Date: Thu, 7 Nov 1996 22:24:11 -0600 (CST) From: Chegitz Guevara <mluziett-AT-shrike.depaul.edu> Subject: Re: M-I: American Elections On Thu, 7 Nov 1996, ty reynaldo r wrote: > What is the Marxist attitude towards elections under a bourgeois system? > To participate or not to participate? Make use of the bourgeois > "democratic" apparatus or to smash it? Reform or revolution? Why? > > Reynaldo > Philippines Depends on the Marxist. Social democrats used to claim that socialism could be built by taking over the bourgeois government, claiming that Marx's statement in the 1872 intro to the Manifesto was "outdated." (Marx stated that the workers could not use the bourgeois state, but had to smash it.) Leninists have two approaches. Some are complete liquidationists, i.e., no struggle in the parlimentary area. Bordigists also subscribe to this tactic. Other Leninists claim that whether or not to run in elections, how to run, and what goals you are aiming for depend on the concrete circumstances. During the Russian Revolution of 1905-1907, Lenin boycotted the elections to the Duma, since it was merely a an instrument to help restore legitamcy to the Czarist throne. Furthermore, the Bolsheviks thought the outcome for the revolution was still up in the air. In 1907, Lenin began to change his tactics, and began to call for using the elections as a platform to being their politics before the workers. In some periods, the working class can use elections to advance their demands. I believe that under most circumstances, revolutionaries should struggle in the electoral area. We should fight the bourgeoisie in every area open to us, even if we realize that ultimately, we must smash the very state in which we struggle to be elected. Marc, "the Chegitz," Luzietti personal homepage: http://shrike.depaul.edu/~mluziett political homepage: http://shrike.depaul.edu/~mluziett/chegitz.html "What is robbing a bank, compared with founding a bank?" -- Brecht --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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