Bob,
Thanks for the article. Yes, I had seen it before. I won't address
everything in it only a couple of issues (very hastily I might add).
**PRD are reformist because the support a two stage revolution......
According to the article a two stage revolution is a " Menshevik/Stalinist
schema". Now I will admit my knowledge of Marxism and Leninism is not as
deep and as wide as some of the people on this list (as I have only been a
comrade for just over 18 months) but my understanding of things
is that the two stage theory of uninterrupted revolution was in fact
something Lenin (who was definitely not a Menshevic) developed.
The first stage involved the workers in alliance with the peasantry
(including the peasant bourgeoise) to achieve a bourgeoise democratic
revolution. My understanding of it is that Lenin argued that this
bourgeois revolution would not take the form of ones that occurred in
England or France, but instead it would be based on elected councils such
as the soviets. The second stage took place when the workers, using the
political power they had gained to take control of capitalist owned
industries etc. The first stage of the revolution while it did not go
beyond the framework of capitalist economic relations but it did open up
the space for an transition to the second stage which was socialist.
In Indonesia, workers only make up 86 million of the 200 million
populations, the majority of the population is made up of the urban poor
and peasants. It would be necessary than to form an alliance between these
groups to overthrow the bourgeoise, such a what happened in Russia. The
PRD is actively working to build this alliance, as a result it has
supported the immediate needs of the peasant masses such as democracy and
land reform. In 1917 Lenin did a similar thing, when he used the slogan,
Peace, Bread and Land to bring the workers and the peasants together.
***Class collaborationist ...
According to the article, the PRD is class collaborationist because they
do not call for a revolution NOW!! A demand for a revolution now, would
have very little resonance with the Indonesia working class. Primarily
because working class conciousness is still developing (a vast majority of
them are currently more concerned with every day survival) and because of
the suppression under Suharto there is now only starting to be a beginning
of working class organsiation. The PRD has been extremely active in
working towards organising the working class. As mentioned earlier many
of their comrades have been jailed, tortured or disappeared for this.
**Support of Megawati...
The PRD has never been in alliance with Megawati. What it has done is
defend the democratic right of Megawati to be president of the PDI. This
is something completely different from supporting her policies. The PRD
organised actions in support of this, during which they were able to get a
hearing for their own idea's amongst the urban poor supporters of the
Megawati.
The PRD also called for a united front to overthrow Suharto. The PRD used
Megawati's (and other liberal bourgeoise leaders) refusal to do this as a
way of exposing her and their politics.
There is probably more I could say, but I will leave it at that for the
moment.
Regards,
Kim B
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