====================================================================== Rule #1: YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. ======================================================================
I am generally reluctant to intervene in threads where intervention could turn it all into a flame war, and I had enough of those on the old Marxism list to last me for several turns on the wheel. [For what it is worth I am on Artesian's side in all this]. I have also endeavoured not to be provoked by Rakesh's reference to talk of Obama's treachery and betrayal as being "pathetic". But his trembling and fear at the prospect of the US pull out of Afghanistan reminds me of Mathew Arnold's spasm of terror at the sight of the working class tearing up the fence in Hyde Park or even Ratzinger's flight to the Right at the spectacle of unruly students. What is at work is the angst of the liberal in the face of what they perceive as disorder. In both cases the liberals supported the structures of power as a bulwark against what they perceived as chaos. But of course the forces of so called "order" were in fact the Lords of Chaos, just as in Afghanistan Obama is the Lord of the Drones. To understand what is at work in Afghanistan we need to go deep historically and wide geographically. That will lead us to the truth that imperialism brings with it not order but death and destruction. As opposed to the liberal Marxists take a principled stand against imperial interventions. They are simply wrong and must be opposed. I also repeat my original statement that when Obama embraced the imperial mission he betrayed his own humanity and he betrayed all of us in doing that. Rakesh is of course quite free to regard that as "pathetic", but for me if there is a pathos here it is in the sight of a brilliant and well meaning leftist seeking his own tortured way out of Marxism, towards liberalism and inevitably beyond. regards Gary ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
