As far as the PSL is concerned, every member I have met has been extremely principled. Based on what PSL members past and present have stated here, it seems that it is genuinely effective at raising capable cadre. The PSL grew to the point it is today because it actually does have that strength. The current shake-up seems to be primarily driven by the fact that the cadre development is largely effective, while the org itself is facing a conflict between the old and the new.

Where that leaves any org that may be seeking to learn from PSL, it seems that, above all, the cadre are the actual gems of any org. Any effective org needs effective cadre for democratic centralism to properly function, and it must have the democratic means by which to change and adapt to the will of the developed cadre. In the coming weeks and months, we will see if PSL actually does have the democratic institutions required to grow from this shake-up and become a better org, or if this will spell a crisis for the org that cadre alone cannot fix. My hope is obviously for the former.

Creating cadre isn't as simple as a reading list. It takes practical work and struggle, leadership experience, a flexible org that can adapt, grow, and change, and a tight connection with the masses. The purpose of a pamphlet is to bring the masses towards a more correct understanding of Marxism, not to train cadre. The masses are limited to trade unionism without a party of effective cadre that can bring the local struggles to a connected and interdependent struggle, and the pamphlet is a good vehicle for connecting these points ideologically and in a mass manner.