How to organize people?

Socialist parties keep hitting a wall at around 10-15% in places like Germany. The people who already get democratic socialist or marxist ideas are already with us. But there's this huge pool of potential supporters we can't reach because they're still carrying cold war era baggage that stops them from seeing the difference between authoritarian communist regimes and modern democratic socialism. They're stuck in information bubbles that just reinforce these biases.

Current outreach tactics won't break through to these people. Instead of handing them Marx or throwing around heavy terminology, we need to meet them where they are and talk in normal language about things that actually affect their lives. When you focus on concrete economic issues people deal with daily, they naturally start leaning toward solutions that challenge capitalism, even if they don't realize they're socialist ideas at first.

The mistake a lot of progressives make is thinking we need better "cultural appeal", cooler art, funnier memes, hipper music, or more appealing spiritual messaging. But culture is inherently divisive and subjective. What works for one person completely alienates another. When socialists get branded as just another cultural tribe with specific aesthetic tastes, we lose people before they even consider the actual ideas.

Economic material conditions though? Those are universal. Everyone deals with housing costs, healthcare expenses, job insecurity, wage stagnation, doesn't matter what their cultural background is. This shared experience is our most powerful organizing tool.

The goal should be mass education about materialism, helping people understand how economic forces shape their lives, while respecting their individual cultural and ideological preferences. Don't push personal lifestyle choices or spiritual beliefs onto the broader movement. People, especially conservatives, see this as cultural imperialism and it becomes divisive instead of mobilizing.

We don't need "acid communism" for general outreach. We need a non sectarian materialist framework that speaks to common economic struggles while letting people maintain their personal identities. Save the niche cultural stuff for people already in that scene.

You don't have to hide being a socialist, but you do need to drop the jargon. Break down complex theory into accessible everyday language. Understand where people are starting from and meet them there. Focus on shared material interests rather than cultural signifiers. And here's the thing, once people enter the movement through shared material concerns, something profound can happen. Real solidarity and recognizing the humanity in people who initially seemed completely different. Through working together on concrete issues, there's at least a chance that conservatives might become less militantly opposed to liberal values, which are also universal socialist values, anti-racism, feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration solidarity, climate crisis urgency, universalism. When people collaborate toward common economic goals, those artificial divisions that seemed impossible to bridge can start dissolving, replaced by mutual understanding born from shared struggle and cooperation.

This approach needs clarity about principles while staying strategically open. Socialist parties should never abandon their core commitments. Instead, we can be honest with conservative working class people saying "We're not compromising on our principles, but we have other things to offer you in economic areas where we actually agree. Even though we might not see eye to eye on social issues, this is your chance to join a solidarity movement instead of a reactionary barbaric one. We know you probably disagree with us on social issues. That's fine. But you're still getting squeezed by landlords, corporations, and bosses. Why not fight together where our interests overlap instead of letting elites divide us?" This acknowledges the disagreement while extending an invitation based on shared material interests, potentially creating space for deeper understanding to develop over time.