Date: Tue, 19 Mar 1996 02:35:46 -0800 (PST)
From: David Walters <dwalters-AT-igc.apc.org>
To: marxism-AT-jefferson.village.virginia.edu
Subject: Re: Orthodox Trotskyism 2


Speaking of snake oil, is there any country in the world where the
born again Maoists of the PCP actually LEAD anything? I mean, where
have THEY lead a revolution not overturned by their own supporters?
What unions? What strikes? What anything? No...all we have is the
rather vicious war (as opposed to a revolution by the masses) waged
by the SLs against the the gov't and vica-versa.

Leading a revolution. OK. Mao, to his credit, fought a successfull
national liberation struggle and was forced by the US intervention in
Korea to go farther than the Block of Four Classes clalled for. Of
course he later allied himself with Nixon and the puppets of the US in
Angola (UNITA) and lead the gov't that was first in the world to
recognize the Pinochet regime in Chile (beat the US by 2 hours).

Trotskyists have groupings or parties in most countries of the world
and in some cases, lead large class struggle unions and movements.
Ironically, the NLF of Vietnam (actually the PRG) congradualed the 
"old" SWP for being decisive in helping end the war by the US against
the Vietnamese people. The Maoists, with probalbe 8 times the membership
of the SWP/YSA couldn't organized ONE mass action against the war
(by MASS I mean 50,000 or more - I don't think they ever got together
to organize more than 5,000). 

Where is Maoism today? Reduced to a self-declared war in Peru that
the masses of Peruvian people have demonstrably shown support for
by abstaining from everything the socalled SL calls for. Have they
extended the "revolution" to Bolivia?(probalby not, to many Trotskyists
for them to have to deal with there)...or Equador or Brasil? No.

David


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