Mass Campaigns 101
Learning Objectives
Understand the basics of campaign strategy and the role of mass campaigns and mass struggle in agitating, organizing, and mobilizing the masses
Provide a systematic framework for building mass campaigns
What is a Mass Campaign
A mass campaign is a planned, organized, and persevering series of mass actions of a broad scope in order to achieve a definite objective.
A mass action is a planned collective mobilization of the masses for a definite objective.
Mass actions may be political, organizational, and/or propaganda-education.
The most important kind of mass action is mass struggle, or a planned collective confrontation of the masses against their enemies.
Mass actions, mass struggles, and mass campaigns rely on the collective participation of the masses to succeed. Deep and lasting change in society can only be created by the masses themselves.
In ILPS’ framework, mass campaigns serve to organize and raise the political power of the masses of oppressed and exploited people of the world principally to grow and advance the mass movement against imperialism (as the top enemy of the majority of the world), fascism, and militarization. A successful mass campaign is able to bring in more people to join the campaign, and it is our duty as organizers to raise their consciousness and involvement to join the broader mass movement for social change. Organization is a powerful and necessary tool in building the mass movement. Whether through a coalition of various groups, or a mass organization of individuals, creating structure to handle and advance the mass campaigns helps sustain the growth of a broader movement.
In the US, the core of the mass movement is formed from the working class (as the most oppressed and exploited, and thus revolutionary social class) and the lower section of the middle class (including students, and professionals who make just enough to keep them from becoming workers) who can help to win over the rest of the middle class (middle and upper sections) to the movement.
Internationally, the masses of the colonial and semi-colonial countries are exploited to a much higher degree in order to enact superprofits for the imperialists whose base of operations is in the imperialist core. For this reason, the national liberation movements of the semi-colonial countries against their imperialist-backed puppet governments deal strategic blows to US imperialism, and therefore the working and other exploited classes in the US and other imperialist countries find natural friends in these liberation struggles.
Building Blocks of a Campaign
Goal: The overall aim of the movement which your campaign seeks to advance (e.g. building political power in your local community)
Demand: The concrete change you want to see happen over the course of a particular mass campaign - the demand should serve to advance the overall goal (e.g. raise workers’ wages, stop the deportations, divest from war)
Target: Who is the campaign directed at, and who is expected to fulfill the demand (e.g. local or federal government)
Calls: Concise formulations of the aims of the struggle linking them to the issues of the people, directed at the people (e.g. propaganda calls, agitation calls, action/mobilization calls)
Strategy: The overall guide to action based on the long term objective of the movement as a whole (e.g. building the united front* against a local target which can be linked and raised to the fight against imperialism)
Tactics: Specific forms of action to advance the demands and objectives of a campaign, make wins, and exert power (e.g. strikes, boycotts), that could change over time as the nature of the fight heightens with the development of the campaign
Mass Actions: A specific tangible manifestation of a tactic (e.g. marches, rallies, teach-ins)
Base: The key participants that have a stake in waging the campaign and are being organized and motivated to take action
*The United Front brings together the broadest possible unity of the people (across classes, sectors, groups, and organizations) to isolate a common enemy. It is built on key points of unity including political, strategic or tactical.
Mass Campaigns: Step by Step
* Note: use your analysis of the conditions to determine your course of action, these steps should be interrelated and integrated, not followed rigidly
Integrate in Community and Gather Information: Prior to formulating a campaign plan, go deep into the community and investigate on the ground to gather key information. What pressing issues is the community facing and why? What groups can be united with to respond to these issues, and who are the enemies to target and who supports them? What is the relative level of development of the struggle around these issues in that area?
Synthesize Information & Identify Campaign Target and Base: In line with the overall goal and based on the synthesizing of information gathered, craft campaign objectives, calls, and demands (see building blocks above). Identify the base of people who can already be united with to advance these objectives and demands against the target, as well as those who could be brought closer through propaganda, education, and outreach.
Develop a Campaign Plan: Plan campaign strategy, tactics, and phasing that will continuously expand, consolidate*, and further expand the mass movement – engaging more and more of the masses toward broadening and deepening the mass movement. Assess the agitation and readiness of the masses, unite with them on the plan of action, and prepare to lead and set the pace of the campaign alongside them.
Test Plan in Practice: Implement and test out the plan in action alongside the masses. Components of the campaign should include: political education, sweeping propaganda, building alliances and solidarity, finance, mobilization, mass struggle, and other forms of collective action.
Assess and Raise the Level of Practice: Conduct assessments throughout the campaign (e.g., after each mass action and after each new stage in development). Document and share lessons to improve and adjust the campaign’s plan and conduct. Practice the lessons learned, assess once more, and practice again, continuously improving the waging of the campaign! Assessment also makes better organizers and teaches the masses their own power – it develops peoples’ confidence as leaders who grow with each action, preparing the masses to take on even greater fights and campaigns in the future.
*Consolidate refers to sustaining those engaged in the campaign and bringing them in closer to the movement. This includes raising their political analysis through education, recruiting them into organizations, and retaining a mobilizable base. Consolidation develops the peoples’ initiative, leadership and consciousness of the larger political movement and its goals, readying them for higher political activity in the next part of the campaign.
