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"The future belongs to thosewho prepare for it today."

Malcolm X

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The question remains, however, how do we make this vision, theTowards Land, Work 6 Power Platform, a reality? Because eventhe most well-intentioned ideas fall short if there are no plansto carry them out. Vision is not enough. I n this section we'llbegin a preliminary discussion on the question of strategy. Wewill touch on long-term strategies and delve into what we seeas objectives of the current period, highlighting positive trendsdeveloping within the movement in the U.S. First, a recount ofour understanding of fundamental characteristics and currentconditions of imperialism:

• Capitalism has three core needs: t o constantlyrevolutionize the means of production, to expand tonew markets and ever-expanding profits. Internal tothe system, two fundamental problems arise. They arethe crisis of overproduction and the crisis of the fallingrate of profit. The core needs and crisis define the logicof capitalism and have driven it towards the monopolystage of capitalism, imperialism. The system then takeson a global character.

• Capitalism is an inherently exploitative system basedupon socialized production of commodities and theprivate appropriation of profit, reorganizing classesinto two camps — working class and capitalists. Thesystem's development has been fueled by patriarchyand white supremacy. Under imperialism, the systemfunctions on a global scale. Whole nations and people,specifically those formally colonized or enslaved, aresubjugated economically, politically and culturally.

• Localities play particular roles within the globalimperialist system. Understanding these roles clarifiesstrategic points of struggle to better position ourselvesto bring about change. Within San Francisco, the rulingclass agenda for the Manhattanization of the city drivesthe enactment of neo-liberal policy and continuous

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' For more information the current crisis and economic decline of the U.S. see "U.S. Hegemony: ContinuingDecline, Enduring Danger." Richard B. Du Boff. Monthly Review, December 2003.

' I t has been done before. Dur ing the Reagan administration, "America borrowed furiously fromforeigners, pushing up the current-account deficit to over 3% of GDP...that deficit came down againwithout causing a global recession, thanks to a big but controlled drop in the dollar and especially tobooming economies in Germany and Japan." This time around, "the imbalances are much bigger and

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waves of gentrification of working class industries andcommunities of color.

• T h e current period is characterized by U.S. imperialisthegemony. The United States holds disproportionatepower within the G8 and international institutions suchas the United Nations, the World Trade Organization,the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank andNATO. Th is domination is largely held through theU.S.'s monopolistic control over weapons o f massdestruction, technology, worldwide financial markets,communication and the planet's natural resources.

• T h e global economy has been struggling with a crisisof a lack of areas for productive investment since1970. Neo-liberalism, aggressive militarism, andthe fabrication of a casino economy have been theeconomic and political strategy enacted to manage thecrisis. Within these strategies the U.S. state apparatushas taken on an increased role as manager for capital.

There are whispers of doubt coming from the once seeminglyinsurmountable U.S. Empire. The United States is importing more,exporting less. The almighty dollar is shaky. To balance thingsout, the U.S. continues to borrow from foreign financiers. As aresult, the United States, once a creditor nation, is now a debtornation.' Americans are no different - spending more, with stagnantwages and employment, borrowing to finance i t all. Anyonewho has binged on credit cards can testify, what you owe alwayscomes back to haunt you. For consumers and the U.S. economysomething's gotta give and the stakes are high. Dramatic shiftsin the U.S. economy could cause a worldwide recession. Can theU.S. pull up from this decline?2

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These conditions and the need to manage the decline have evokeddrastic measures on the part of imperialist elites. But that carriescosts and risks as well, both globally and locally. Neo-liberalismand aggressive militarism on the part of the United States haveescalated resistance to its policy and are eroding worldwideconsent of the U.S. as the world leader. U.S. diplomats are metwith protests wherever they turn. Ally nations are withdrawingtroops from the occupation of Iraq. And all the while stagnation,debt and economic imbalance persist.

Defenders of empire rattle off the feats of capitalism as proof thatthere is no better alternative. The advances the world has seenunder capitalism are undeniable. Medicine. Communications.Transportation. Science. At a glance, capitalism has demonstrateda capacity to meet the needs of humanity. You would expect,however, that such advancements would elevate living standardsand take care of people's basic needs. Instead, in a periodwhere the world has witnessed unprecedented advances, we seeunprecedented levels of poverty, unemployment, displacement,disease, and environmental degradation. And in periods oftrouble, such as now, the exploitation necessary to extract profittakes on an even more grotesque character. Just like a freezer can'tbake a cake, capitalism's fundamental function and nature don'tproduce happiness or a society with it's needs met. Innovationsare commodities to make profit, not to better society or servehumanity.

