I am copying my response to the Meszaros article on the Socialist Register
list.
--Jim Lawler
I have just read Istvan Meszaros' very thoughtful piece on communism. I
agree with him that we are headed downhill, spiraling into catastrophe.
What does that mean? It means great economic disruption and generally
chaotic conditions. The question will become, what to do about the chaos?
There will be two possibilities: an end to democracy, with military rule by
the very people who are responsible for the catastrophe, or a radically
different kind of society -- a free society in which the great potentials of
modern science and technology are made use of in an earth-friendly way so as
to allow human beings the freedom to express themselves freely.
Because of the turmoil that Meszaros predicts, people will be looking
for alternatives that make sense. The society that he describes can be
presented as amazingly sensible, while the alternative -- the world we are
living in now, with the addition effective dictatorship -- as insane.
What we need to do now is to formulate the vision that Meszaros describes in
simple, attractive and concrete images, so that ordinary people can picture
the alternative. The communist alternative is really very simple. If enough
people see that soon enough, the "barbarism" side of the alternative will be
rejected.
Has anyone tried to do this?
--Best wishes,
Jim Lawler
_______________________________________
Dr. James Lawler
Philosophy Department
SUNY at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY
USA 14260
Base e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
forwards to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Work phone: 716-645-2444 x770
Work fax: 716-645-6139
Home phone: 905-687-6651
_______________________________________
Dr. James Lawler
Philosophy Department
SUNY at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY
USA 14260
Base e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
forwards to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Work phone: 716-645-2444 x770
Work fax: 716-645-6139
Home phone: 905-687-6651
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