File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1997/marxism-international.9708, message 272


Date: Wed, 20 Aug 1997 23:38:04 -0400
From: malecki-AT-algonet.se (Robert Malecki)
Subject: M-I: Reply to Dennis G.and "unity""question


Reply to Dennis G.and "unity""question

Dennis G. wrote:
>
>Comrades,
>
>First of all, let me apologize right away if I come off sounding naive or 
>idealistic or what-have-you.  But I want to say something straight from 
>my red heart.
>
>It makes me sad to see the sort of in-fighting that surfaces again and 
>again on M-I (and elsewhere) between comrades --or people who SHOULD be 
>comrades!  Here I want to include comrades like Malecki and a bunch of 
>others who regularly put in an appearance M-I.
>
>And, PLEASE, do not take this as a PERSONAL criticism.  It just reflects 
>my general mood and my wish that a strong Left can start to undo all the 
>harm that has been done to the working class in this country and elsewhere.
>
>I subscribe to the list because I find the occassional informative 
>posting that helps me make better sense of what is going on, it 
>educates me and keeps me in touch with the thinking of other comrades.
>
>In a way, because of WHERE I am at (conservative Central Illinois), WHO I 
>am (a poor grad student), and WHAT I do (try to organize a grad union on 
>campus), subscribing to M-I is like taking my daily vitamins --it 
>fortifies me against co-optation and reaction:-)
>
>I must say that even the occassional furious exchange of invective among 
>comrades on the list can be educational (and even entertaining!).  Still, 
>I just hope that we all realize that we are in an important fight and 
>that we need to keep clear in our minds just WHO the other side is.  For 
>sure it is NOT Godena or Proyect or Malecki but, rather, the bosses at 
>UPS and elsewhere, the faces of Capital and their allies, that exploit the 
>working masses.

Hi Dennis,

I don't think that the present neo Stalinist and Mensheviks scratching each 
others eyes out at present is on principle wrong. In fact I think I agree 
with Godena in this that if you believe someting is correct well then you 
should fight it out.I also think that Godena is right about the Madrid 
meeting being useless.But most of what Godena says and stands for I disagree 
with.Especially is anti-Trotskyist ravings. However,Sharp fights reflect the 
state of the workers movement and its political trends and that is good. 

Historically something very serious has gone wrong with the questions of 
Marxist theory, program and tactics and it is poor and working class people 
that have had to pay a far higher price then the present toes that get 
stepped on in cyberspace with letters of indignation and namecalling.

Nor will proclaming that we are all on the same side and unity at all costs 
solve questions. (Despite your good intentions)  In fact a good example is 
the present South Africa thread between the supporters of the 
"Euro-Communist line and the old hardline Stalinists like Jim who want to 
use the "Dictatorship of the Proletariat" question to cover up there own 
historical betrayal into popular fronts. The only real difference between 
the two is that the one side wants to do it quite openly in a reformist 
matter by removing any suggestion of the DOP from the program where as the 
other side wants to keep the DOP in the program and use it as a left cover 
while at the same time supporting the same kind of popular front politics as 
the Euro-Communists.

In the final analisis "Unity" mongering is the last thing the workers 
movement needs . Especially when unity is used to stop very serious 
discussions that could mean victory or defeat of poor and working class 
people. This does not prevent "Marxists" from having unity in action if a 
particular burning situation requires it like the now over UPS strike. But 
that is what we have the United Front for. And still all should have the 
right to have there say while we fight the common enemy on the picket line.

Because of the tremendous defeats Internationally that the workers movement 
has suffered, not in the least the demise of the ex-Soviet Union very hard 
discussions are neccessary in order to regroup and find a way out of the 
morass that the workers movement and its political tendencies find 
themselves in.

Finally, I must say it is quite nice to see that the list Mensheviks and Neo 
Stalinists are at present scratching each others eyes out. They usually 
claim that it is the horrible "Trots" that are responsible and are 
destroying the lists. When we are quiet and on the lurk mode or busy with 
something else these characters usually united to trounce the "Trotskyist" 
turn on each other like rabid dogs..It is extremely funny to watch from the 
sidelines..

Warm Regards
Bob Malecki
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