Date: Sat, 7 Mar 1998 15:57:13 -0500
From: Yoshie Furuhashi <Furuhashi.1-AT-osu.edu>
Subject: Re: M-TH: A bird went looking for a cage ... Day after Revolution


Hugh,

You missed this one from Carrol:
>On second thought, maybe I can give one semi-positive attribute of "a
>revolution": there will *never* be a time when you will be able to say,
>"This is the revolution. Should I join it?" As throughout human history,
>we will have already done it before we know we are going to.

Perhaps because you in fact agree with him here? Or is it because you don't
understand that this is the reason that makes Rob's picture (and the
question embedded in it) rather surreal?

Carrol wrote:
>I can tell you one other point, perhaps, that Marx & Lenin made in more
>different ways than I can count: There are periods in history when even
>the mildest reforms can only be won by those who are aiming at revolution.

And Hugh wrote:
>Even mild reforms are only won in struggle, and every workers' and popular
>struggle is essentially an expression of the historical revolutionary class
>needs of the working class and its oppressed allies in capitalist society.

Indeed. But why do you have to read reformism into Carrol's comments?
Doesn't your LTV lead you to the same conclusion, that is, that there are
periods when the ruling class can afford to make concessions when they are
forced to, and there are periods when the ruling class are determined to
take back the gains that the working class won before and to break any
efforts for further reforms?

Yoshie




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