Re: [Marxism] Re: A clarification on Peronism, Zionism and Socialism

[rrubinelli <rrubinelli@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Lueko Willms <l.willms@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Apr 8, 2005 10:00 AM
To: marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [Marxism] Re: A clarification on Peronism, Zionism and Socialism



   I very much like a remark which Trotsky made in one of his articles
calling the Communist Party of Germany to a united-front strategy
against the rise of the fascist menace:

   "The interests of a nation can only be expressed as the interests
of the ruling class or the class aspiring to rule."

   In a colonial situation, or more generally, the situation of an
oppressed nation or nationality, the working classes and the
propertied classes share, at least objectively, a common interest,
i.e. to free the nation of foreign oppression and foreign
interference, so that it can develop moved by that nations _own_
forces and ... struggles.
_____________________


Trotsky certainly made the comment about a united-front, a class specific,
class defined alliance.  He never said anything remotely resembling Lueko's
"extrapolation," regarding common, cross-class interests.  Trotsky was
consistently opposed to obscuring the class differentiation between bourgeoisie,
national or international, and the working class.

And besides, what Trotsky said or didn't say isn't the issue.  We should be able
to derive these things ourselves, anew if necessary, from a concrete analysis
of the relations of capital.

There hasn't been any commonality of interest between bourgeoisie and
proletariat anywhere since, oh say around 1871.  Even before that, the nascent
bourgeoisie of colonized areas proved themselves incapable of articulating and
executing a program against "foreign domination," precisely because that 
domination
was the domination of capital, of the very private property that fed them, even 
if
on limited rations.

The history of the Philippines in both 19th and 20th centuries, and the past, 
present,
and future of Venezuela makes that perfectly clear, and painfully too.

rr.

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