Date: Thu, 20 Mar 1997 00:59:09 -0500
Subject: M-G: COCKROACH! #46


COCKROACH! #46

A EZINE FOR POOR AND WORKING CLASS PEOPLE.

WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT OUR CHAINS.

It is time that the poor and working class people
have a voice on the Internet.

Contributions can be sent to <malecki-AT-algonet.se>
Subscriptions are free at    <malecki-AT-algonet.se>

Now on line! Check out the Home of COCKROACH!

http://www.algonet.se/~malecki

How often this zine will appear depends on you!
--------------------------------------------------------
1. The ICL and Norden group!

2. Some Considerations...

--------------------------------------------------------
The ICL and Norden group!

Kate Kelsey send me two fat bulletins, one by the ICL and one by the Norden 
group
on the fight. As I have seen quite a number of posts on Usenet about this 
fight, mostly
stuff like "Sparts in outer space" and stuff like this I found it extremely 
interesting to
read about this fight. Kate asked me to write and say what I think about 
this stuff. So I
will try to give you what comes to mind.

That the events of the past years has affected just about everybody on the 
left makes it
quite clear that even the International Communist League (ICL) would also be
effected. Actually this just proves that something very important 
historically has
happened and everybody is forced to twitch in one way or another!

I read Jim R.s comments on this stuff because Jim I trust usually makes a 
lot of sense,
at least to me. What was interesting I thought about Jim's remarks was not 
only the
Norden group but also taking up the tendency to forget that the Stalinists are
responsible for all of this shit. Because in a sense Norden and the party 
loyal tendency
that Jim talks about are in a sense a mirror reflection of the tendency 
being washed
over not only by great historic events in the world-But connected to how the
Tendency worked in the preceding period and the human material involved.

My experience with this was here in Sweden with Eva when we alone had to defend
the line on Poland. In fact the opposition accused us constantly of being on 
the side of
the Stalinists (which we were!) in the Polish events. But being on the same 
side of the
Stalinists does not mean that this Stalinist leadership is a deadly danger 
to workers
and the line we tread in the Interests of the International Proletariat is 
very thin! But
as living material and especially the youth and people who do not have 
working class
backgrounds their appears to have been a tendency to think that being hard 
on ICL
politics means connecting The slogan like "Hail the Red Army" a completely 
correct
slogan on Afghanistan, to and unconscious defense of the Stalinist 
bureaucracy. I
think that this has to do with our smallness also and not having deep roots 
in the class
Internationally. But also the historic composition of the left in general 
since the
second world war. Sort of like Pavlov conditioning instead of living class 
struggle!  

My understanding of the polish events and why I could go out on the first of 
May with
a leaflet where on one side we were calling for a general strike here in 
Sweden and on
the other side defending the line on Poland was in fact a vital propaganda 
message to
the working class who was beginning to mobilize against the then bougeois 
offensive
on the Swedish "welfare state". So in a sense I sort of act with a split 
personality! On
the one hand as a poor and working class guy and on the other as trying to 
be part of
the Vanguard..Naturally connected to the task of trying to recruit a couple 
of people
at the time. With all the feelings based on both living experience 
historically, a
propaganda group which was very small and isolated, and things moving to the 
right
(at least on the left) connected to trying to find a couple of people to 
recruit just
makes for crisis, political deviations, and trouble. Especially when big 
things in the
world are changing the very fundamentals of political existence...

I think then some people see it in the sense of our present tasks of 
regroupment as
something more of a chick tough argument against the various fake trotskyists or
whatever. And in fact in Germany it was far more then that at stake. As I 
understand it
we were dealing with a population who has not been under the standard
anti-Communist campaigns of Cold war propaganda. Nor a general left environment
as people in the ICL were normally experienced with in the left in the west. 
But a
population that stood under a bizarre form of Stalinist politics which 
historically has
its power base in the Proletariat. A Proletariat that was not raised on 
Donald Duck
and McDonald's hamburgers Nor was this  a question of regroupment with some
ex-Healyites in Great Britain but and intervention with the possibility of 
becoming
and influence in the East German Proletariat! So the fight does show on the 
one hand
Norden trying to do some "get rich" quick schemes and on the other hand a loyal
defense of the ICL line albeit leaning towards being soft on Stalinism in 
another way
then Norden.s organizational opportunism. But both missed the point. Our 
program is
the program to mobilize the Proletarian Vanguard for its Revolutionary role! 
Thus
what we wanted was not get rich quick schemes like Norden, nor getting chummy
with the Stalinists. It was a message to the East German Proletariat about 
countering
the Stalinist bureaucracy and capitalist counter-revolution. A very thin 
line indeed!

