From: brumback-AT-ncgate.newcollege.edu
Date: Mon, 16 Mar 1998 20:45:05 -0800
Subject: Re: M-TH: On the Longevity of Marxism


Carrol writes:

>When the world's working classes are in retreat, marxism tends to turn
>boneheaded and self-deceiving, and then it is too easy to mistake the
>effect for the cause, as I think Doug does in this post. During such
>periods those who consider themselves marxists struggle primarily (to
>wrench a sentence by T. S. Eliot from its context) not in the hope of
>triumphing but merely to keep certain hopes and possibilities alive. When
>conditions do change (and there is little we can do to bring that
>necessary change about), I think you will find that a very few marxists
>will go a long ways.

It is my opinion that working class people of the U.S., at least, are far
from being "in retreat." Rather, they are very involved in movements that
many Marxists don't recognize as being very important, such as gay
movements, feminist movements, environmental movements, etc. Or if they are
involved in movements that Marxists do think are important, i.e., anti-war,
they aren't interested in direction from any existing Marxist sect because
all of these have thoroughly discredited themselves.

Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, there are many, many community groups
organizing themselves around all kinds of issues: education, child care,
social services, environmental racism, gay rights, welfare reform, poverty,
homelessness, self-help, hunger, and etc. The list goes on almost endlessly. 

The problem is not that "conditions" aren't right; the problem is that
Marxists are not effectively addressing themselves to the conditions that
exist. 

Nancy



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