Taking all this into consideration, this system is unsustainable.It's stuck in a destructive cycle, prone to crisis, stagnation,growth, collapse — all built upon class exploitation, patriarchyand white supremacy. We cannot wait for the elites to throw uptheir hands in defeat. They will continue to try and patch theholes of their sinking ship, offering a globalization of despairand destruction. We then, must seek a globalization of anotherkind. As stated by Fidel Castro, "Globalization is inevitable and

the world economy as a whole is both more fragile and more complex." "Flying on one Engine. A Surveyof the World Economy." The Economist, September 2oth, 2003.

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historical. But we must fight for a globalization of fraternity andcooperation among peoples, of sustainable development, of justdistribution and rational use of the plentiful and material andspiritual wealth that men and women are capable of creatingwith their hands and intelligence."3 U.S. imperialism, and all ofits tentacles of oppression, must be overthrown. Another societymust be constructed in its place. A society that prioritizes theneeds of people, upholds the right to determine their lives andcommunities. One that promotes values of sustainability andcooperation over plunder and competition.

Like a playground bully, imperialism must be challenged throughdirect confrontation. We believe the movements of the GlobalSouth — the people of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the MiddleEast will comprise the leading force within an international allianceto defeat U.S. imperialism. We understand the "leading force" asthe grouping with the greatest potential and material interest inadvancing an agenda forward; it's also the force that will set acounter-pole to ruling class hegemony. Radical social movementsbased in the Global South have gradually gained strength fromdecades of struggle and waning patience for neo-liberal policyfrom Washington. The strength and potential of these movementshave been demonstrated by their success at advancing demandsand winning. A t points some of these movements have literallydriven administrations from office or entered into alliances withpolitical parties that swing national elections. In different partsof the world, this has resulted in a political shift to the left, ata time when the United States has taken a sharp right.', Theambitions behind these alliances and other experiments havebeen constrained by the global situation. However, we believethat these experiments and the continued building up of thesemovements carry the potential of and may serve as an impetusfor the development of the sort of forces that can challenge U.S.imperialist hegemony. The current situation for imperialists andthe growing discontent by all those affected has the oppressed and

3 Fidel Castro, "Speech at the CARIFORUM in Santo Domingo" on 2Isi of August, 1998.

4 Laura Carleson, Left Turn, "Latin America Shifts to the Center-Left," Feb/Mar 2005

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TM MT: ,1,17; pad, wog a mutattheir oppressors on a collision course. The successes or failures ofthese forces directly impact our aspirations for liberation withinthe United States.

If the Global South is to lead, what does this mean for those livinginside the United States? Does this mean the two million lockedup in U.S. prisons sit and wait? Do we wait till more schoolsclose, outnumbered by detention centers? Stand and watch asthe INS deports and disappears more of our brothers and sisters?No. I n the belly of the beast, we too are fighting for our lives.Our active participation in this historic struggle is both our dutyand a necessity. It is our assessmentthat the task of the current periodinside the United States is to beginbuilding the foundations for whatwill be a united front against U.S.imperialism from within the UnitedStates, and looking to ally with ThirdWorld forces i n an internationalalliance to defeat our common enemy— U.S. imperialism. Fundamentallywhat that means is that we beginto organize and build-up massorganizations rooted in working classcommunities of color. Organizationsthat, o n top o f committing t oactually o rgan ize , p r i o r i t i z erooting themselves i n strategicconstituencies, • organizationscommitted to developing anti-imperialist politic withinwork and membership and that are willing to forge alliances thatwill ultimately contribute to the building of the united front. TheU.S. Left, in disarray from constant upheaval must build fromthe ashes. The potential of networks and institutions activatedin unison against empire are exponential. Al l of those with theinterest and consciousness must find a place to contribute. I f wehave anything of value to offer anti-imperialist forces in the GlobalSouth, it is in the building of a vibrant militant mass movement

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All o f those w i t h t h einterest and consciousnessmust f i n d a place t ocontribute. I f we haveanything of value to offeranti-imperialist forces i nthe Global South, i t is inthe building of a vibrantmilitant mass movementin the United States thatwill wage demands andexert pressure on the U.S.Empire from within.

