Date: Sun, 2 Feb 2003 15:49:04 +0000 (GMT)
From: =?iso-8859-1?q?Scott=20Hamilton?= <s_h_hamilton-AT-yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: AUT: Copy of: Copy of: CORRECTED Copy of:  leaflet for 1/11


 

I think Monty Neil has a rather harsh view of the
leaflet Neil posted. I think the point about the lack
of concreteness holds (no transitional method), but I
think that the leaflet (along with the leaflet by
Peter J and co.) at least does the basics: it tells
its readers that capitalism is the cause of the war
drive, that capitalism can't be reformed out of its
warlike behaviour, that the anti-war movement
therefore must become anti-capitalist under working
class leadership, and that this must mean breaking out
of the Popular Front (or whatever you want to call it)
that ANSWER etc have constructed. 

Believe it or not, there is only a little anti-war
propaganda which is putting across this basic message.
A minority of orthodox Trotskyists, some anarchists,
and a few ultra-leftists and left communists like
Neil, and that's pretty much it. Most of the far left
fail more often than not to put out the message: look
at the IWW's statement, or the UK Socialist Worker's
coverage of the anti-war movement, or indeed Monty
Neil's own Midnight Notes, which sowed illusions in
the ability of capitalism to resolve crises that led
to war in the Balkans*, which harbours people with
illusions in the ability of the UN to act as a
progressive force in places like East Timor, and which
published an article by George Caffentzis (sic, sorry)
which failed completely to take a working class
perspective on the war drive against Iraq by raising
economic issues and the necessity of action by
organised labour**. 


*Quote:
"The alternative to war is often simpler than our
arrogant governments think: just put the money where
your mouth is and fund human rights!" Right!
http://www.midnightnotes.org/pamphlet_yugo.html

**Quote:
"But in order to show itself as expressing the
majority [ie cross-class??] perspective in this
country, it needs new arguments, a new respect (as in
"look again") for its opponents, a deeper
understanding of the reasons for the actions of its
opponents, and a realistic assessment of their
weaknesses. For its old arguments do not seem
convincing to the majority of US citizens
[citizens?!?], and its lack of curiosity about its
opponents and their reasoning is dulling its strategic
sense." 
http://slash.autonomedia.org/article.pl?sid=02/10/27/1615237&mode=nested




===="Revolution is not like cricket, not even one day cricket"

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