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The Democratic Workers Party was a United States Marxist–Leninist party based in California headed by former professor Marlene Dixon, lasting from 1974–1987. One member,
Janja Lalich Janja Lalich (b. 1945) is an American sociologist and writer. Lalich is best known as a foremost expert on cults and coercion, charismatic authority, power relations, ideology and social control. She is a professor emerita of sociology at the C ...
, later became a widely cited researcher on cults. She characterized the DWP as a political cult with Dixon serving as its charismatic leader.


Marlene Dixon

Marlene Dixon had earned a
Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...
at the University of California, Los Angeles in the mid-1960s. She taught sociology at the University of Chicago and then McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was an admirer of the works of
Robert Jay Lifton Robert Jay Lifton (born May 16, 1926) is an American psychiatrist and author, chiefly known for his studies of the psychological causes and effects of wars and political violence, and for his theory of thought reform. He was an early proponent of ...
,
Immanuel Wallerstein Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein (; September 28, 1930 – August 31, 2019) was an American sociologist and economic historian. He is perhaps best known for his development of the general approach in sociology which led to the emergence of his wo ...
and
Andre Gunder Frank Andre Gunder Frank (February 24, 1929 – April 25, 2005) was a German- American sociologist and economic historian who promoted dependency theory after 1970 and world-systems theory after 1984. He employed some Marxian concepts on politic ...
, but as the party began to unravel in 1984 she criticized the latter two as
anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...
s. In November 1968, while a professor at the University of Chicago, Dixon participated in a political demonstration, and two months later when her contract renewal came up, the university's sociology department voted unanimously not to rehire her. The
student movement Student activism or campus activism is work by students to cause political, environmental, economic, or social change. Although often focused on schools, curriculum, and educational funding, student groups have influenced greater political e ...
on campus saw this as a politically motivated decision, and a "Committee of 75" was formed which published an open letter demanding Dixon be rehired, as well as students being given an equal say in the hiring and firing of professors. Tensions escalated, and on January 30, a group of 400 students occupied the university's administration building in what would be a thirteen-day
sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...
. The university administration responded with suspension of 58 students, including at least one member of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). While nominally in support of Dixon, students used the sit-in as an opportunity to air many grievances against the university: its lack of opposition to the Vietnam War, its weak support for the
women's movement The feminist movement (also known as the women's movement, or feminism) refers to a series of social movements and political campaigns for radical and liberal reforms on women's issues created by the inequality between men and women. Such iss ...
and the hiring of female professors, and its spearheading of " urban renewal" and early
gentrification Gentrification is the process of changing the character of a neighborhood through the influx of more affluent residents and businesses. It is a common and controversial topic in urban politics and planning. Gentrification often increases the ec ...
efforts in Chicago. As a result of the protests, Dixon gained a large following. A statement on the University of Chicago sit-in for Marlene Dixon was included in the 1970 anthology '' Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings From The Women's Liberation Movement'', edited by Robin Morgan. While serving at McGill University she once again built up a following among students, and began organizing meetings with them. Relations between her and the staff of McGill University had begun falling in the early 1970s, and by 1974 she had decided to stop teaching. By the time of the formation of the DWP she was politically a
Marxist feminist Marxist feminism is a philosophical variant of feminism that incorporates and extends Marxist theory. Marxist feminism analyzes the ways in which women are exploited through capitalism and the individual ownership of private property. According ...
with
Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...
sympathies, also a proponent of
gay liberation The gay liberation movement was a social and political movement of the late 1960s through the mid-1980s that urged lesbians and gay men to engage in radical direct action, and to counter societal shame with gay pride.Hoffman, 2007, pp.xi-xiii. ...
and
anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...
.


