I believe that back 10 or 15 years ago on this list I pointed out that both "Leninism" (Democratic Centralism) and Social Democracy were dead. Some, I think, challenged the death of the latter. One amusing feature of such threads was that some posters would demand a "scenario" for revolution while silently assuming that no particular scenario had to be argued in the case of social democracy.
We desperately need a number of "reforms" (substantial improvements in the lives of the 99%), but no reform movement will ever achieve the necessary reforms. I do not know whether or not it will prove possible to overcome capitalism, but _only_ a radical revolutionary movement (whether or not it achieves its own ends) will achieve the reforms needed. And of course the central enemy of any such movement, the central political support of permanent austerity and continued privatization, is the Democratic Party. Support for any DP candidate at any level for any reason amounts to something like treason to humanity. Carrol Carrol -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Marv Gandall Sent: Thursday, September 03, 2015 10:54 AM To: Pen-L Economics; LBO Subject: [Pen-l] Podemos going down the Syriza road and in the polls Syriza's shocking acceptance of the harsh austerity regime in Greece has not only sent its own support plummeting, but also that of its close Spanish ally, Podemos, once touted as the next left-wing government in Europe. Only 15% surveyed this week said they would vote for the party, about half as many who favoured it earlier this year. "The example of Greece has been very damaging to Podemos," notes one discouraged former militant in the article linked to below. The Podemos leadership has contributed to the party's decline by embracing the Tsipras faction in Syrize and mimicking its evolution. The development has predictably cheered the political, academic, and media elites who feared the party's rise and who now welcome its "normalization" and "shift from idealism to pragmatism". Should Podemos not follow Syriza in forming a government, it will be no bad thing. If left-wing parties and governments are unwilling or unable to mobilize their supporters against the formidable forces of international capitalism arrayed against them, better they remain in opposition rather than crossing over and imposing austerity on their working class base. The record of social democratic governments shows this to have mostly been the case. They have sapped rather than strengthened the movements for reform which lifted them into office, prompting disillusionment and a retreat from politics rather than increased confidence, consciousness, and involvement by the great numbers of people who voted for them. http://www.ibtimes.com/european-anti-austerity-2015-podemos-spains-protest-p arty-looks-uncertain-future-2079500 _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
