Date: Sun, 26 Nov 1995 17:12:28 +1000
From: g.maclennan-AT-qut.edu.au
Subject: The dialectics of Marxist politics, Jameson, young Proyect,


I have continued to mull over Gerry's farewell.  At one level I think he 
just spat the dummy and will be back after a good sulk and a long lurk, 
but there was a considerable political point to it all and this post is 
an attempt to tease out some more of the elements of the dispute.

I would like to begin with an attempt to characterize marxist politcs 
in terms of the duality of Triumphalism and Defeatism.  If we regard 
these as a dialectical pair we can say that in the abstract we are as it 
were suspended midway between these two poles.  However in real life 
one is 
always closere to one of the poles.  Now where are we today?  Are we 
close to 
the danger of Triumphalism,  where Marxism emerges as the theory of 
everything or, as Blanchot put it, answers without questions?  

In terms of 
the environment Marxist triumphalism takes the form of what Bhaskar has 
called Prometheanism, the belief that there are no natural limitations on 
our actions.  Are there any Prometheans left around?  I think not.  I 
would suggest rather that we are much closer to the defeatist pole.  Here 
Marxism presents itself as excessivley anxious to distance itself from 
its own past.  In his recent "Marx's Purloined Letter", NLR 109, 75-109, Fredric 
Jameson when *defending* the notion of class argues that there is 

"a fundamental tendency within Marxism  itself to be self-conflicted and 
at once to begin to distance features other people assume to be 
intrinsically a part of this ideology, which thus turns out to come into 
being at least in part by denouncing itself (as so-called vulgar 
Marxism).  To denounce class, and concepts of 'class affiliation', is 
thus part of this primal self-definition within all the Marxisms 
themselves, which have always wanted to make sure you did not think they 
believed anyuthing so simple minded or orthodoxly reductive". (93)

Jameson's description of "all Marxisms" refers in my opinion chiefly to 
Marxism within the Academy.  This has been under siege and thoroughly 
beaten down by postmodernism first and now the New Realism.  Things have 
come to such a pass that we marxists are continually referred to as "dinosaurs" and are expected to beat our breasts and 
apologise for being at best old fashioned.

Which brings me to young Proyect.  For some on the list it must seem 
that when they were handing out the Chutzpah, Louis was first in line.  I 
prefer to see his trenchant orthodoxies as a necessary antidote to the 
kind of self-conflicted defeatism of much contemporary Marxism.  I was 
for instance very moved by his description of his intervention at the new 
York meeting where the Prophets of Localism spoke.  For me Louis' posts 
are a constant reminder that we have given too much ground to our 
critics.  In our anxiety to show that we are "sophisticated", 
"intellectual", "up to date" etc we have 
capitulated or been silent when the greatest banalities have been trotted 
out.  If you doubt me pop into the Post-colonial list for a while.

Which brings me to Jerry's farewell.  His last move on the list was to 
raise the issue of green politcvs.  Typically this was begun with a 
reference to the inadequacies of Marxism and the defection of some 
intellectual giant.  The mea culpa was all too obvious.  But if we 
actually begin by looking honestly at Green politics we can see that they 
are in turmoil and their scorn for Marxist theory has led them into 
terrible compromises.  Here in Queensland for instance the Greens are 
engaged in a purge of all elements in their party with a link to the Labor 
Movement.  
Their leader, the anarchist renegade Drew Hutton, has hailed the "educated 
middle class" as the new agent of history and has found this agent 
predictably enough among the conservative parties.

Let me clear here. I am not arguing for a return to marxist triumphalism.  
Nor am I arguing that we should not attempt to advance Marxist theory.  Far 
from it.
But I am saying that we do need to develop a confidence in our history.  
This condidence should of course be critical but above all it should be 
confident.  It is in this spirit then that I welcome young Proyect's 
contribution to this list because as I see it he constantly addresses the 
political problem of how to  transform the realm of necessity into the 
kingdom of freedom.


Regards

Gary


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