Re: [Marxism] On the Democratic Party question

["Jeff Rubard" <jeffrubard@xxxxxxxxx>]

    From: "Joaquin Bustelo" <jbustelo@xxxxxxxxx>
    Subject: Re: [Marxism] On the Democratic Party question

    [...]

    Rather than prattle on about how he sticks to the "stodgy doctrines" of
Marx
    and Engels, Louis would do better to actually STUDY Marx and Engels and
    their METHOD. Might I recommend he begin with Engels's excellent
articles,
    The Communists and Karl Heinzen, from which the following is drawn:

    *  *  *

    Herr Heinzen

    "discerns the core of the communist doctrine simply in ... the abolition
of
    private property (including that earned through labour) and in the
principle
    of the communal utilisation of the earth's riches which follows
inescapably
    from that abolition."

    Herr Heinzen imagines communism is a certain *doctrine* which proceeds
from
    a definite theoretical principle as its core and draws further
conclusions
    from that. Herr Heinzen is very much mistaken. Communism is not a
doctrine
    but a *movement*; it proceeds not from principles but from *facts*.
    (*emphasis* in original.)

    *  *  *

Something of an aside, but this choice of polemic by Engels seems
slightly unfortunate, in that Karl Heinzen was later the co-author of
the 1854 "Louisville Platform" for radically transforming the
Democratic Party (a document that I understand had some influence on
the "black" Republicans). It seems to me that not much is going to get
done in terms of constructive engagement with major parties without
some kind of appropriation of such efforts; which would probably suit
a lot of people just fine, but impoverish the debate in historical as
well as pragmatic terms (as ignoring the material function of the DP
as a conduit for minority representation certainly would).

A total aside (that is, not addressed to Mr. Bustelo's comments): I
don't understand one aspect of enthusiasm for Green parties. There has
been a Green Party that polls well and has served in governments for
some time, in Germany, but for some reason I don't think people here
would be particularly enthusiastic about their track record on a lot
of things (particularly military adventures). Lenin was originally
mightily impressed by the SPD: but if the original model is by your
lights a failure, what is gained by imitating it (even with any
amount of "sharpening" of its positions)? This is not a rhetorical
question.

Jeff Rubard
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