Scott: I agree with you. Chris -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2002 1:45 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: [PEN-L:26018] Re: Re: self-interest vs class consciousness or pro -israel...
Chris-- There are three issues we should not confuse: 1) Who benefits from U.S. government actions? 2) Why does the U.S. do the things it does? 3) Which sections of the U.S. population support the actions of the government? It seems to me the answer to 1) is that the principal beneficiary of all actions by the U.S. government is the bourgeoisie, the U.S. ruling class. It is also true that other classes in the U.S. benefit to some secondary degree from U.S. imperialism, both the so-called "middle class" and also substantial sections of the working class. Partly this is due to the ability of the bourgeoisie to make concessions to the workers (and others who might potentially theaten their stable rule) with a part of the loot they rip off from the rest of the world (oil and otherwise). But in my opinion the U.S. ruling class, through its government, never does ANYTHING, at home or abroad, for the benefit of other classes in the U.S. unless it is something that it sees is necessary to do in order to serve its OWN interests. (Such as in order to keep things stable and under control in the home country.) That is, the answer to 2) is that the SOLE reason the U.S. government acts as it does is in order to serve the interests of the U.S. bourgeoisie. With regard to 3), yes, large sections of other classes have been indoctrinated to support the ruling class' government. This is completely irrelevant to point 2), even granting that there is a partial material basis for such mass support. The main point I was trying to make is that when we analyze things like this we should do so in class terms, and not simply talk about "Americans" in a classless way. Class interests are the key to understanding such events and actions even when the people involved have themselves little or no class consciousness. "People always have been the foolish victims of deception and self-deception in politics, and they always will be until they have learnt to seek out the INTERESTS of some class or other behind all moral, religious, political and social phrases, declarations and promises." --Lenin, "The Three Sources and Three Component Parts of Marxism" (1913). --Scott Harrison In a message dated 5/14/02 3:05:44 PM Pacific Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > Perhaps the "ruling class" is the principal beneficiary of the US support > for Israel, but the middle-class and working class love those big suvs.... > And some of them (the fundamentalist christians) see Israel as a bulwork > against the dark satanic forces of Islam...Chris Niggle > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Tuesday, May 14, 2002 2:02 PM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [PEN-L:25999] Re: self-interest rather than pro-israeli support > drive US > > > In a message dated 5/14/02 11:41:05 AM Pacific Daylight Time, > [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > > ...the primary aim of U.S. policy in the Middle East is U.S. dominance > over > > the region and its oil resources, through support for regimes that play > our > > game and through our ever-increasing military presence... > > > > ...That reality is clear: The central principle of every U.S. > > administration since the end of World War II has been that the resources > of > > the region do not truly belong to the people of the region, but instead > > exist for the benefit of Americans > > > > http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0513-07.htm > > > > Please! This should be "but instead exist for the benefit of the American > RULING CLASS." > > We live in a society that is so class UNconscious, that even on the left > this > is a problem. > > > --Scott H. >
