RE: [Marxism] Genocide and intentionality

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I agree with Mark about the obscure academics, although I am not sure
that the real lesson isn't the difficulty of deciding on rules, besides
the very broad ones that exist, about what list members can discuss.

I'm not sure what will come of trying to restrict the SWP discussion on
the list, even though my own interests have begun to turn more sharply
elsewhere. And I'm not sure that we should knock ourselves off trying to
limit the discussion of the academic odds and ends that often attract
Louis.  Really, its not excluded that some useful discussion can take
place over the ideas of inherently unimportant academics.

I tend to agree that the SWP may actually have more "social weight" than
some of these groups, since it still claims to be building a political
organization in opposition to almost all the various perspectives on the
list, and also since 100 or so workers belong to it, some of them
genuine union activists (at least in spurts) who sometimes participate
in significant strikes, etc.

How do you compare this to the importance of a college professor? Well,
I'm not really recommending a social weight criterion for what should go
on the list.  I prefer to keep the criteria for limiting the discussion
on the list at their present place and not add any new restrictions.

Back in 1971, we were having a debate with some people who had what I
considered (and still consider) a workerist approach.  I have to say, I
learned a lot from them about workerism that I never forgot, which later
contributed to getting me kicked out of the Socialist Workers Party.
So Ralph Levitt et al, here's to you.

One of them, Tom C. who was heading for the Healyites for a time, once
declared at a branch meeting,
"One worker is worth a hundred petty-bourgeois students."

The thought popped into my mind, though I never said it: "Well, I'm sure
glad to know how many students I have to bring with me if I want to buy
a worker."
Fred Feldman


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