Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 08:48:03 -0400 (EDT)
From: Louis N Proyect <lnp3-AT-columbia.edu>
Subject: For a non-sectarian and non-dogmatic Marxism list


The Marxism list has been a place where spontaneity has been king.
This has led to a mix of worthwhile contributions and poisonous 
weeds. In the recent period, weeds have begun to choke out more 
beneficial growth. It is time we took a second look at our garden.

I, for one, am not interested in dialoging with everybody on the planet 
who considers themselves a Marxist. For example, I don't want to even 
be in the same room with somebody who is making the case that trade 
unions are not in the interest of working people.

I advocate creating a space that reflects current directions in Marxism 
as exemplified by a number of theoretical journals such as the 
following:

1) Monthly Review

2) Science and Society

3) New Left Review

4) Capitalism, Nature and Socialism

5) Against the Current

6) Socialism and Democracy

7) Socialist Register

There is a broad consensus among the editorial boards of these 
journals that Stalin's policies hindered the growth of socialism, that a 
class-based resistance to capitalism must be mounted and that 
dogmatism and sectarianism such as the Trotskyist variant are harmful 
to the growth of the left.

Many of the same figures appear in an overlapping fashion on the 
editorial boards of these journals. This includes:

1) Mike Davis: author of "Prisoners of the American Dream", a study 
of the American trade union movement.

2) Ellen Meiksins Wood: author of "Capitalism Against Democracy" 
and a leading critic of postmodernism.

3) David Harvey: geographer and author of "The Postmodern 
Condition".

4) James O'Connor: leading green-red theorist.

5) Perry Anderson: author of "Considerations on Western Marxism" 
and "In the Tracks of Historical Materialism", 2 books that are 
essential in understanding the dilemmas of contemporary Marxism.

I advocate that a presence on the Internet exist for the exchange of 
ideas among activists and intellectuals who identify with this general 
trend. If this is going to take place, it will not be through the 
"spontaneous" methodology of unmoderated maling lists. It must be 
done consciously.

Ken Campell who has quit M1 in disgust is now in discussions 
with Canadian scholars associated with Socialist Register and other 
left institutions. He believes that it is feasible to create a series of 
mailing lists associated with this network.

This intrigues me. Not only is the place where I have my strongest 
political loyalties, it is also a direct link-up with Monthly Review in 
New York which distributes Socialist Register in the United States. 
Monthly Review is on the same floor as the Brecht Forum where I give 
my Internet workshops, and there is constant communication between 
the two institutions. Furthermore, Socialist Register authors such as 
Ellen Meiksins Wood and Leo Panitch are frequent lecturers at the 
Brecht Forum.

It is of supreme importance that the political forces that identify with 
these journals have a space on the Internet where our *own* 
differences can be aired out. It should be a place where David Harvey 
and James O'Connor can discuss out the "2nd contradiction of 
capitalism". It should also be a place where Mike Davis and Kim 
Moody, who are both authors of important books on the American labor 
movement, can compare notes.

It is a waste of our time to have to reply to people like "Neil" and 
"MIM", who are sophomoric ultraleftists with absolutely no influence 
anywhere.

I am hoping that Ken can help create this space. If he can't, it is my 
intention to create a space such as this, a place for nondogmatic and 
nonsectarian Marxism, within the Spoons framework. My true goal 
will always be in forming a forum for Marxism internationally that 
allows for this broad current to exchange ideas. Considering the state 
of the left today world-wide, it is absolutely imperative that we be 
allowed to exchange ideas in a calm setting free of the lunacy that 
pervades unmoderated mailing lists on the Internet such as M1.


Louis Proyect



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