******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. *****************************************************************
Good job Louis. Ironically the quote cited by Brinton - and taken totally out of context - comes from a pamphlet which shows Lenin precisely at his best, both in terms of making realistic compromises, and in his insistence on rank-and-file control of production, accounting and management wherever realistically possible, an insistence overlapping with his repeated tribute to co-ops. https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1918/mar/x03.htm On Fri, Feb 12, 2016 at 8:12 AM, Louis Proyect via Marxism < marxism@lists.csbs.utah.edu> wrote: > ******************** POSTING RULES & NOTES ******************** > #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. > #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. > #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. > ***************************************************************** > > Dr. Welton, > > In your long diatribe against Lenin on CounterPunch today, you turn "What > is to be Done" into some kind of original sin: > > "In his educational treatise What is to be Done? (1903), Lenin formulates > the pedagogical relationship between educator (socialist intellectual) and > those to be educated (peasants and proletariat) in bluntly instrumental and > directive terms. > > "This famous (or infamous) text can be situated in the years between 1872 > and 1905 that were marked by the absence of revolution. The existing > revolutionary parties held gradualist and economistic beliefs, and Lenin > could not see any way forward without 'vanguard' subordination of the > working class to the Leninist educator." > > You don't seem to understand that Lenin's ideas on the revolutionary party > were a direct application of the model of the German Social Democracy. > Lenin wrote: > > "Why is there not a single political event in Germany that does not add to > the authority and prestige of the Social-Democracy? Because > Social-Democracy is always found to be in advance of all the others in > furnishing the most revolutionary appraisal of every given event and in > championing every protest against tyranny...It intervenes in every sphere > and in every question of social and political life; in the matter of > Wilhelm's refusal to endorse a bourgeois progressive as city mayor (our > Economists have not managed to educate the Germans to the understanding > that such an act is, in fact, a compromise with liberalism!); in the matter > of the law against 'obscene' publications and pictures; in the matter of > governmental influence on the election of professors, etc., etc." > > Lenin's main point is that the Social Democrat should not aspire to be a > trade union secretary, but instead the "tribune of the people." This > tribune will "react to every manifestation of tyranny and oppression, no > matter where it appears, no matter what stratum of people it affects; who > is able to generalize all these manifestations and produce a single picture > of police violence and capitalist exploitation; who is able to take > advantage of every event, however small, in order to set forth before all > his socialist convictions and his democratic demands, in order to clarify > for all and everyone the world-historic significance of the struggle for > the emancipation of the proletariat." > > Lenin's example of one such tribune is the German Social Democratic leader > Wilhelm Liebnecht. The German Social Democracy was Lenin's *model* for what > was needed in Russia. This type of party did not exist in Russia and it was > his goal to build one. > > You cite a number of enemies of Lenin in your diatribe including Maurice > Brinton whose citation of Lenin's 1918 article "The Immediate Tasks of the > Soviet Government" supposedly sealed the fate of the Russian Revolution and > prepared the way for Stalin: > > “Revolution demands, in the interests of socialism, that the masses > unquestioningly obey the single will of the leaders of the labour process.” > > I am not sure what it is that you teach but history does not seem to be > your forte. Lenin's article was written during the civil war when the USSR > was invaded by 8 imperialist armies, including the USA. This was resulted > in the death of 7 to 12 million people, mostly civilians, according to the > Wikipedia article on the Russian civil war. > > Once the civil war was over, the Soviets dropped war communism like a hot > potato and moved toward the NEP which hardly maps to Maurice Brinton's > nightmare. Of course the NEP led to a series of other problems that > arguably strengthened Stalin's hand. In any case, the best way to > understand what happened in the USSR is not by quoting libertarian > communists like Maurice Brinton that sound great one paper. Rather it > requires an engagement with the social and economic forces that acted > mercilessly on Lenin and all attempts in the 20th and 21st century to build > an alternative to capitalism. The lesson that can be drawn is that > socialism requires a global framework if it is to succeed. Lenin's writings > and even the fitful attempts of the Comintern to provide such a framework > are still useful for those of us who remain inspired by the 1917 revolution. > > Although I am happy to see CounterPunch, a website that unfortunately > gives far too much space for people who obviously admire Stalin and Stalin > Jr. (Vladimir Putin), publish your article, it is a disservice to > socialism. My recommendation to you is to read Neil Harding's "Lenin's > Political Thought" to get a handle on what Lenin believed as opposed to the > funhouse mirror of Maurice Brinton et al. > > Have a nice day. > > > > _________________________________________________________ > Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm > Set your options at: > http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/acpollack2%40gmail.com _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