In fact what I think was at stake in East Germany can be compared to the 
strategical
orientation of the American SL on recruiting black cadre! In East Germany it 
was not
black cadre-but proletarian cadre which we would have wanted to recruit by 
patiently
explaining our line and Trotskyist history about Stalinism. Naturally this 
is linked to
the real battles and *real* defense of East Germany at the time, despite the 
Stalinist
bureaucracy! But our orientation should have been towards the proletarian 
vanguard..
I think Norden was dead wrong on this "anti-facist" stuff in that it was not 
really
orientated to the line that the ICL had worked out. As I understand it it 
was raising the
perspective of "Soviets" in East Germany" against the Stalinist bureaucracy 
and the
attempts by the capitalists to re-integrate East Germany into the capitalist 
sphere
through a counter-revolution. I had the same line by the way in the Soviet 
Union.
Soviets to combat not only the counter-revolution on the way but a political
revolution against the Stalinists either in power or now out of power! 
Naturally today
we could make tactical military alliances with the Stalinists without giving 
up the
guns!

The ICL missed the boat not only because of Norden! But because of a
bureaucratization of line in the party! Or at least a stiff line connected 
to earlier
historical experience not having to do with the real living situation.  Thus 
the line as I
see it was correct! But the human material that was going to implement the 
line was
unprepared both because of its personal individual backgrounds and naturally the
abrupt change in the situation. This also has its causes in smallness, and 
lack of
working class cadre. 

I think that basically it has to too with our isolation historically and a 
lack of
recruiting worker communist cadre. We have most been working in the left
environments in the west where it was basically made up of the human material
coming from universities and intellectual backgrounds. A constant campaign of
correct political discussions orientated against other left groups in the 
west was
bureaucratically transformed  on a level that is and what was wrong in 
intervening in
events in East Germany. This was wrong. But it is wrong for me in the sense 
of some
of the gut feelings I get coming from a poor and working class background which
brings me back to events in Sweden.  

So for me going to that first of May demonstration with that leaflet was 
partially a
"workerist" deviation in that I wanted to tell my working-class friends why 
the events
in Sweden and Poland were connected. In fact Social democracy and Stalinism have
always fucked things up for the working class and why only the working class and
under the leadership of the vanguard party Internationally could solve these 
problems.
While at the same time it was and interventionist tool against our left-wing 
political
opponents here it was also a mobilization of the class for struggle against the
bougeois regime here in Sweden at the time.

But in Germany I think a "workerist" deviation in this sense was called for!

Now I would like to take up something that Seymour wrote which confuses me very
much. In the article "Pabloism of the second mobilization" on page 143 of 
the bulletin
he wrote the following;

"I believe you do not accept that, beginning in the late 1970s, there has 
occurred a
historic retrogression in the political consciousness of the working class 
and left
Internationally. This development both conditioned the counterrevolution in the
Soviet block and has been reinforced by it."

I find this statement highly confusing, completely one sided and 
undialectical! Whew
that was a lot. But that is how I feel about it! So I will try to explain 
what I mean and
perhaps we can clear up some of the confusion at least on my part..

In the first place I do not think that one can just bluntly state that the 
working class
and its political consciousness was thrown back. Consciousness in the class 
in the
first place is living experience connected to ideological leadership both 
bad and good.
For Communists the point is changing that consciousness and forging it into a
vanguard party to lead a revolution Internationally. So I get the feeling 
that Seymour
with his statement is saying, this big lump of shit has historically 
regressed, thus....

