[Marxism] Michael Moore and Wesley Clark

["Craven, Jim" <JCraven@xxxxxxxxx>]

This will no doubt piss some people off, but I can understand why
self-described "radicals"--and even self-described "Marxists"--might
tactically hold their noses and support Clark--for some of the same
reasons the Chinese Communist Party under Mao tried to form four
separate alliances with the Kuomintang despite the fact that Kuomintang
were far more bent on destruction of Communists than Japanese
fascists--what was at stake versus the levels of development and
organization and numbers of Communist forces against what they were
standing up against.
 
There are self-described radicals for whom radical perspectives
constitute some kind of academic market niche or some kind of
intellectual exercise more than instruments of human liberation; some of
them are the kind that "love humanity" in the abstract but have not much
feeling and love for oppressed peoples in particular. Some of them are
theoretical purists, absolutists, dogmatists, sectarians or whatever;
its all some kind of parlor intellectual exercise with virulent debates
using cherry-picked quotes and "evidence" from cherry-picked
sources--only "acceptable" that they deem "acceptable"--are permissible
of course.
 
But many radicals are radicals, not exactly a great career move, because
they genuinely and deeply feel rage and pain at the sufferings of
oppressed peoples and have seen some of those sufferings of oppressed
peoples--and the conditions and policies that have produced them--up
close and personal. Marxism isn't just some kind of intellectual or
academic or parlor exercise for them, they have embraced radical thought
and action as the only vehicles possible for achieving real liberation
and a decent society. For some of them, realizing that the last election
was "stolen" even in bourgeois terms, realizing that already millions
have suffered horribly already and many millions more will suffer with
this psychopathic and very dumb preppy punk in the White House--beyond
anything the Dems could have produced or could likely produce--realizing
that Bush has signalled his intention to develop perhaps the full and
final development of fascism in the U.S. if he is re-selected, realizing
that even the bourgeois "checks-and-balances" that can sometimes be used
for tactical advantage are being destroyed by Bush and his minions,
hold their noses and say simply there is too much at stake, there are
too many ignorant, overfed and just plain dumb and selfish voters in the
U.S. likely to go for Bush, that removal of Bush is imperative at all
costs. Once they have come to that conclusion, given what rings the
typical bell of those swing voters that could make the difference, Clark
seems the best choice from a tactical view to unseat Bush--which is the
only thing they are concerned with right now. Some of them will argue
that this is no time for "the perfect to become the enemy of the good or
the imperative." They will argue that without any real viable left mass
movement at this time, with scattered sects all over the country
fighting with each other and asserting their theoretical and ideological
purity and correctness against each other, and with other left elements
to be found rather isolated in academia or on the net, ideological
purity and correctness may be satisfying (e.g. not even voting for Nader
in the last election), but it will not be the relatively
privileged--especally tenured--in academia that will suffer the most
real and most horrible costs and pain with Bush's re-selection by the
powers that be.
 
I suspect that this may be the conclusion Michael Moore has come to and
perhaps some of the reasons for coming to that conclusion. As for me,
well I plan to revisit Georgi Dimitrov's speech to the Third Communist
International on the building of the united front against fascism. 
 
 
Jim C
 
James M. Craven
Blackfoot Name: Omahkohkiaayo-i'poyi
Professor/Consultant,Economics;Business Division Chair
Clark College, 1800 E. McLoughlin Blvd.
Vancouver, WA. USA 98663
Tel: (360) 992-2283; Fax: (360) 992-2863
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~blkfoot5
Employer has no association with private/protected opinion
"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present
controls the past." (George Orwell)
"...every anticipation of results which are first to be proved seems
disturbing to me...(Karl Marx, "Grundrisse")
FREE LEONARD PELTIER!!
 
 
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