First Published: Modern Times, Vol. III, No. 3, April 1979.
Transcription, Editing and Markup: Paul Saba
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The April Fool’s announcement of an “alliance” between HUS and RCYB unfortunately continues a tendency in HUS/Modern Times to poke at RCP/RCYB’s “ultra-left” activities without seriously analyzing the causes and dangerous effects of these habitual errors. “Ultra-left” phrasemongering, dogmatism, sectarianism and adventurism only tend to increase the isolation of socialists from the working class at a time when developing closer ties is one of our most pressing tasks.
While ultra-leftism is a very real danger to the progressive struggles in Hawaii, the problem immediately facing HUS and the left in general appears to be a looseness and amorphousness stemming from liberal attitudes towards ideological struggle and a tendency to take up any and all progressive causes on an ad hoc basis without a guiding strategy for building the struggle for socialism. In addition, we must note that HUS has only tenuous ties with the working class.
In the future, Modern Times should publish critical analyses of both RCP’s ultra-leftism and of HUS’s liberal drift, which are perhaps only two, mirror expressions of a common outlook that pervades the socialist movement in Hawaii at this time. We believe that A.F. Day’s satire, while a welcome attempt at humor in MT, is unsuccessful in raising these issues effectively and may act to increase sectarianism and an undisciplined approach to the need for a real analysis toward building a creative socialist movement in Hawaii.
–B.D., S.P., HUS members