I just don't buy this Seymour! In fact the Working class has been beheaded 
of any
"revolutionary leadership" for a long time and these days are beheaded of both
Stalinist and Social Democratic leadership. This is naturally connected to the
situations in different countries and different regions and depends on a 
number of
other thing also. But and this is a big but!!! The working class despite 
this is trying to
mobilize against the present counter-revolutionary attack in many different 
ways. So
stop blaming the working class for the present situation and in fact the 
working class
just by its position in society is revolutionary! Which means that they have 
the muscle
to counter but are lacking leadership.

Then again the left which you claim has regressed and which I find very 
confusing
also. In fact ideology is living in that it is the human material that picks 
up on this
stuff and carries it on everyday historically. The left some say has moved 
in this
direction or that direction. But to regress I just don't get it. What I see 
>from my very
little corner of the world more then regression is both chaos and confusion 
which is
beginning to firmate into a lot of Neo-Stalinist and Menshevik politics of 
varying
degree. A re-orientation is taking place and new faces with old ideas and 
old faces
with old ideas claiming they are "new" are all over the place!

We have the Usec moving to the right. The Euro-Communists moving towards
traditional Social Democracy--Social Democracy moving towards the camp of the
bourgeoisie for example. Naturally this is understood by the various things 
that these
tendencies and leadership say and do. But it should be seen in the context 
of how the
working class is reacting to this stuff. In the East despite lots of attempts by
capitalism the working class is at best accepting the situation fairly luke 
warm. In the
Serbia the working class appears to be not joining the present 
counter-revolutionary
Nationalist and Fascist mobilization. Where as in Bulgaria things appear to 
be a bit
different. I heard last night that the workers are even supporting this shit 
there. In
France we are seeing mass mobilizations. In Korea also. In Sweden politics 
jumps to
the right as the workers jump to the left in activity!
Germany we see the beginnings of movement. Turkey things are happening and also
Greece! Not to mention the former Soviet Union where the miners without 
leadership
are being forced to move.

Much of this stuff is connected to what Trotsky called the historical crisis of
leadership. This was a fact at the height of Stalin's power and certainly is 
just as
actual at its ebb. And things do not stand still which your statement gives 
me the
impression of. Because in the wings both the bougeoisie and the fascists are 
actively
working to solve the present situation in their interests. Just as the 
opportunists of
varying degree are doing all kinds of hat tricks!

Nor is the Neo-Stalinists and Social Democratic trends, nor the various fake
Trotskyist trends retrogressing. Perhaps chaos, but also there will be a 
re-orientation
towards vying for the leadership of the Proletariat from these trends. But 
also the
Trotskyists, naturally the question for Trotsktists is on What Program? And with
which tactics? I think what I am trying to say is that this period opens in 
a sense the
orientation of a Trotskyist organization. In fact it is not the period of 
new leftism and
the sixties any longer and polemsizing with just those groups moving to the 
left.
Although this is still the basic strategic task of physically growing and 
recruiting
cadre. But the situation as it is- is very unstable for the Proletariat. 
Events in the
former Eastern block countries and the Soviet Union to Korea and into the 
Balkans
not to mention even this little one time Social Democratic paradise. In the 
decisive
struggles that will come in the next period. In these class battles the 
Trotskyists can
quickly find themselves in a position of leading mass struggles. I do not 
think that we
can abstain from taking part in those struggles despite the orientation of 
splitting and
regroupment. Sorry! But this period which now seems to be opening up appears 
to be
a new period of wars and revolutions and even counter-revolutions!

So where you see the roadblocks-I want to see the opportunities. Another 
"workerist"
deviation because I have nothing to fucking lose!

A new re-division of the spoils as the imperialist prepare a new bloodbath 
of some
sort for the Proletariat. In fact this new nationalism in the east can 
quickly become
fascism or do you think that the ICL can just stand around. I don't. I think 
that
enormous possibilities are opening up. The Proletariat has not yet been 
physically
defeated. Only ideologically confused and beheaded of any kind of 
leadership. But in
order for things to *really* regress the working class must be defeated in a 
number of
countries by a fascist takeover or a new imperialist blood bath. Now that 
would be
*real*regression! 

I will stop their for now. More later when I have had time to read the 
documents. The
article on the Balkans was just great! I should mention that the USec here 
is even
being careful with this stuff.

