RE: Marx versus Engels?

["Jose G. Perez" <jgperez@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Mark suggests that Engels "probably was at the age where subtleties
become easier to sacrifice."

I think it is a tremendous disservice to denigrate Engels's
contributions, and most of all his political insights, in his later
years, and his practical work in drawing together the second
international.

And they have a great deal of importance for us. The world of the 1880's
and early 90's was much closer to our own epoch and some key features of
the imperialist stage of capitalism and its political consequences were
becoming clear. 

Scattered in letters and articles of those years are observations that
are very useful in learning to apply Marxism, because they provide an
unquestioned authoritative bridge between the manifesto and later
conditions. 

Among these things is the UNimportance of "program" (measures and
demands) in their view, and the importance of movement.

But most of all there has been this tendency to view M&E as *academics*
rather than *political activists.*  I believe, for example, it is
impossible to understand the Manifesto without understanding what it was
for, what was accomplished in the 3 or 4 year battle of ideas that
culminated with its publication. I also believe if you don't go past
there and understand what happened NEXT, which was, literally, only a
few weeks later, the *dissolution* of the Communist League and the
founding of a daily paper under Marx's editorship, and why that paper
was NOT a Communist organ but an organ of Democracy, you're not really
going to understand the Manifesto, not as THEY understood it.

José



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