Re: Barnes Loses It

[David Welch <welch@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Thu, Oct 25, 2001 at 07:45:58PM +0000, Ellie Marx wrote:
> Now, Barnes tells us, it goes against our very psychology as human
> beings to grieve for others.
>
I don't hold any brief for the US SWP but I think the article makes a
reasonable point. Of course a certain amount of anger and sorrow over the
pointless loss of human life is understandable but to literally *grieve*
for people who were killed in the WTC (in other words to experience their
deaths as those of someone you knew personally) is not, and in fact as a
psychological and social response is profoundly unhealthy. As Jack Barnes
rightly points, take to its limit and given the size of the human
population such an attitude would be totally paralyzing. Comrade Marx
argues that the situation following the attacks is a good opportunity to
discuss anti-imperialism but this already implies a certain distance from
the emotional reaction; after all I suspect even the hardest communists
wouldn't attempt to comfort someone who had lost a partner on September
11th by giving a speech on the crimes of imperialism.

Where I think the article falls down is by claiming that this is part of a
conscious strategy by the bourgeoisie; in fact if anything the slowdown in
economic life caused by the WTC attacks has been very damaging to their
interests.


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