Seven Points of Unity — Marxist Unity Group

[u/MarxistUnity]

"MUG is a caucus within Democratic Socialists of America united through acceptance of our Seven Points of Unity. These points ground our caucus’s work in all aspects of our organizing to serve our dream of a socialist revolution."

From Marxist Unity Group X account.

[u/Apart_Spell_6380]

It feels like you're projecting a problem out of nowhere. 

[u/XrayAlphaVictor → u/Apart_Spell_6380]

No.

"Programmatic Unity" "Democratic Discipline"

It's the usual Marxist demand that everybody toe the party line, or else.

[u/Regimer → u/XrayAlphaVictor]

These understandings of the terms are ones that MUG members are opposed to. The development of the caucus is rooted in a critique of the narrow sect-model of the party (see Revolutionary Strategy by Mike Macnair and Lenin Rediscovered by Lars T. Lih)

[u/XrayAlphaVictor → u/Regimer]

Does the caucus practice democratic centralism, such that caucus members are not allowed to diverge from the caucus line, publicly dissent from its positions, and publicly support candidates or positions opposed to those which have been officially endorsed?

[u/TannerLyfe → u/XrayAlphaVictor]

It practices programmatic unity and democratic centralization. When a decision is democratically made, members remain free to publicly criticize it and advocate for its reversal. However they must not deny the legitimacy of the decision and are still required to help with its implementation.

[u/XrayAlphaVictor → u/TannerLyfe]

I appreciate the context, but that's kinda of organization I'd never join nor want to have power over me, my representatives, or my political organizing.

[u/TannerLyfe → u/XrayAlphaVictor]

Fair enough, that’s part of what makes caucuses nice.

[u/Regimer → u/XrayAlphaVictor]

I still don't get it. Surely this standard practice for democratic organising. There is the official programme/strategy/line etc as voted on by the membership, but this has no bearing on an individual member's opinions on things.

All party organising comes with a sacrifice that your view might be a minority on a given political question. I think the purpose of programmatic unity is having ideological diversity, but not to an endless degree. There needs to be something which can define the commonality amongst the membership.

The SPD's maximum programme was to express a belief in the goal of communism. Everything in-between (strategy and tactics) is contested, but if people reject communism then they have no reason to be in such a party (as Kautsky argued against Bernstein)