Yoshie Furuhashi wrote: > > On 5/11/07, michael a. lebowitz <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Quick rule of thumb--- the opposite of 'protagonistic democracy' is > > not 'antagonistic' but 'representative democracy'./m > > True, but I've been thinking of relative absence of sharp antagonism > and emphasis on deliberation and cooperation within the Bolivarian > Revolution (as opposed to the kinds of sharp class and faction > conflicts you see in Iran). The most prominent conflicts in Venezuela > are the ones between those who support the revolution and the > oligarchy that oppose it.
The Revolution in Venezuela, for good reasons, has not yet crossed even the first of the many Rubicons a revolution faces. Even the Coup and the Oil Strike were only preliminary battles. So there has not yet been a real test of whether a 'third world' revolution can withstand the imperialist onslaught while retaining the civil society of a "representative democracy." Imperialist powers haven't given up yet on _any_ country in Latin America. How long, for example, can the present regime avoid (if it is to maintain and enlarge its base) a serious attack on the property and privileges of that oligarchy? We can't know, it seems to me. Carrol
