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Angelus Novus wrote: > > > In other words, you're trying to take an approach to Marx exegesis and make a > political tendency out of it. An anti-capitalist _movement_ cannot be built out of Marx's Critique, even though I would hope that that critique would be a central concern of _much_ but not all of the leadership as well as rank and file of such a movement if it finally comes into existence. That if is a reference to Rosa Luxemburg, whose phrase "socialism or barbarism" was not merely a goad to 'get busy' -- it expressed the very real hisotorical possibility of both, with perhaps barbarism being somewhat more probable. There is no Angel of History to guaranteee all that is good and beautiful, as the bourgoeis theory of Progress holds. Lou wants to equate political practice with fundamental theory, which requires the existence of something called "Marxism" which is not just a critique of political economy but a complete philosophy of life, a theory of political action, and an explanation of all history. Lou rejected the Vanguard Party but he has not in practice rejected the premise of such a party: that there exists a true theory of revolution, and that that theory can be derived from Marx's criticism of actually existing capitalism. For me the power of the critique that Lou regards as "jive" is that it undergirds a view of anti-capitalist revolution as _necessary_, whether or not it is either possible or will lead to a desirable world. Capitalisms broods over human possibility, and it must be destroyed to make room for humananity -- but that is as far as theory will carry us. It will not assure us that humanity will make good use of the freedom thereby achieved or of a method of achieving that destruction.. The former (a 'good socieity') will be the task of those who come after us. The latter (the destruction of capitalism) is what we work out in practice under the conditions in which we find urselves at any given time. The men and women who accomplish that task (if it is accomplished) will have many different "world views," some related to "Marx," some not. Their unity will come throguh their practice, not through their abstract theory. Carrol ________________________________________________ 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
