Re: A defense worse than the deed

[Louis N Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On Wed, 24 Jul 1996, hariette spierings wrote:
>
> The question is now, in this list, which is the central political question?
> The reason to have this debate is because Hugh Rodwell, Malecki et all,
> assert of view of history which is totally anti-proletarian and fits like a
> glove the point of view of the class enemy, particularly Anglo-American
> Imperialism.  They do that day in and day out - ranting against "Stalin and
> Stalinism" every two sentences and for the most unrelated purposes.  I do
> not have to refer you to the archives because I am sure you must be just as
> fed up as anyone else with those mantras.
>

Louis: I just don't agree. I actually think that Matt D. had a point when
he said what was necessary was an examination of current-day problems
about which Trotskyism has very little to say. You yourself made the same
point when we had our "debate". You said that a discussion of the current
situation rather than what happened in Shanghai in the 1920s would make
more sense.

I actually raised a series of questions about the problem of proletarian
revolution in the current period in the context of the collapse of the
USSR and the political retreat of revolutionary regimes in general.

We got sidetracked into a discussion of "state capitalism" when Adam Rose
said the problems of socialism in Cuba are actually the problems of
capitalism.

I hear much too much from Hugh Rodwell each day and I don't want to give
him an excuse to hold forth any more than he does currently. (By the way,
pay close attention: This weekend I am posting an analysis of the nature
of Cuban communism and the legacy of Che Guevara. For all of his bluster
about "Stalinism" in Cuba, he will not have the intellectual or political
means to reply to me.)



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