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Hallo Lou, I must DIS-agree with your unsubbing of Walter Lippman, whose recent return to the list I have much welcomed, although I often do not agree with him, he is a thoughtful correspondent I can have useful discussions with. Please let him back to the list, and just let any comments of his that raise your ire fall "like water off a duck's back". I don't mind telling you that as communist for something like 70 years I have never felt so excited about entering a revolutionary situation (even including those years of 1944-6, when 1947/8 followed with the start of the Cold War). This is not, nor cannot be, a revolution against world capitalism, it is the revolt of the whole Arab world against what they have been subjected to since 1918; it is a national-democratic revolution (akin perhaps to 1905 or February 1917 in Russia). It has the POSSIBILITY of raising the eyes and aims of the labour movement in the west, but we in the west can do no more than support these youngsters of the April 6th Movement - wish them well and look forward to the end of tyrannies (all US and UK supported). These youngsters are just showing what technically (but not politically) educated youngsters can achieve for democracy and freedom. The Marxist texts of the 19th century give very little guidance for the new situation of the 21st century - they (and we) have to determine our own way forward, based on our general understanding; our (and their) understanding must be of the tactics which can involve the largest number of people (whether they are working class, proletariat, petit-bourgeoisie or whatever) in ACTION against the vastly rich, the those who have collaborated in keeping the Arab peoples in subjection simce 1918. UNITY of the greatest number (shades of Jeremiah Bentham and we should not forget the likes of John Wilkes, 1715-97 against the censorship in Britain) is the greatest good; only THIS can secure even the minimal achievements of the revolution so far. Socialism (with all the bad things associated with the words socialism and communism inculcated in the minds of ordinary people 50 or 60 years of US domination) is just not on the agenda - it only confuses the issues and helps the counter-revolution at this time: the people need time to learn in their struggles with the disgustingly rich who have dominated them for so long. Only struggles for "simple" issues can work (remember the Bolshevik slogan of 1917 = Bread and Land). Today this equates to "Freedom and a Decent Standard of Living" - or something of that sort - I feel sure that Ahmed Maher, the leader of the 6th April Movement in Egypt has a better way of putting it - but all I have heard, and listened to on Al-Jazeera suggests to me that he may be the Lenin of the moment. Comrades, think this through. It is not enough, now, to be submerged in the Marxist classics. You must be able to put yourself into that great mind of Karl Marx and work out for yourselves what - two centuries later - he would have advised. (I think I have just an inkling. Let's see what others think) -----Original Message----- From: marxism-bounces+e.c.apling=btinternet....@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu [mailto:marxism-bounces+e.c.apling=btinternet....@greenhouse.economics.utah. edu] On Behalf Of Marv Gandall Sent: 04 March 2011 12:52 PM To: e.c.apl...@btinternet.com Subject: Re: [Marxism] Protest ====================================================================== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. ====================================================================== On 2011-03-03, at 9:03 PM, Peggy Dobbins wrote: > > Me too > peggy > > On Thu, Mar 3, 2011 at 8:41 PM, Néstor Gorojovsky <nmg...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> >> I strongly protest against W. Lippmann´s being unsubbed for stating >> bluntly and honestly his point of view. I don't agree with the Walter-Fred-Nestor line on Libya, but their position is an arguable one and I don't think any or all of them have presented it provocatively, except to those who are too easily provoked. There was nothing in Walter's comments which justified his expulsion, and his persistence in advancing his particular viewpoint is not unique to the list either. ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@greenhouse.economics.utah.edu Set your options at: http://greenhouse.economics.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