Foundation

In the summer of 1974, Dixon (now in the San Francisco Bay Area, California) pushed for the creation of a radical group which would evolve into a party with
Leninist Leninism is a political ideology developed by Russian Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin that proposes the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat led by a revolutionary vanguard party as the political prelude to the establishm ...
guidelines. This resulted in an initial group of thirteen women led by Dixon, who formed the original core of the party. In that same period a
Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party organizations, the c ...
was elected via secret ballot and Dixon wrote an 18-page work known as the ''Principles of Dialectical Leadership'', which constituted the nascent party's first internal document. The party's constitution was then written soon after along with a position paper known as ''On the World Situation''. The party encouraged recruitment efforts by both men and women, regardless of sexual orientation. Recruits took on new names within the organization, pooled together their income and resources, worked at assigned tasks for ten hours or more, and other activities meant to reinforce a
collective A collective is a group of entities that share or are motivated by at least one common issue or interest, or work together to achieve a common objective. Collectives can differ from cooperatives in that they are not necessarily focused upon an ...
culture. Self-criticism was also widely practiced to abusive extremes along with other measures to an extent condemned by critics and ex-members as destroying any chances of internal debate. The position of General Secretary was formed by 1976 with Dixon as the first and only holder of the title. The name of the party was originally the Workers Party for Proletarian Socialism, then changed to the Workers Party until eventually becoming the Democratic Workers Party by 1984. The DWP had a core membership of 100-125 people.
Max Elbaum Max Elbaum is an American author and left-wing activist. He has written extensively about the New Left, Civil Rights Movement and anti-war movement. His book on the "new communist movement” of the 1970s and 1980s, '' Revolution in the Air: Si ...
categorizes it as part of the
New Communist movement The New Communist movement (NCM) was a diverse left-wing political movement principally within the United States, during the 1970s and 1980s. The NCM were a movement of the New Left that represented a diverse grouping of Marxist–Leninists and ...
.


Influence

Throughout the 1970s, study groups were formed and recruits grew steadily. Though the party itself operated in a paramilitary and clandestine manner, members participated in activities among Leftist groups and supporting strikes while keeping their membership and party secret. From 1978–1981 the party operated via front groups such as the Grass Roots Alliance which rallied against
Proposition 13 Proposition 13 (officially named the People's Initiative to Limit Property Taxation) is an amendment of the Constitution of California enacted during 1978, by means of the initiative process. The initiative was approved by California voters on J ...
and sought to raise public awareness on various social issues through reformism. On November 6, 1979, the Party's existence was formally acknowledged through a public document issued by the Party itself. The party grew from 125 to 175 full-time militants. At this point a definite personality cult began to develop around Dixon as she was promoted as a great theoretical figure within the Communist movement. "Comrade Marlene and the Party are inseparable; ndher contribution ''is the Party itself'', is the unity all of us join together to build upon. The Party is now the material expression of that unity, of that theoretical world view. That world view is the world view of the Party, its central leadership and all of its members. And there will be no other world view ... This was the unity that founded the Party, this was the unity that safeguarded the Party through purge and two-line struggle, and this is the unity we will protect and defend at all costs. There will be no other unity." The party developed its own print shop (first called Greenleaf Press, then Synthex Press), which grew into a full-service printing and publishing operation that serviced mainstream clients such as banks, catalog companies, and publishers throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. The press produced numerous materials for the Party: books, journals, newspapers, pamphlets, fliers, bulletins, direct mail solicitations and buttons among other things. The Party developed its own newspaper; the ''Rebel Worker'' (later known as ''Plain Speaking'') along with theoretical journals such as ''Our Socialism''. The DWP produced two academic journals, ''Contemporary Marxism'' and the independently edited ''Crime and Social Justice'', which solicited and published articles by well-known Leftist intellectuals. The publishing house exhibited at major book trade shows, such as the
American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...
, the
American Booksellers Association The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and t ...
, and the Frankfurt International Book Fair, and engaged in fairly large direct-mail campaigns, sending out catalogs and fliers to solicit orders and garner publicity. Several front organizations (such as the Worker-Patient Organization, the Peace and Justice Organization and U.S. Out of Central America) were organized by the DWP. These groups sponsored various political activities and campaigns "including the quite popular Tax the Corporations initiatives, Propositions P, V, and M, the latter of which succeeded in 1980 but was never implemented. Proposition P, on the November 1979 San Francisco ballot, received 48 percent of the vote. Proposition V, in June 1980, brought in 41 percent, even after much negative publicity about the DWP in the local press. And Proposition M, in November 1980, passed with 55 percent of the vote but was later declared illegal." The DWP began working with the Peace and Freedom Party, supporting the candidate for governor on the latter party's ticket in
1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., U ...
. Front groups were also created in workplaces and academic institutions. The U.S. Out of Central America front organized and conducted delegations to Sandinista-led Nicaragua, and lobbied
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
on various issues related to U.S. intervention policies. The party developed a reputation among some of the Left as a sectarian party practicing entryism and the physical intimidation of rival Communist parties.


