From: "Harald Beyer-Arnesen" <haraldba-AT-online.no>
Subject: Re: AUT: Perplexing Ilan
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2002 16:41:04 +0100



-----Original Message-----
From: Thiago Oppermann <topp8564-AT-mail.usyd.edu.au>
Date: Tuesday, March 12, 2002 11:41 AM
Subject: Re: AUT: Perplexing Ilan


Thiago Oppermann wrote: "Yes but how can I tell if supporting the
greens in my local town will, in twenty years time, lead to them
throwing their lot in with the the bombers? How would anyone
have guessed the way Joschka Fischer went? ... Human affairs
are radically unpredictable..."

The surprising thing would have been if the German Greens
had _not_ ended up somewhere near where they actually did.
When all historical experience pointed to that they would,
then why be surprised. I cannot see anything radically unpredictable
in this. On the contrary, all too predictable.

No less clear, on the contrary, is the question of Leninsm. When
Leninism conistently has functioned counter-revolutionary
throughout its history, you have to be a fool not to take pre-
cautions. There is no particular reason to repeat the same
mistake over and over again. We are not talking up individual
persons here, a point that is important ...  And any self-
declared anarchist may end up a counter-revolutionary as
well, just as many a self-declared Leninist will end up the
victim of Leninism.

There are no guarantees in labels. And there are still a lot of
unanswered questions within the anarchist tradition, as
there also are within more marxist inspired anti-statist traditions.
But the question of Leninism has a very, very long time ago
basically been answered once for all.

Not everything went well in Spain as you've noticed, but then
there are not many anarchist around who would defend the
government collaboration, which hardly is or was part of
any anarchist theoretical framework .(.. though not even those
who did take part in this collaboration particapted in the
violent suppression of workers) But why would anyone call
themselves a Leninist if they do not as a minimum defend
the counter-revolutionary politics of of Lenin and the
Bolshevik party in power, if not in every detail. One must be
a great fool to trust a group, party or current who does. Why
collaborate with currents who defend the oppression and
exploitation of the working class in the name of the working
class? Not everything is radically unpredictable... some
things are sadly predictable. That there exist well-meaning
members of Leninist parties/groups, just as there exists
well-meaning persons within other parties, does not at all
change the answer to this question. On the contrary.

Harald








     --- from list aut-op-sy-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---