Re: [Marxism] zizek on tibet and china

["Paul Flewers" <rfls12802@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Re Ruthless Critic's comments, Paula's guess is right. I am not disparaging
bourgeois democracy in favour of authoritarianism. What I was trying to say
is that the liberals who have been trumpeting the irresistible rise and
eventual inexorable victory of liberal democracy are wrong on various
counts.

Firstly, the actual existence of liberal democracy has been honoured far
more in the breach than the implementation, even in countries whose rulers
pride themselves of their liberalism.

Secondly, the current situation of a large number of countries with
liberal-democratic political governance is predicated upon the low level of
social tensions. Any rise of social tensions could see a return to military
coups and repressive governments.

Thirdly, the world's rising power, China, is not going to liberalise beyond
a certain point, and is most unlikely to give any real concessions to the
working class unless it is forced by the workers to do so (a bit like
Britain 100 years back).

Fourthly, the 'defence of democracy' will be a leading watchword for the USA
and its allies in the forthcoming rivalry with China; but this, as in the
McCarthy period, will be accompanied by restrictions upon democratic rights
in the USA, Britain, etc. There is a vast amount of hypocrisy in this
'defence', just as there was during the Cold War.

My feeling about bourgeois democracy is that its provisions must be
defended, however much they are deficient compared to what is required for a
genuinely just society, and that the main threat to democratic rights in
Britain (where I live) is posed by our own ruling class, whether it used the
question of war as in 1914-18 and 1939-45, the Cold War's Soviet 'threat',
or the question of Islamicist extremists today.

Paul F




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