 By the way this letter will be going into "Cockroach" my weekly newspaper on
Internet and to some of the newsgroups and discussion lists..

Warm regards
Bob Malecki
--------------------------------------------------------
Some Considerations

>Louis Proyect wrote:
>
>>Viraj, Malecki is regarded as an obnoxious idiot by nearly everybody on
>>the list. I wouldn't worry to much about what he says.

Ah the neo_Stalinist Menshevik Yellow journalist acting out his rage again 
and obviously behind the scenes. Naturally the "idiot" Malecki has opposed 
this latter day graying  ex-supporter of the reformist SWP and these days of 
the Neo Stalinist Menshevik politics of the worst sort. But I am glad to see 
that Viray does not bite on the tail of Mr. Louis P. who when enraged is 
capable of just about any despicable act despite that Barkely is begging for 
a "truce".

Viray writes; 

>I do not think Robert Malecki, is what you have called him. But the way he has
>responded in his latest it appears his actions are in keeping with some
>features of the "classification" he refers you by. Doctoring by deletion. He
>quotes my last message in part and leaves out the most relevant parts.
>However it may be that he felt it was not relevant. The deleted parts are:
>
>>>>- Simply put, computers are also an integral part of the means of
>production and *control*. It is not the computers that will dig the grave
>for capitalism. The computer has brought the possibility (of) resolution of
>the antithesis between mental and physical labor, and elimination of
>capitalism. This will not be an automatic process. This will happen only
>when the working class has taken over all means of production and *control*,
>including the computers and put them under its dictates. This will be the
>change over from the dictatorship of the capitalist class to the
>dictatorship of the proletariat. The antithesis will be turned over. This
>antithesis is the main historico - morphological structure relative to which
>the *motion* of all exploitative modes of production have operated and
>continued. This is why the history of mankind has been defined as a history
>of class struggles.

No I did not cut the above and I apologize. In fact you obviously have the 
same position I have on this particular question. However I did not cut what 
you said but the piece. Who ever it was who replied first, I think it was 
Rob Schaap actually did the cutting and put your name on it. I only assumed 
that this was your position and said it was just shit. 

>>>>-(I can not be a judge to his comment about my own self; so if "this guy
>Viray is full of shit", so be it. I can not disagree nor do I care. But Rob,
>you must understand that there *will be* new comers to the list who would
>try to develop within the list by writing and they will certainly make
>errors. In such instances the tone of the words used will matter. A
>comradely attitude will help developing new comers to marxism. And that is
>one of the great opportunities this list offers and we should not bust it up)

However, this I do not agree with! Unfortunately newcomers to the list are 
treated too intrigues and backstabbing just like yourself by the likes of 
Proyect who privately is smearing people not with arguments but slander 
like the above in private letters. It is a concentrated effort on the part 
of this neo-Stalinist Menshevik who is trying to act like and eloquent 
supporter of the "broadies" along with a lot of long winded defense of 
historical betrayals in Nicaragua, by the FLSN connected to if its big its 
worth supporting despite its popular front program of betrayal or in his 
defense of the Cuban Stalinists, or his writing of the historical gains of 
the Bolshevik party as a misbirth of Mr Z. In fact despite his eloquent 
long winded presentations here the real character of this neo-Stalinist 
comes out in his poison pen private letters directed against the opposition 
on this list. He knows that no matter how eloquent he attempts to be the 
Bolshevik Leninists just don't buy his neo-Stalinist Menshevik garbage and 
never will!

So this list is in fact to "newcomers" not a question of a cozy little 
corner in cyberspace where everybody discusses calmly and in the style of 
the petty-bougeois New York Librarian Proyect. But a learning ground and 
battlefield in class struggle and political line. Here I want the newcomers 
to learn to THINK and be critical and question everything and fight for what 
they think is correct. Not a family of fake Marxists and Mensheviks who 
agree to disagree on such basic things as which class? and what kind of 
party? And definitely not a waterhole for the intellectuals! 

