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NEWS & LETTERS, April - May 2008YouthMarxist-Humanism's revolutionary journalismby Brown DouglasAt the founding Convention of News and Letters Committees, Raya Dunayevskaya described News & Letters newspaper as, "The recorder of the impulses from the deepest layers of the population, which is at the same time a new form of unity of theory and practice." The conception of journalism that flows from that statement is totally different from what most people think of as journalism. The "mainstream media," is better termed the "bourgeois media." That is, because the ruling class is the capitalist bourgeoisie, and the media that reports news, world happenings, and entertainment is in the end a mouthpiece of that social class. Exposing the class-based media comes by way of a larger critique of the class-based nature of this society. The "new form of unity of theory and practice" means that there can no longer be a separation between what the people--chewed up and spit out every day by this society--are doing and thinking, and what revolutionaries are doing and thinking. Forging a new relationship between those who under capitalism have no voice and are the last ones looked to for an opinion and revolutionaries who have decided that this society is rotten and needs to go, became not just a formal policy but a philosophic principle with News & Letters. Karl Marx was thinking of how to create a new kind of revolutionary journalism when he was a young newspaper writer. He wrote to his friend: "We should develop new principles for the world out of its old principles. We must not say to the world: stop your quarrels, they are foolish, and listen to us...to sum up the credo of our journal in a single word: the self-clarification of the struggles and wishes of the age." Instead of beating people over the head with what seemed like a new idea pulled out of thin air, Marx knew that the "struggles and wishes" of people under capitalism express thoughts worthy of being recorded. What Marx didn't explicitly say that we know in our times is that for "self-clarification" to be worked out, the voices from those fighting oppression must be unseparated from those articulating a full philosophy of freedom. That is the task of a revolutionary journal like News & Letters. This revolutionary journalism stands in contrast to the bourgeois idea of journalism. Journalists pretend to have a neutral point of view and make supposedly "objective" reports. Even the best bourgeois journalists--who are not solely disciplined by their careers, reputation, and accolades--don't approach their trade with the idea of finding the contradictions within this society and overcoming them. The "philosophy" behind this journalism is the same philosophy of the ruling class of capitalist society. What philosophy flows from a revolutionary journalism? In Marxism and Freedom Raya Dunayevskaya worked out what revolutionaries do when they unite with workers and others who are exploited by capitalism: "If, as a theoretician, one's ears are attuned to the new impulse from the workers, new 'categories' will be created, a new way of thinking, a new step forward in philosophic cognition." The idea of not stopping at "recording impulses" but developing modes of thought and action in relationship to these revolutionary impulses is exactly what we have in mind when we put "Theory/Practice" on the front page of News & Letters. To encourage the broadest participation from everyone seeking to transform this society, every issue of News & Letters includes people speaking for themselves. Our task as journalists isn't only to "cover" a good story and provide analysis. It's also making sure that the deepest layers of the population are heard in their own words expressing their own ideas, hopes and aspirations. Without that relationship, a radical journal only represents the thought of a few radicals and becomes insular and irrelevant. "Self-development" is integral to that concept of revolutionary journalism. We know that no one has all the answers to the problems facing us and that a development will be necessary to move forward in our struggles. We provide a space for this working out of ideas by members and non-members alike. The "Women as Reason" column, "Workshop Talks" column, "Black/Red View" column, and the "Youth" column can all be written by participants who are interested in the Marxist-Humanist project of practicing theory and practice as a unit. The "Philosophic Dialogue" essays are where ideas are not just recorded but debated including "From the Archives" column where we print an essay from the founder of Marxist-Humanism, Raya Dunayevskaya. This way of breaking down the barrier between people outside and inside the organization is what practicing revolutionary journalism is about for News and Letters Committees. We invite you to join us in this project and make it your own by participating and writing for News & Letters. |
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