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in the United States that will wage demands and exert pressure onthe U.S. Empire from within.

This task is not an easy one. The rise of neo-liberalism andglobal economic shifts has changed things. Jobs have beenlost to outsourcing or to mechanization. Work is contingent;temporary with workers switching jobs and sectors to keepafloat. Unemployment and underemployment has increased.At a national, state and city level, the state has gradually cutaway the social wage — housing, health care, unemployment,worker's compensation, welfare, education, childcare, etc. Onthe other hand, deregulation permitted by the state has openedthe floodgates to developers and corporations. Results aregentrification, the erosion of local economies and communitieswith little to no accountability to anyone. Unions have beenbusted. Tax laws have been gutted in favor of the wealthy.

All of these changes have an impact on the terrain in which weorganize. But when a door is closed, somewhere a window ofopportunity opens. The new conditions that we find ourselves inrequire new organizing methods, new forms of organization. Theyshape which groupings within society will be the revolutionaryagents to forge change. B y working smarter and positioningourselves we can build in the right direction. Promising neworganizing models have evolved in response to these conditions.Although still in early stages of development, we believe they arepointing and building in the right direction. In building towardsan anti-imperialist movement, we think the following points arepriorities for building the movement.

INDEPENDENT FIGHTING BASE-BUILDINGORGANIZATIONSFirst things first—you can't have a movement without organizations.The current state of organization of the working class and oppressednationality communities in the United States is abysmally low.Why? The changes we described above — particularly the lossof jobs and fluidity of workers and employment, combined withthe neo-liberal policies of the state — they have changed the faceof class struggle. This change and the Left's inability to respond

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to these changes with organization that speaks to the needs andinterests of the people have led to the gradual decline of the stateof organization. This, in addition to the violent backlash from thestate following the 196os and 19705 movements which rattled thiscountry like never before.

As conscious organizers we must address these changes andadapt the vehicles through which we struggle to truly speak toand ultimately attract people. That's why the priority must bebuilding independent, fighting, base-building organizations. Byindependent we mean that organizations operate independentlyof the Democratic Party and the AFL-CIO, the more traditionalinstitutions seen as organizing or representing the working class.This is both to break from traditional structures in these institutionsand the political leadership guiding these institutions. There's notmuch to say about the Democratic Party. They've demonstratedrepeatedly that they don't fight in our interests. Their interests arewith imperialism. Their perpetual position of retreat from publicdebate and our communities reaffirms that we cannot depend onthem to represent us, much less solve our problems. The state ofthe AFL-CIO is complicated and in flux. It's seen its membershipplummet over the past twenty years, reeling from attacks from thestate and economic changes. The AFL-CIO has also continued topromote pro-imperialist positions, such as John Sweeney's tacitapproval for the war in Iraq. They are not the old AFL-CIA, but thisposition has not won the unions better working conditions nor alarger trade union movement, leading to current internal debatesas to what needs to be done to address this decline.

New forms of organization have emerged in the last period,coinciding with the rise of neo-liberalism, largely responding outof necessity to the multiple attacks from the Right. Trade unions'focus on worksite issues, engaging in conflict almost entirely withspecific employers, rarely engaging with the state on issues outsideof contract negotiation and organizing members largely onlyaround contract negotiations has left out issues that people werewilling to fight around. Class struggle is not only in the workplace— it's happening in prisons, in indigenous communities fightingagainst environmental racism. I t ' s welfare mothers fighting for

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Class struggle is not onlyin the workplace — it 'shappening in prisons, inindigenous communitiesfighting a g a i n s tenvironmental r a c i s m .It's w e l f a r e m o t h e r sfighting for training andeducation, seniors fightingfor adequate health care,families fighting for betterschools. It's youth fightingagainst police brutality.

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training and education, seniors fighting for adequate health care,families fighting for better schools. I t 's youth fighting againstpolice brutality. Trade unions are simply not structured to dealwith all of these issues, but for people in the community they areissues that must be dealt with. These battle-fronts are centralsites of class struggle where people will join the fight, leaders willdevelop and the movement will be built.

