Date: Thu, 3 Apr 1997 20:46:52 -0500 (EST)
From: Louis N Proyect <lnp3-AT-columbia.edu>
Subject: Re: M-TH: OLD MAN OF THE LEFT 


On Thu, 3 Apr 1997, Brian M Ganter wrote:

> REVOLUTIONARY MARXIST COLLECTIVE at U of Buffalo:
> 
> Louis Proyect, once again has reached the limits of his theoretical
> literacy and as always has reacted with the violence typical of the RULE
> OF IGNORANCE that he has advocated on this list.  His brand of populism is
> one that has haunted Marxism throughout its history.  This marketing of
> ignorance as "activist" politics (a repetition of a Weitlingian practice)
> is engaged and critiqued by Marx addressing Weitling: "Ignorance never yet
> helped anyone."  

Louis: Weitling was an ally of Proudhon. Mehring comments that Weitling
never developed beyond the German artisan, while Proudhon beyond the
French petty-bourgeoisie. They opposed scientific socialism. I just spent
the past several weeks in polemics against modern day equivalents of the
utopian socialists, such as Robin Hahnel of Z Magazine. Your mention of
Weitling is totally superficial and meaningless unless placed in some kind
of historical context.


> The Revolutionary Marxist
> Collective's text is simply beyond his grasp; thus his return to the
> vulgarities of bourgeois polemics and intimidation.  This old man of the
> left in fact goes further--he privatizes critique itself by not making his
> response to our critique available on the list to all--all as a means of
> quietly intimidating into silence a collective of students that
> has "dared" to speak out against his reformist "activist" brand
> of populism.  

Louis: The problem with it is that it is unreadable, both typographically
and content-wise. All it is is a call for a vanguard party and proletarian
revolution. So what. Every sectarian in the world is for that. So you are
sectarian number 1276. Hurray.


> 
> Uphold the Marxist-Leninist tradition of class struggle in the the combat
> zones of capitalism--in the streets, in philosophy and on the net.  
> Marxist theoretical thinking and practice lives!  
> 


Louis: 

Build the Interplanetary Vanguard Party!

Reunite New Zealand and Australia!

Fight Prostatitis!

Free Brian Glick!



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