Date: Mon, 7 Oct 1996 22:31:55 -0500
From: dhenwood-AT-panix.com (Doug Henwood)
Subject: Re: Marxist theory


At 10:22 PM 10/7/96, Gerald Levy wrote:

>I have to agree with Doug. Why should we waste our time with this theory
>nonsense? Marx shouldn't have wasted so much of his life writing
>philosophical works and *Capital*. He should have been handing-out
>leaflets on the corner instead of spending his time in the Library. He
>shouldn't have written *Capital* -- after all, there were so many other
>pressing political tasks for activists during his era. Let's not make the
>same mistake as Marx (or Lenin when he wasted precious time in 1917
>reading Hegel's _Science of Logic_). Let's forget about all this theory
>stuff. That's only for academics.
>
>Long live the rudderless revolution!

Jerry, are you congenitally blind, or did it happen somewhere along the
way? Capital is precisely my model of how theory and practice should be
interwoven. Think of the excerpts from the factory inspectors in vol. 1, or
the parliamentary testimony in vol. 3 - rich empirical detail mixed with
theoretical reflection (not to mention quotes from Pindar). That's *not*
the way your typical Marxian theorist has done it in the last 30-40 years,
except perhaps Mandel.

I'm not surprised you defended de Brunhoff. What arid work.

Doug

--

Doug Henwood
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