File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1998/marxism-international.9804, message 45


Date: Tue, 07 Apr 1998 09:53:44 -0400
From: Louis Proyect <lnp3-AT-columbia.edu>
Subject: Re: M-I: Reformism or sectarianism ?  (Ben replies to Louis


Ben Seattle:
>Rather than trouble himself to discuss or even acknowledge 
>the idea I have put forward, Louis simply complains that 
>those who oppose reformism lack "solid ideas".  Well Louis, 
>my idea is sitting in front of your face.  It has been sitting in 
>front of your face (and the face of all readers of M-I) since 
>I first put it forward in May of last year.  How much real 
>discussion has this idea drawn ?  Absolutely zero.

Perhaps the reason it hasn't drawn much discussion is that the rest of us
are a bit underwhelmed. There is a newsgroup called
misc.activism.progressive that covers the social movements excellently.
There is a new Web Page that is devoted to the labor movement which is
outstanding. (http://www.solinet.org/LEE/labourstart.html). Mostly your
invitation for an electronic news service seems besides the point on a
Marxism list, which--after all--is devoted to a discussion of Marxist
politics. To advocate that another forum be established is fine and dandy,
but meanwhile what are your ideas about how to advance the class struggle
except to start a new Internet service? The last time I remember you saying
anything substantive was to denounce the new Labor Party in the same terms
as the rest of sectarian windbags who haunt the Spoons Lists. I got news
for you. I'd rather join the Labor Party--for all its flaws--than the
collection of lunatics like "neil" and Malecki et al who hate it. Like I
say, to be against "reformism" doesn't interest me. I am looking for people
who not only have solid ideas about how to move the class struggle forward,
but who have experience in actually organizing people. Our cyberwarriors
seem to be lacking in real world experience by and large. What is your
organizing experience anyhow, Ben?


>Contradictions in the ruling class ?
>   "[1]  The split in the bourgeoisie
>   over policy for the digital infrastructure

Ben, you got to get away from the computer terminal once in a while. The
ruling class "contradictions" over the Internet/free
speech/commercialization questions are not even secondary, they are
tertiary. Bill Gates' differences with the Justice Department are
interesting to consider, but this is not the kind of ruling class split
that occurred in the 1960s over the Vietnam war, for example. You have the
same problem as the people grouped around Carl Davidson's cy.Rev. You
exaggerate the significance of computing for the revolution. A much more
compelling question for the American working-class is how to deal with
racism. Racism allows reactionary politics in the South to proceed
unchallenged. Racism allows discontent in the rural Northern states to be
channeled against non-Caucasian peoples rather than the ruling class.

Basically, you have been saying the same thing on the Marxism lists for the
past year or so. We need to have a revolutionary party that takes advantage
of computer technology. We have to implement a news service using said
technology. You are starting to sound like a broken record. How about some
discussion of the labor movement, or the African American struggle, etc.?

Louis Proyect



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

   

Driftline Main Page

 

Display software: ArchTracker © Malgosia Askanas, 2000-2005