Apologies and conflict

[Chris Burford <cburford@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Leo:
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I ain't perfect,

Chris:
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This is unforgivable in a contributor to a marxism list.

All ideas and feelings must be absolutely correct. This is the
dialectical theory of knowledge.

Seriously though you do seem to get a bit masochistic in always
expecting to get into a fight of a personal nature, instead of
concentrating on building on agreement. I can also see Doug's
point of view that in apologising you actually continued to
imply that you thought you were provoked. It might have been
better if you had addressed the issue of conflict more directly,
after apologising for the personal anger.

I think your heated exchanges did actually symbolize something
very important, and enacted a tiny fragment of the violence
of Yugoslavia. Yet if you are attacked, people are attacking something
in their mind as they do not really know you. It does not have to
be taken personally.

I found your comments informative:

>>>>
I was particularly
impressed by the way you had thought through the concept of civil society in
this context. Part of me wants very much to believe that such an approach is
viable. But, a sober assessment tells me that its time has passed. We are at
a moment when either aggression and genocide will be stopped by sheer force,
or we will live with the consequences.
<<<<<<

I think both left errors and right errors are connected with lack of
faith in the masses, and when we don't know what the masses are doing
that makes it particularly difficult.

I know a bit about what should have happened and should still
happen in Angola and Mozambique. About Rwanda I have no idea and am
very gloomy. It appears that there genocide and not just population
expulsions could happen again, and it is very hard to know how to
stop it from any class point of view.

Under the heat and the confusion on all these questions, is whether as
Howie suggests, it is possible and necessary to take a reforming position
on intervention, or whether all interventions by the big powers are wrong
by definition. They will still go on happening independent of our
comments.  Should we just say that they are all wrong and not try to
influence the situation? [I know this is not your position.]

Chris B.



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