RE: Piranha Politics vs. centrist Politics

[wdrb@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Well, being holiday season i've had  a bit of time to
browse through the marx list which is unusual. First off
I'd like to say how wonderful I think the list remains
(I just copied Chris Burford's Stalin quote for circulation).

In my browse I stumbled on this extraordinary stuff from
some faction fight in some US trotskyist group. Living in England
of course none of the participants are known to me. But it all sounds
at the same time bizarre and yet familiar. People calling themselves
The Left Opposition and The Piranhas - is this Russia in 1924 or is
it Mony Pythons? People sounding really upset - well that's pretty
familiar. People talking about how class distinctions change your
approach to left politics - well, this is a painful and important debate -
theres been some good stuff on 'middle strata' on this one from Pete
Tabolt on that.

What I like about the list is that it gives a perspective to
our political and historical situation. Small groups with
fetid, ego ridden, neurotic inner lives are shown up for
the bollocks I suspect they always have been. The working
class and even the Left is massive and varied. Don't
you feel sometimes its not worth the breath arguing the
toss if your in a small group that turns out to be
shit. Why not just move on to something more interesting?

In England at the moment there's quite a lot of interest
in the idea of 'independant' working class action - the
idea of working class people doing there own thing politically
independant of 'official labour movement' and also of
the 'academic' left.

Even in what is supposed to be a massive crisis of the left in
england, I started collecting a list of organisations and publications
to the left of the labour party a month ago and this list is now
over 120 groups/mags long. Pretty good for a left on its knees I'd say.

So thanks for all those who contribute to the list and to its moderators
(and I appreciate that, for all those who slag off left academics
(like me in my bitterer moments)) that this list was initiated
and supported by left academics.

3 cheers for the strugglers of the mind -

will brown bristol england


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