Worker centers, youth organizations,activist formations — the multipleforms of organization present in themovement today have been engaged indiverse types of campaigns targetingcorporations, all levels of government,all types of employers. Despite beingsmaller and less resourced, thesenew kids on the block have shownthey can pack a punch. I n NewYork City, the Taxi Worker's Alliancesuccessfully organized a strike of taxidrivers, effectively stopping all taxi-cab service in all of New York City.Enlace, an international network oflabor organizations, has successfullycontributed to Mexican maquiladoraworkers gain ing recognition f o r

independent labor unions they've formed. The Tenant andWorkers Support Committee in Alexandria, Virginia formed a$15,000,000 housing cooperative — the Arlandria-ChirilaguaHousing Cooperative — benefiting 1,000 low-income residents ofArlandria through long-term affordable housing creation andcommunity ownership and control. And recently in San Franciscoa coalition, including the Chinese Progressive Association, the DayLaborers Program, and POWER successfully raised the minimumwage to $8.50.

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Domgr, Land, wog a POWER_STRATEGIC CONSTITUENCIES AND KEY SITES OFSTRUGGLEOrganizing takes an intense amount of resources and time. Wehave a finite capacity. I f our objective is to build organizationtowards a movement that focuses its fights upon U.S. Empire wemust root ourselves in constituencies who are strategic towardthat objective.

What could that movement look like? Who would it be composedof? And in this period of building organization towards thatmovement, who is that strategic constituency? The answer to thatquestion depends on what we think the composition of a viablevehicle to oppose imperialism from inside the U.S would have tobe. We see the building of a united front as the main force. Thisunited front will need to be broad, multi-national and multi-class. Within this united front, we think that there needs to beleadership from people with the greatest interest to drive such amovement forward.

Within the United States, as in the global situation, the bruntof exploitation falls upon people of color, in particular woman.Informal, invisible, and slave labor continues to provide the basisfor the expansion of capital and profit, inside and outside theUnited States. We cannot ignore the role of racism and women'soppression within the framework of empire, in particular withthe developments in the system we've described throughoutthis book. Because of this, we ultimately see the leading forcewithin the united front to be the intersection of the multi-nationalworking class and oppressed nationality people.5

Then there is the question of geography. So, where do we findthe potential leading force of this united front? This question, ofwhere to focus organizing efforts, has recently become a debatedissue within the movement. The Republican victory in the 2004elections was a kick in the stomach for progressive forces in theU.S. I t left many wondering— what do we do now? Some arenow advocating to "go back to the heartland" to reconnect with

5 Labor Community Strategy Center (LCSC), Program Demand Group, "Toward a Program of Resistance."

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Middle America. Others say progressive forces must incorporatefaith into their politics.

It's a long-standing debate whether or not we can actuallycreate a majoritarian movement in the United States. We don'tfeel particularly hopeful. Even i f i t were possible, we don'tbelieve that's the priority right now. Even if we thought we couldget white, middle class folks to sign on to an anti-imperialist,anti-racist, anti-sexist agenda — the central task at this time isorganizing those with the most material interest in advancingthat agenda. This is demonstrated easily in the election resultsof 2004. Oppressed communities, communities of color cameout resoundingly against Bush. People understood and soundlyrejected the Bush agenda, taking action in their own interests. Aswe build this movement, at some point all "Americans" will haveto decide if they stand with empire. The united front in the UnitedStates will need to have a broad array of forces. But first thingsfirst, rooting ourselves in strategic constituencies is the primaryobjective.

We believe urban centers are in many ways the pillars of wherewe need to build up the resistance among working class peopleof color. Cities play a critical role, functioning as centers ofproduction, consumption and distribution within the globalnetwork. This was demonstrated recently in Argentina, where thecities were shut down with the IMF crisis in 2002.

However, we aren't saying that urban centers should be the onlysites of struggle. Rural areas also carry particular importance.Some of the fiercest counter-hegemonic struggles have emergedfrom the rural parts of the country. For example, the strugglein indigenous nations within the United States, have foughtagainst environmental racism and the continued theft of land andresources by the United States government. We also recognize theorganizing efforts in the Black Belt South, deep in the belly of themost racist forces in the U.S. Our point is that if we don't have thecapacity to organize everywhere all the time, we've got to makedecisions on where to concentrate our efforts.

