Date: Tue, 27 Jan 1998 14:54:41 -0800
From: gülseren aksop <Gulseren.Aksop-AT-media.ankara.edu.tr>
Subject: Re: M-G: New list for Trotskyist History Research


Sorry, whats meaning of FAQ ?

Luciano Dondero wrote:
> 
> Spoons is pleased to announce the addition of the trotsky-project list
> into
> the Marxism Space.
> 
> This list was created to provide a controlled and organized vehicle for
> a
> working group to discuss and coordinate the expansion of the FAQ that
> was
> originally created for the "alt.politics.socialism.trotsky" (apst)
> newsgroup. The FAQ includes materials of interest to students of the
> history of the international Trotskyist movement, as well as activists
> (its
> URL is:
> http://home.att.net/~phylstevens/apstFAQ.html).
> 
> The purpose is to expand in significant ways that FAQ, both in terms of
> historical documentation and by providing as many links as possible to
> the
> reality of the class struggle worldwide, and the involvement of
> Trotskyist
> groups in it.
> 
> In concrete, we need a medium for an interchange of views and materials
> pertaining to the history of the international Trotskyist movement, and
> while this medium is obviously focused in Internet, it needs to be in a
> constant interaction with the real world outside.
> 
> Its ultimate aims are two-fold: to provide activists, both young/new and
> older/more seasoned, with a better understanding of what the Trotskyist
> movement real was/is; and to facilitate the work of those studying the
> history of the movement.
> 
> Collaboration in an endeavour of such a scope must necessarily have a
> broad, non-sectarian character and be as all-inclusive as possible
> (within reason). This activity is inspired and rests upon the shoulders
> of two journals - the French-language Cahiers Léon Trotsky and the
> English-language Revolutionary History
> [http://www.compulink.co.uk/~jplant/revhist] - which are concrete
> examples of the serious and valuable kind of work that we would like to
> accomplish/complement.
> 
> By using the Net, we must make it possible for people in different parts
> of the world and speaking other languages to also access these
> materials. To this end we shall make an effort to provide references in
> languages other than English (and French).
> 
> You don't have to be a Trotskyist to collaborate in this
> research.
> 
> People may qualify for this work in a variety of ways:
> 1) by having personal recollections from the history of the movement
> (regardless of your current politics)
> 2) by possessing documentation that is not widely accessible - and
> obviously being willing to share it with others
> 3) by being an historically-minded person willing to engage in a serious
> work of study and research
> 4) and finally, by having some time to spend doing a number of
> technical/practical things that can be of great value for the success of
> this activity:
> (a) locate repositories of materials, both in the Net and in the real
> world
> (b) scan/typeset documents
> (c) translate materials
> (d) put up mirror pages of these materials in various parts of the world
> (e) Web research and set up (layout, style, HTML)
> 
> Regarding the history of the international Trotskyist movement, there
> are some important methodological issues.
> 
> The sectarian infighting, the hair-splitting disputes over little
> nothings that get often elevated to the level of world-historic
> events-all this cannot be erased from the experience of those who have
> been active members of the movement, and thus inevitably affects any
> attempt to provide serious information about the history of the
> international Trotskyist movement.
> 
> However, the history of the movement is intertwined with the working
> class and the class struggle of the various countries in which
> Trotskyist organisations were and are active. The many scores of people
> killed at the hands of the fascists and the Stalinists, this alone is a
> sign of the relevance of the movement -- our enemies feared us. That's
> why an icepick had to crush the head of Leon Trotsky, to prevent the
> brilliant former leader of the Red Army to be around at the time of
> World War Two. The small size of most groupings connected to Leon
> Trotsky and his political heritage should not lead ourselves to forget
> this.
> 
> The various accounts and reports that are to be included in the Trotsky
> FAQ will not be a futile exercise in the pursuit of an abstract "Truth",
> supposedly impartial and even-handed. They will necessarily reflect the
> personal experience and bias of the authors, although we will try to
> keep this in check and bring in correctives (mostly by calling the
> reader's attention to the existence of different viewpoints).
> 
> At the same time, it seems really necessary to enlighten the readers
> regarding the whole history of the movement, including its inner
> disputes. If this means that the FAQ moves in the direction of also
> becoming an outline for a history of the Fourth International, well, so
> much the better.
> 
> Work around this project, and participation in this mailing list, does
> entail the collaboration of a number of people throughout the world,
> both activists coming from many different tendencies, as well as
> knowledgeable and/or hard-working individuals who have been in some ways
> connected to the international Trotskyist movement.
> 
> People who can answer in the positive to the questions: 'Would you like
> to do actual work on historical research?' and 'Are you ready to
> cooperate with others in this project?' should join in. Those whose only
> purpose in life is 'denouncing revisionism and centrism' had better look
> elsewhere.
> 
> List discussion is moderated. There is a closed subscription
> policy--people
> need approval to be subscribed. Only members of the list may post
> to the list.  "Moderation" will be exercised by giving subscribers
> either a
> "free" or "filtered" posting status, which is changeable and moderator
> controlled. Those with disruptive or abusive behavior will be
> unsubscribed
> without public discussion or warning.
> 
> All posts are automatically archived but not publicly accessible.
> 
> ------------------------------
> The mailing address of the list is
> trotsky-project-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu.
> Use this address to post messages, initiate or continue discussion etc.
> 
> The administrative address is majordomo-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu.
> Use this address for all administrative functions.
> 
> If you have any questions, don't hesitate to write the moderators,
> 
> Luciano Dondero <dond001-AT-IT.net>
> Sally Ryan <ryans-AT-freenet.msp.mn.us>
> David Stevens <phylstevens-AT-worldnet.att.net>
> ------------------------------
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