[Marxism] Anybody But Bismarck?

[andrew c pollack <andypollack@xxxxxxxx>]

Yesterday I read a truly wretched piece by Jordan & Brenner in Against
the Current justifying a vote for Kerry -- even urging that movement
activists campaign for Kerry while they "build" the movement! (I suppose
that would include putting up posters like the ones all over midtown
Manhattan today saying "Kerry: For a Stronger America" -- when what we
obviously need is a WEAKER imperialist U.S.)

But I digress.  The article (said by the editors to be a minority
position) got me thinking. By the logic of the ABB crowd, socialists in
parliaments/congresses who used to vote against military budgets in their
entiretly, always, and on principle, had it wrong. After all, if a
liberal party proposed a slightly smaller military budget, and if the
votes of socialist members threw the vote to the larger budget proposed
by conservatives, hadn't the socialists thus objectively voted for more
arms to kill more people?

Needless to say old Freddy never bought this logic. In an interview
Engels said: "We always vote against the Budget, and against any vote for
money or men for the Army. In constituencies where we have not had a
candidate to vote for on the second ballot, our supporters have been
instructed to vote only for those candidates who pledged to vote against
the Army Bill, any increased taxation, and any restriction on popular
rights."

The rest of the interview is also worth reading.  One, because after
explaining why he was proud of their voting against military budgets he
admitted that the lack of unity among liberal oppositionists meant the
budget would be passed and the short-term threat of war increased -- yet
that would not stop the progress being made by socialists in the fight
against war and capitalism. Two, because he explains:
We don't believe in permeating middle-class parties. We are permeating
the people.  We ran 391 candidates, and we refused to make terms with any
other party. Had we cared to do so, we might have had 20 or 30 more
seats, but we steadfastly set our faces against any compromise, and that
is what makes our position so strong. None of our men are pledged to
support any party or any measure excepting our own party programme....
But I am more proud of our defeats than our victories."

http://mural.uv.es/mesne/inteteng.html
Daily Chronicle Interviews Engels

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