
If the left does not come to an understanding of Marx, sooner or later, out of necessity, the working class will educate themselves.
I could not agree more with the strategies proposed here. There is a demand from the electorate that the language of politics, and by extension, the language of the left should be centered around inclusion. People want to be represented and they want to feel they have a part to play in the political process. Many people who have felt alienated from politics are now contributing to the debate thanks to the platform offered by people such as Russell Brand or Nigel Farange. Whether or not we love or hate these figures is beside the point – they offer empathy and a language which people relate to in expressing their concerns.
The left has traditionally been slow to adapt to societal evolution and at times struggles to relate the traditional dogmatic, ideological arguments to the more pragmatic discourse of the streets. A new politics must embrace social media, emotive narratives, and, as stated above, offer dynamic forums for participation. Podemos are demonstrating what can be achieved when people contribute to and embrace a new political movement and this has been achieved by, as they say themselves, “becoming the people”.
Left Unity should not, of course, sacrifice its socialist principles, but it must communicate and market them in a way that is widely accessible and offers the opportunity for forward-thinking public participation and debate.