Downfall

As the 1970s drew to a close, Dixon felt that the party was becoming too
reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...
and had lost its revolutionary ambitions. Once a strong critic of the '' petite bourgeoisie'' class and purging many members of the party over their alleged "petite-bourgeois" activities and ways of thinking, she had begun to see the United States working class as increasingly unable to bring about crucial change and instead began supporting progressive elements of the petite bourgeoisie. This alienated many who had struggled against alleged "PB" (petite-bourgeois) influence within the party and saw this as an about-face. The party also began focusing on foreign affairs while moving away from
Maoism Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Chi ...
(though in the process gravitating towards Maoist-inspired third-worldism and adherence to
labor aristocracy Labor aristocracy or labour aristocracy (also aristocracy of labor) has at least four meanings: (1) as a term with Marxist theoretical underpinnings; (2) as a specific type of trade unionism; (3) as a shorthand description by revolutionary indust ...
) in favor of the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact states,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Maced ...
in particular, while stressing the importance of the Soviet Union and the belief that the development of the world socialist movement was impossible without the existence of the USSR. Dixon began traveling to Western Europe, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria with the eventual goal of receiving an invitation from the Soviet Union. At the same time, Dixon distanced herself from Marxism-Leninism and declared that it had been a failure in the United States. She soon went further, suggesting an end to the party's adherence to Marxism (while keeping Marx's influence) and getting rid of the party's Communist image (while retaining democratic centralism). A proposed name for a newly structured party was the Alliance Against American Militarism. By this time the party had about 110 members and its front groups had become either defunct or moribund. In the fall of 1985 Dixon began supporting the idea of leaving the party and setting up a think tank in Washington, D.C.Lalich, 216. "She talked crassly with her trusted leadership circle about leaving behind the rank-and-file militants and going with a handful of cadres (the ones with money and the ones she considered intellectuals) to start anew in Washington, D. C. She envisioned setting up a leftist think tank, near the country's policy makers." Many in the party at this point became increasingly irate at Dixon's behavior, citing her alcoholism and paranoia making her increasingly erratic and too unstable to speak to. She encouraged her lieutenants to launch a "Quality of Life" campaign within the party so that party members could assess their own lives. Lieutenants took this at face value and in late October members of the party began talking to each other on various party issues and their own lives regardless of party rules and regulations, this being made possible by Dixon's absence from the country while on a trip to Eastern Europe. The party's lieutenants called together various members and began speaking out against aspects of the party while discussing its "real nature." Party sessions continued for some few weeks more, until the night before Dixon was scheduled to return. On that night party members convened and unanimously voted to expel the General Secretary (Dixon) from the party, and then to dissolve it. A vote by mail was held in April 1986 amid heated discussions on the future of the party and a majority voted to confirm the party's dissolution and to liquidate its assets, to be shared among former cadres (which was achieved in August 1987). One of the party's former members,
Janja Lalich Janja Lalich (b. 1945) is an American sociologist and writer. Lalich is best known as a foremost expert on cults and coercion, charismatic authority, power relations, ideology and social control. She is a professor emerita of sociology at the C ...
, went on to become a professor of sociology and a leading expert on cults.


References

{{Reflist


External links


Marlene Dixon Archive
from the
Marxists Internet Archive Marxists Internet Archive (also known as MIA or Marxists.org) is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Engel ...
Defunct communist parties in the United States Political parties established in 1974 Political parties disestablished in 1985 1974 establishments in California Cults