And furthermore! This list has to be wripped out of the hands of just the 
intellectuals and their long and boring studies of every wacko that writes a 
book and become a training ground for political struggle and tactics facing 
poor and working class people
Especially when the likes of Proyect use this list as some sort of place to 
present desertations of various revisionist theories and books that only 
people who are trying to get some points for their degrees are forced to 
read and produce long and boring desertations about.. A forum where they 
feel welcome and learn to fight.. Without becoming anti-intellectual this 
list must be tool for people who have not spent their lives on universities 
as professors- but who are interested in learning,fighting, lurking or just 
taking part in the struggles going on here!

>>>>-(Dialectically, this list has a dual role. Polemical and Pedagogical, we
>can not forget one element or the other. If we are using this list as a
>weapon for propagation of   Marxism and not as a medium for personality
>conflicts and squabbles, then we must not sacrifice either of the elements,
>in any of the articles. We must try to consciously expound both with
>responsibility).

Well, I am for the greatest amount of patience and patiently explaining when 
it comes to poor and working class people. But not inbiten political 
opportunists that are trying to clean up Stalinism or re-introduce 
Menshevism as a solution for the working class either programmatically or 
tactically. Nor seeing this place become the "Ivory Tower" of the old M1 
lists..But in fact this is what most of the discussion turns around in fact. 
Despite all the smoke screens being thrown up there are some fundamental 
questions which time and again come up.

Time and time again it is the fundamental trends of the workers movement 
represented on this list as Stalinists,Neo-Stalinists, Mensheviks, even some 
liberals, and various people claiming to be "Trotskyists". This is political 
reality even if people are trying to avoid the labels-The discussions, the 
programs, the tactics, and most of everything that takes place here is in 
the ideological and programmatic foundations of these historic trends. 

All this shit about something new and great coming from some people is 
nothing but a smokescreen to bring up the same old neo-Stalinist Menshevik 
garbage as something "New". Ha Ha What a joke.

Nothing that we have discussed on this list is new but has its roots in the 
past political trends and some pretty horrible historical betrayals! 
Proyect's defense of the FLSN is just one of these blatant examples. There 
are many others from history but also tactical orientations that represent 
the future like in Peru as elsewhere where the fundamentals have not really 
changed one dip shit from the trends of the past.  

>I think Robert Malecki does make valuable contributions. However, at times
>the cognitive method tends more towards, from categories of classification
>to the process as events rather than from analyzing the process and
>identifying categories of classification in its dynamism.

Why thank you! However do not use Piagette and his methods as some sort of 
cover for method on this list. This kind of stuff might be fine in dealing 
with children or mentally undeveloped people, but to use it here to smooth 
over political differences that has meant the blood of millions upon million 
of poor and working class people just does not fit in here.

It also makes me wonder if you think that one can overthrow the bougeoisie 
without a desperate struggle not only against the class enemy but the 
leadership of the International workers movement who for decades has led the 
Proletariat down the path of defeat after defeat. In fact what is going on 
here as everywhere else is the discussions about who is going to lead the 
working class WHERE! You answer is if we just be nice to each other well 
everything will be just fine. Well it wont. 

And I hope people do not come here to be chummy and clap each other on the 
back and agree to disagree.  The best example of this particular slimy 
activity must be Barkely and his antics with Proyect! What a disgrace! 
Barkely the list clown with his one line humor has gone into the pigsty 
lately. It will take me a long time to get over this Barkely....

Personally I intend to continue to this list as others in the best way I can 
according to the politics I believe in which are fairly authodox Trotskyist 
along the lines of the ICL (the Sparts) although even they do not get a free 
ticket! Just as I am quite sure other participants are going to continue 
with their activities. Let's see what happens!

Warm Regards
Bob Malecki

PS: Still getting two and three copies of certain posts from M-I. So I do 
not think that PO was spaming. Something appears to be wrong with the 
software somewhere..

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check Out My HomePage where you can,

Read the book! Ha Ha Ha McNamara,
Vietnam-My Bellybutton is my Crystalball!

Or Get The Latest Issue of COCKROACH 
a zine for poor and working-class people

http://www.algonet.se/~malecki

Back issues of Cockroach and 
the book can also be found at;

http://www.kmf.org/malecki/
--------------------------------------------------------











     --- from list marxism-general-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---