I am perhaps the only person in cyberspace to have met Henry in person, so I want to share some impressions. Henry is in his sixties and lives on the upper east side. Like Bill Lear, another enterpreneur, Henry enjoys the trappings of success in the bourgeois world. As we shared dinner at his home on the upper east side, I mostly listened to him explain his political views which can be put in the context of what Paul Baran calls the "long view". He is philosophical about the problems of Marxism, which in countries like the US have mostly to do with the remoteness from actually wielding power. This has led to all sorts of profound distortions. While Henry is obviously proud of his professional achievements, what was clearly his greatest source of pride was his connection to his uncle, a leader of the Chinese Communist Party who passed away fairly recently. This man started out as a leader of the youth group and sat on the Central Committee. Henry leafed through a book published by the Chinese Government commemorating his uncle's life. It was filled with photographs of his uncle addressing mass meetings, etc. When Henry was a teenager, the family would have huge political fights which more often than not would result in half the table walking away in anger. For anybody who has spent time working in Nicaragua, this of course will bring a smile to your face because the scenario described many households there as well. Left-right divisions went to the very heights of Nicaraguan society, including the Chamorro family. One of the reasons I have decided to study Chinese revolutionary history in depth is that Henry made such a strong impression on me. It was the first time I had ever encountered an authentic Maoist as opposed to the deranged American ultraleftists who sprang up in the 1960s. Clearly, Henry's dedication to communism--despite his remoteness from Chinese society and his own material advantages--gave testimony to the power of an idea. Mao remains one of the great revolutionary figures of the 20th century. A leader who gave the most wretched of the earth the power to stand up and take their rightful place among nations, especially those who had raped, murdered and stolen from them for centuries is someone to be reckoned with. For that matter, the hatred directed toward China since the triumph of Mao has very deep roots, ones that can even be felt in progressive quarters. At any rate, Henry will be a guest of honor on Marxist-oriented mailing lists, starting with the one I moderate. Louis Proyect (http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)
