Re: [Marxism] An open letter to our Cubaholic [was: Cuba policy as a U.S. domestic political issue]

[Louis Kontos <lkontos@xxxxxxx>]

Joaquin,
You are over-stating your point. Walter is not responsible for the problems you 
list. Let's move on.
Louis
 

On Sunday, September 21, 2008, at 02:25PM, "Joaquin Bustelo" 
<jbustelo@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>Fred Feldman writes: "What is a Cubaholic? I don't know exactly.  At any
>rate, it sounds like something I need to add to the list of my addictions --
>and with a lot more pride than some others."
>
>I'm not going to take up the rest of Fred's points. But I think this one is
>worth taking up.
>
>"Supporting" foreign revolutions played a most negative role in the
>degeneration of the SWP from 1978 on. Mindless cheerleading for the "three
>giants of the Caribbean" --Cuba, Grenada and Nicaragua-- was the opium of
>the cadre, distracting them from what SHOULD have held their attention,
>which was the way the SWP was losing hundreds of people and becoming
>completely isolated by staying outside such progressive social and protest
>movements as existed. 
>
>This was complimented by goofy theoretical/historical debates with little
>real current content or meaning. Were some of Trotsky's formulations around
>Permanent Revolution and China off? Sure, but none as extreme as things
>Fidel and Che were wont to say in the 60's: "there are no more changes to be
>made: either socialist revolution or caricature of revolution."
>
>Because of the latter-day Trotskyists' fetish around reifications like
>"revolutionary continuity," "correct theory," and "correct program," these
>debates consumed an enormous amount of time and focus and produced very
>little in the way of theoretical or political education, but mostly what
>they did was divert attention away from pressing and immediate problems.
>
>You can see a more current example of the same sort of thing in the crazy
>goings-on in the RCP about institutionalizing the Avakian cult.
>
>Joaquin
>
>
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