Date: Wed, 26 Feb 1997 12:43:52 -0500 (EST)
From: Louis Proyect <lnp3-AT-columbia.edu>
Subject: M-I: Time to Move On


Gary McLennan is right. The Stalin vs Trotsky question is an utterly sterile
one, at least in which the way it confronts us on this list.

Let us recall that nearly a year ago the original Marxism list was split in
two between Marxism-1 and Marxism-2. Marxism-2 tended to attract subscribers
whose hatred for Stalin and for those who support Stalin was so deep that
they could not abide being on the same list with them. Adolfo Olaechea was
the main target of their hatred.

I should qualify this by saying that the M-2 asylum seekers tended to be
academics like Gerry Levy or individuals who feel comfortable in discussing
theory rather than the real world. I said god bless them. I had told the
Spoons Collective from day one that it is nuts to combine academicians and
revolutionaries in the same forum. Give them a place to prattle on about
Zizek and the Oshikoshi theorem. Let us have a space to discuss current
events and answer challenges to classical Marxism.

After the exodus to M-2, M-1 was left with revolutionaries and those
academics who chose to leave their cap and gown at the door. M-1 was plagued
with another set of problems, however. We found that there were a number of
people, Trotskyists in particular, who not only didn't mind being on the
same list with the dreaded Stalinists, but actually came into full bloom
when they were in their presence. Like vampires near fresh blood.

Adolfo Olaechea is an "arch-Stalinist" by his own admission. Louis Godena,
one of our moderators, is "for" Stalin, but only in the sense that Isaac
Deutscher, one of the most important Trotskyist thinkers of the 20th
century, was "for" Stalin. Deutscher's main point was that Stalin was the
only option open for an isolated Soviet state with a weakened working-class.
The choice was not between Trotsky and Stalin in Deutscher's eyes, but
between Stalin and imperialism.

At any rate, this is not cheer-leading for Stalin. James P. Cannon, the
leader of American Trotskyism, hated Deutscher's analysis. So did the
Communist Party which could not accept anything except the sort of silly
rah-rah business we heard from "klo_mckinsey" the other day.

What's interesting is that Olaechea spends most of his time on the list
trying to promote the cause of the Peruvian Communist Party rather than
anything else. His posts on this subject are informative even when one
disagrees with one or another of his conclusions. I don't expect he would
have it any other way.

Meanwhile Godena's passion is providing informed class analyses of a wide
range of countries, from Zaire to Afghanistan to Vietnam, drawing from solid
academic and business publications. His efforts are to be applauded. It is
really impressive to see a millwright spending so much time on educating the
rest of us, while the academics on the list--Levy and Zarembka in
particular--seem content to recycle threadbare notions that show precious
few new insights. Do they have a different set of standards when it comes to
educating their own students, I wonder?

Jerry seems to respond when challenged. When I pressed him on the squatters
movement, he actually came up with something worthwhile. He must have
splashed some cold water in his face and took a anti-obsession pill. Good
for him. Now if we can only get him to extinguish the fire in his breast
that is sparked off whenever he spots a post with my name attached.

Zarembka is another story. He is not really socialized into the list and
probably has very mixed feelings about the whole business. On one hand, he
probably likes being around people who are genuinely committed to socialism.
On the other hand, he is disturbed that there are actually people on the
list who are predisposed to Stalin: "Oh, dear. What shall I do? Doesn't
everybody understand that Stalin was a dictator?" Gee whiz, Paul, we do
appreciate your acting as Paul Revere on the list--"The Stalinists are
coming! The Stalinists are coming!" But enough is enough.

The only thing I would ask is for smart people like Mark Jones to try to
contain their anger when confronted by the Stalinophobia of a Zarembka or a
Levy. Stalinophobia is like any other phobia. It does not respond to words,
but to some other more more fundamental treatment. I know this from
experience. I have a phobia about pigeons. When I was a toddler, a flock of
pigeons attacked me. They left me drenched in poop and I have never been the
same. When I hear their odious cooing, I break out in a cold sweat no matter
how far away the rotten beasts are.

I urge Mark to follow the high road. Ignore the Stalinophobes and
concentrate on current topics in the class struggle. Debates over Value
theory, Trotsky vs Stalin have produced very little useful and new insights
on these Spoons list. People like to worry over these matters because it is
an escape from the messy world of politics. It is what my psychiatrist calls
"avoidance", which I am very good at. 

Why analyze the prospects for Chinese socialism after the death of Deng when
you can take another shot at the Transformation problem? Nearly have the
gosh-darned thing licked. Why study the civil war in Zaire when you can lay
down on the ground, smack your fists against the pavement, and cry out, "Oh,
Stalinist pefidy!"

Finally, a word on the Trotskyists. We have been very good at ignoring the
Trotskyists since M-I was formed. Malecki, Beddggoodd and Rodwell would love
nothing better than to fight with "Mensheviks", but the only person around
right now who wants to step forward and humor them is Paul Zaremka who
innocently asks Malecki, "Why am I a Menshevik?" Zarembka has been around
long enough to observe Malecki cursing the entire list from top to bottom.
The word Menshevik coming from the foul-mouthed and stupid Malecki is
actually a complement.

My suggestion to Paul and everybody else. If somebody calls you a Menshevik,
then ignore him or her. This term is not used in the way it was used in the
time of Lenin. It is instead the very worst curse word in the Marxist
lexicon. Rodwell, Malecki and Beddggoodd have no other purpose on this list
except to curse people who don't agree with their particular ideology. There
is no reason to lend them any credibility by trying to defend yourself from
their curses. Quarantine is in order.


Louis Proyect



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