RE: [Marxism] It's those damn petty-bourgeois at it again!

["Callum McCormick" <kingcal78@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> I am most intrigued by this "clear fact" since it is neither factual nor
> clear. What does it mean to say the revolution was brought about by
> "petty-bourgeois?" This is the asinane Trotskyist formulation that is the
> equivalent of an infant spitting out his peas in the Gerber food formula.
> Anything you don't like for any reason is castigated as "petty-bourgeois."

The leading figures in the movement were all from middle class backgrounds,
but that's not the main issue. Che and Castro repeatedly restated the
essentially Maoist position that as long as you have a dedicated group of
trained guerilla fighters, you can make the revolution in a country. That is
a petty-bourgeois position because it arises from the view that you don't
need the workers to make socialism. All you need is some highminded
revolutionary heroes to kill the bad guys and then make socialism. Now,
anyone who knows the first thing about Marxism knows the problems with that
view. I mean, are you going to launch a serious defense of the revolution
and show us how it was socialist, or are you just going to use ad hominem
"dirty Trot" jibes?

"What fucking struggles? You would think Castro beat off a great proletarian
revolutionary uprising with a broomstick to cease power all for himself and
his little latte-sipping "middle-class" buddies."

That's not far from the truth. There were big Cuban Trade Union struggles
against Batista, but Castro just wasn't interested. He tried to call a
couple of strikes when it was militarily and politically expedient to do so,
 but most of the time he told the masses to stay in their homes and wait
for his arrival - this is 'men making their own history'.

"What does it mean to say the regime maintains a "middle class character?"
It drinks Starbucks instead of Dunkin Donuts? What classes is it in the
middle of, exactly? Does that statement even have any meeting at all? "

As I've explained, it's material basis is that of middle class fighters with
middle class ideas. It's not possible from that basis to create a workers'
state. It is possible to create what they have done, which is a form of
welfare state capitalism, with the Beard in charge, just like he was in '59.
The fact that he's able to fool you by shouting 'socialism' when it suits
him to do so is your own problem.

Callum.



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