Re: [Marxism] Iranian academic criticizes government policies

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Walter Lippmann wrote:
> Maljoo thinks that they have democracy in Iran, quite a positive
> assessment. He's worried about it's fate, but he thinks that they
> have democracy. That's my impression as well. At least as much of
> a democratic system as one can have under capitalism, which is a
> limited form, but at least Iran does have a democratic electoral
> system. The candidate who got the largest number of votes during
> the last election occupies the office of the presidency. 

Nobody has ever argued that Iran is a totalitarian dictatorship. There 
is, however, extra-legal repression directed against the workers, 
students, women and minorities--including murder and torture when the 
need arises. Turkey had the same kind of democracy under the Kemalists. 
So did Mexico under the PRI.

> Those who have any doubts about the threats to Iran, which might have
> some impact on the internal political life of that country, might want
> to consider a few sets of observations, ones not included in the essay
> by the Iranian cited on this list.

Here is Walter, once again, providing apologetics for repression. At 
least when CP'ers did this in 1938, they had the excuse that it was 
necessary to defend socialism. Why one would provide such services for a 
capitalist regime that is run by a veteran of the Pasdaran goon squads 
that ran amok beating up leftists on the campuses of Tehran is something 
of a mystery to me. I would call this crypto-Marcyism but at least Sam, 
like the CP, thought he was defending socialism when he supported 
Russian crushing the Hungarian revolt.


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