Date: Sat, 26 Oct 1996 08:21:51 -0400 (EDT)
From: Louis N Proyect <lnp3-AT-columbia.edu>
Subject: Re: M-I: The Bolshevik trajectory


On Sat, 26 Oct 1996, Chris Burford wrote:

> 
> But then I am a devotee of chaos theory, which IMO in its discussion
> of phase changes is not so far away from the dialectical materialist
> concept of quantitative changes leading to qualitative ones.
> 

Louis: Yeah, I know you are a devotee of chaos theory. You implemented it
with vigor in M1.

I am going to use one of my precious posts to try to explain to you why I
for one have no interest in discussing these types of questions with
people like you or Rosser.

One of the things that I *love* about M-I is that the discussion seems to
be focused exactly where I think it should be. That is within the broad
theoretical concerns of journals like Monthly Review, NLR, Socialist
Register and Science & Society. Within that framework I am interested in
discussing or debating with other Marxists.

This new list seems to have evolved passed sterile Stalin-Trotsky debates,
thank god. Now Dr. Burford, with his fellow bored professional Barkley
Rosser, want to replace that with sterile debates over 
"Lenin--Stalin--Trotsky: is there any difference?" Why don't you add "Is
there such a thing as human nature?" and "Does absolute power corrupt
absolutely?" to the hopper?

I invite you to take those sorts of debates and waltz over to Hans
Ehrbar's unmoderated list. There you can have Stalin-Trotsky debates, or
Lenin=Stalin=Trotsky? debates until the cows come home. I am much more
interested in preparing a reply to Mick Armstrong on the party question
and matters like that.

God bless the 3 post a day limit.



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