File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1997/97-02-05.012, message 28


Date: Mon, 3 Feb 1997 07:25:10 -0500 (EST)
From: Gerald Levy <glevy-AT-pratt.edu>
Subject: M-I: what is the purpose of email? 


Responding to several ...

> >Instead, we discuss the dialectics of
> >time. One of the dialectical aspects of time is that time spent reading
> >and writing posts on and for m-int means that we have less time for
> >political activism.
> That's not dialectical at all. It's like second-grade arithmetic.

It is related to the contradiction ... woefully apparent on this list ...
between theory and practice. Theory and practice -- like a self-admitted
"vulgar empiricist" being a Marxist or a Marxist being an exploiter of
wage-labor.

> From: Richard Bos <Richard.Bos-AT-hagcott.meganet.co.uk>
> The discussions deepen the knowledge and understanding of Marxists from
> different Marxist traditions. This can only result in intensifying and
> furthering proletarian struggle.

All that has been written on m-int has been written much better and more
thoroughly elsewhere.

> There have been many appeals for solidarity via this list, and I, and
> others have participated in them.

Forwarding a message re solidarity is only nominally solidarity
organizing.

> >    d) whose lives have been saved and/or who has been released from
> >       imprisonment as a result of this list?
> How can you measure such things? Are you saying that we should not even
> bother to try?

There have been many international campaigns by the Left
which have resulted in people's lives being saved or released from
imprisonment. Has this list organized any such campaigns? Not only hasn't
this list done so, but discussions on its predecessor had a hand in
_arresting_ a Peruvian national with the possibility of extradition to
Peru and then possibly execution by the Fujimora government.

> I know at
> least one person who lurks on this list who says that he prefers to
> argue with Trotskyists in his local pub rather than via his computer. It
> is up to us all to encourage more people to join in.

The ones who like to argue at pubs? Yeah, that's _just_ what this list
needs!

I prefer not to argue with Trotskyists or Maoists either on email or in
pubs. What's the point? Are you going to convince them? Are they going to
convince you?

> >     a) on m1, the predecessor, of m-int, the most tangible, concrete
> >        result of list discussions was the "Flaming Path."
> eh?

The "Flaming Path" was the title of a story written for the _Village
Voice_ on allegations concerning how list discussions on m1 resulted in
the imprisonment of the Peruvian national by the FBI (referred to above).
*That* was the most concrete legacy of m1.

> Organise a campaign that we can all unite around.

Well, we could organize an international campaign against spies in the
workers' movement who try to get other Marxists fired by their employers
for what they write on the Net.

Turning now to another person who had a role in the degeneration of the m1
list ... and another lapdog of LNP ...

> From: Gary MacLennan <g.maclennan-AT-qut.edu.au>

> Lou on the other hand has never been writing more brilliantly.  His pieces
> are informative topical and yes useful.  Only an idiot would  would not see
> this.

Are you calling Justin Schwartz an idiot?

Recently Justin referred (accurately) to LNP as:

-- "a bore and a fool";

-- "a creep, a jerk, and a toad";

-- "an ignoramus and a fool".

Comradely,
    Jerry



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