Re: Reply to Rahul Mahajan's comment on intellectuals & populace.

[rahul@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Rahul Mahajan)]

>   Very interesting and troubling topic--if workers need intellectuals to
>bring them theory and political knowledge, how is self-emancipation
>possible for workers?  I was recently reading Alvin Gouldner's book The
>Future of Intellectuals and the New Class; it has focussed this
>question for me, but provided no answers beyond G.'s closing observation
>that although radical intellectuals do constitute a class of their own,
>with their own interests, whether they admit it or not, on the whole
>they (we) are a progressive force anyway, provided we're modest &
>self-critical enough.
>       Is anybody else interested in this topic, or in Gouldner's book?
>Has the list carried this sort of discussion in the past? (I'm brand new
>to the list , and to the e-mail biz.)
>                                              red regards to all,
>                                                        Ed Dupree

I don't recall the comment you're referring to. It's clear that workers
need intellectuals for both theory and political knowledge, although
nothing precludes some of those intellectuals from being workers
themselves. This need not interfered with self-emancipation of the workers
as long as we explicitly disavow the old Leninist paradigm (in fact, if not
in rhetoric) of the intellectuals as the leaders and the workers as the
followers. Nor, on the other hand, do we want the uncritical subordination
of the intellectuals to the workers, as so many on this list seem to favor.
In the long run, we want every worker to become an intellectual and every
intellectual to become a worker. In the short run, intellectuals must be
organically connected to workers' movements while maintaining independence
of thought, but workers must lead themselves. This is closely related to
the question of political hierarchy in a revolutionary movement, which is a
much more troubling problem than many Marxists seem to think.

Rahul




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