Before I get into needless trouble, I'd better point out that I'm agreeing
with Lenin on the quoted bits of *Infantile Disorder* (not that I quite
agree with the whole book) - and only disagreeing here with the application
of Lenin's polemical poke at Kautsky [on evaluating wars] to the East Timor
situation.
Cheers,
Rob.
>In his polemic against Kautsky and in Socialism and War, Lenin argues that
>socialists need to look at whether particular wars benefit imperialist
>powers or the working class struggle. If they do not then socialists can
>and should support them. This is the case with East Timor ... UN
>intervention went against 24 years of Indonesian and Australian
>imperialist policy. Without it, Indonesia would have continued its
>scorched earth policy of murder and destruction.
>
>But I guess that would have been okay, because then dogmatists could say
>"well, isn't it terrible that the East Timorese were massacred, but at
>least we stuck to our principles ..., we have a cut and dried absolutist
>position that says no compromises with imperialism, to bad this meant that
>any chance of working class revolution that may have exist will not occur
>now because there is no working class because they have all been massacre.
>But hey, we did stick to our 'on principle' objections".
>
>Kim B
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