INTELLEGENTSIA

["Karl Carlile" <joseph@xxxxxxxxx>]

Karl writes:

Under capitalism it is not possible for "every worker to become an
intellectual and
every intellectual to become a worker." It is very doubtful that a
worker suffering from severe Downs Syndrome cann become an intellectual.

This notion of intellectuals having independence of thought is  petit
bourgeois
and has nothing to do with marxism. There is no such thing as
independence
of thought. All thought is grounded in class.

Rahul discusses  intellectuals and workers in an abstract way. He does
not seem to
understand that there is a distinction between fascist and marxist
intellectuals. In his  message he never makes it clear  whether he sees
any
role for a marxist party in the transformation  of the labour movement
into a
revolutionary proletarian movement . Neither does he explain what he
means
by workers leading themselves.


                                                                 Yours
etc.,

Karl Carlile


The above is a reply to the following message of Rahu's:

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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