We need a proper Marxist humanist party again, minus the Leninist crap. Such a party can't be conjured out of thin air, the times themselves create the people who make it happen.
The times themselves perhaps create at least the opportunities for radical change (not though always the opportunities for the desirable sort of radical change, witness the successful rise of fascism not revolutionery socialism in 1920's Italy and 1930's Germany as just two examples of this caveat). In hindsight , despite the radical Left trumpeting the imminent crisis of capitalism quite regularly since 1945, we were simply profoundly wrong for that entire period- even in the impressively militancy-filled early to mid 70's when I had most fun as a Leftie expecting a revolutionery breakthrough imminently. So actually expecting the "revolutionery" Left in most of that postwar period, in the UK anyway, to be anything but prone to endless infighting, cultism, posturing, self-deluding fantasy, and domination by semi-religious "holders and interpreters of the true faith and scriptures" was actually a tall order. Fast forward to NOW though and capitalism actually IS in world wide systemic crisis, and the Left has all but disappeared up its own over-analysed arse.
Like you though, Sean Delaney, my inspiring, uplifting experience of the rising tide of industrial militancy in the 70's (as an IS/SWP member), and my anti fascist experiences of the same period does indeed suggest that with the right, flexible approach from the Left "the real militants, rather than lifestyle posers, do indeed appear as if from nowhere and join the struggle. Gawd, I remember the IS fronted Rank and File Movement was actually bloody impressive for a year or so in the mid 70's - real workers, real militants, and an actual impact in workplace struggle all over the UK - until Wilson managed to demobilise it all. I hope that eventually the hardest of times since the 1930's which are fast approaching will indeed force workers who have never before been politically active into struggle, as so many briefly were in the 70's and even early 80's. Can't see the believable political "vehicle" yet to mobilise this struggle in a coherent way I have to admit.
If it is eventually built, no doubt during very hard times indeed, in competition with a rising fascist tide, like you I hope that the worship of Lenin, Trotsky, and all their works are mostly relegated to the view that , " they were dedicated revolutioneries, but weren't all-knowing sages at all, just revolutioneries who decided to wing it via an opportunistic power grab coup on a (then very non-orthodox Marxist ) hunch in 1917, achieving briefly a revolution that was actually pretty quickly LOST , not won". Because that's what Stalinism represents, the utter DEFEAT of the 1917 revolution. Lenin in fact was profoundly, world historically disastrously WRONG to think that the German working class would arrive in time to save the wing and a prayer 1917 Workers and Peasants State from collapsing into reaction. Not much of an all-knowing sage then, whose every word needs to be memorised and spouted to the faithful as a guide to action NOW, and forever !" And that's just the Trots ! The lightly concealed Stalinist apologists constantly writing favourably about the past and present "socialist" states (ie stalinist dictatorships) on blogs like "Socialist Unity" should remind us that there are plenty of politicos about claiming to be "on the Left" far more sinister in political intent than the petty bureaucratic posers of the dying SWP.