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LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENTLeadership, regardless of your approach to it, is absolutely criticalin any organization. During this period of building organizations,leadership development must be a priority. There are very fewspaces for people to develop skills as leaders — ideologically orpractically or interpersonally. Organizing is about people comingtogether to collectively resolve problems. I f we say that workingclass folks of color should lead in resolving problems, they must beprepared to lead. I f we're committed to people leading this fight,we have to put them in a position to lead and to be successful inthat endeavor.

Leadership development includes practical skills pertinent toorganizing such as recruitment, public speaking, campaigndevelopment, etc. B u t also equally important is ideologicaltraining that exposes people to the reasons why things are theway they are, and how they became that way. Then they're well-footed to imagine how they can change their situation and howwe can make change in the world. I f we don't engage in thisprocess, we leave it up to ruling class hegemony to continue toshape our perspectives, history and ultimately, our future.

Many times, organizations want to do this work but have limitedcapacity. Capacity is always a difficulty in this work. I n thedevelopment of conscious leaders, we are developing a culture ofresistance in communities in which we work. Because, once a flameof activism is lit in one person, they'll spread the word to others.At POWER, we take the perspective that leadership developmentis involved in all of our work, not only during trainings. Everyaction we take, we must draw lessons and develop from them.But we also have made the sacrifices to allocate resources to doleadership development. And the truth is, it does carry costs, butwe think that investing in our membership is worth it. Our successin the future depends on our willingness to invest in each othertoday.

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CONCLUSIONPeriodically we get invited to attend functions that bringtogether community based organizations from across theU.S. From these experiences it's become clear to us that a lotof organizations are grappling with the same questions andchallenges. Essentially, we are all responding to a situation thatis worsening before our eyes, and we are struggling to interveneand forge change. We wrote this document to be helpful toorganizers, leaders and activists within the movement. For us,the process of developing our vision and writing this book hasbeen positive and has strengthened our organization. I t hasbuilt up our unity and our understanding of the exceedinglydifficult tasks ahead. We think we are on the right path and willcontinue to tackle these questions and strategize in theory andin practice.Initially we were worried about the significance of titling thisbook, "Charting a path of resistance to U.S. Imperialism." Becausealthough this process has been provided some answers to thequestions we'd been asking ourselves organizationally, questionsremain. We hope this document sparks discussion that will leadto further development of our theory and practice as consciousorganizers and towards a long- term strategy. The movement'ssuccess will be tied to our ability to both touch upon the issues thatmove communities in order to build mass base and to understandthe local and global terrain in which we struggle; making ouradversary weaker as we grow stronger. We have our work cut outfor us.

A movement strong enough to challenge U.S. imperialism — onewith an array of anti-imperialist organizations and millionsof organized and conscious people taking action — has yet todevelop. The idea of something of this magnitude forming isalmost incomprehensible at times. Living in this age of reaction,where the word revolution is used to announce a new model SUV,with an abysmally low level of organization of the working class,and facing a full on attack from the right — it can all make onefeel like revolutionary ideas are almost absurd! We're left to leanon each other and those who came before us to offer guidance

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7,,,IPPMT Land. watt a POWER_and support for the work ahead holding close the knowledge thatchange is a natural and inevitable occurrence. The question is:what kind of change will result from the current period? We mustdefy convention and continue to dream, as expressed by SandinistaGioconda Bella, "I dare say, after the life I have lived, that there isnothing quixotic or romantic in wanting to change the world. I tis possible. I t is the age old vocation of all of humanity. I can'tthink of a better life than one dedicated to passion, to dreams,to the stubbornness that defies chaos and disillusionment. Ourworld, filled with possibilities, is and will be the result of theefforts offered by us, its inhabitants."6In the constellation of movements, i t is in the direction of ourcomrades in the South, whose inspirational struggles light ourpath here in the belly of the beast. Here, inside the empire wehave a task at hand. We mustn't fail. We owe it to ourselves,to the world, and to future generations to chart our own path ofresistance and do the necessary work so that we can become abeacon of hope, showing the empire and the entire world thatwithin the belly of the beast, the fire of rebellion simmers.

6 Gioconda Bella, "The Country Under My Skin."

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