Theyre broadly supportive of worker rights, trans rights, etc, and so they’re on the left of the political spectrum, but many are also fairly close to the Democratic Party, and they are a mixed bag when it comes to Israel, alongside being reformist rather than revolutionary, which places them in the center-left imo. Out of the organizations listed on the Hands Off website, the DSA was the furthest-left one I saw, and the DSA is itself a big-tent socialist organization that includes reformists and Democratic Party supporters. The Hands Off rally in my area had milquetoast Democratic congresspeople as speakers.
There’s a stark contrast between the sort of rhetoric and political position you’ll see at Hands Off versus at a pro-Palestine protest or a socialist reading group.
being reformist rather than revolutionary, which places them in the center-left imo.
I disagree. That’s more to do with pragmatics than actual political alignment. Historically, leftist revolutions tend to get co-opted by corrupt individuals; the dictatorship of the proletariat has very little to prevent it from devolving into just regular dictatorship. A lasting leftist government needs to be constructed very carefully, which almost certainly can’t be accomplished overnight.
Reformist communists want the same end goal as revolutionary communists, they just see a longer, gradual approach as being more likely to be successful and stable in the long term.
Theyre broadly supportive of worker rights, trans rights, etc, and so they’re on the left of the political spectrum, but many are also fairly close to the Democratic Party, and they are a mixed bag when it comes to Israel, alongside being reformist rather than revolutionary, which places them in the center-left imo. Out of the organizations listed on the Hands Off website, the DSA was the furthest-left one I saw, and the DSA is itself a big-tent socialist organization that includes reformists and Democratic Party supporters. The Hands Off rally in my area had milquetoast Democratic congresspeople as speakers.
There’s a stark contrast between the sort of rhetoric and political position you’ll see at Hands Off versus at a pro-Palestine protest or a socialist reading group.
I disagree. That’s more to do with pragmatics than actual political alignment. Historically, leftist revolutions tend to get co-opted by corrupt individuals; the dictatorship of the proletariat has very little to prevent it from devolving into just regular dictatorship. A lasting leftist government needs to be constructed very carefully, which almost certainly can’t be accomplished overnight.
Reformist communists want the same end goal as revolutionary communists, they just see a longer, gradual approach as being more likely to be successful and stable in the long term.