Re: [Marxism] re: Bush's approval rating at all-time low

[Jim Farmelant <farmelantj@xxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, 27 Jan 2006 11:14:32 -0500 Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx> writes:
> Junaid wrote:
> >Well let's see, from the polls we see the biggest plurality by far
> is of
> >the "stay in Iraq forever" type at 40%. And a majority supports
> less civil
> >liberties as well as a military attack on Iran. Nice...you know,
> there is
> >a reason the Democrats don't adopt any of our socialist positions.
> If they
> >did, the American people would hand them their ass on a plate for
> the next
> >12 years.
>



>
> This is far too pessimistic. 10s of thousands of workers are about
> to lose
> their jobs in auto. The economic contradictions of capitalism will
> do more
> to open peoples' minds than any leaflet. Let's have a little
> patience.

On the other hand Junaid has a point which we ignore
at our peril, which is that most Americans see themselves
as benefiting from US domination of other countries and
they have no qualms about the US doing whatever it has
to do to maintain that domination. This is certainly not
a new phenomena by any means. In fact this is something
that has been characteristic of the US since the very beginning.
The comparison of the US with Israel seems apt, since
both countries originated as settler states. I am sure
that if public opinion polling had existed in the 19th
century, we would have found overwhelming majorities
in favor of exterminating the American Indians. For that
matter, I don't think that there was too widespread
moral outrage over the dropping of atomic bombs
on Japan at the end of WW II.

You may recall that back during the time of the Vietnam
War, the antiwar movement found that it could get much
more mileage talking about the loss of American
lives over there than it did when it talked about the
loss of Vietnamese lives. In that sense the US is not
so different from pre-WW II Germany or Britain where
similar views were prevalent among the populace.
And you may wish to recall that back during WW I,
the SPD, the party which Marx & Engels had helped
to found, rallied, for the most part, behind the Kaiser
and the Fatherland, once hotilities broke out.
And in the US, it has been more common for progressive
movements to adapt to imperialism (and perhaps
to try to make it a bit more humane) than to oppose it.

It may well be the case that it will be the economic
contradictions of capitalism that will open people's
minds concerning imperialism. Certainly, I don't see
anything else that is likely to do the trick.



>
> --
>

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