Re: [Marxism] Two important articles on Iran

[Eli Stephens <elishastephens@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Louis: "Young people coming around the radical movement  despise dictatorships, 
even if the dictatorships are hated by the USA.  That is the reason that the 
ISO has become so large and so influential,  even if they get the Cuba question 
wrong. They don't fudge on this question."

As an aside, labeling Iran a "dictatorship" is simply counter-factual. Full 
stop.

As for the ISO, yes, it's always easier to associate yourself with non-existent 
things, rather than existing ones with imperfections, be they socialist or 
bourgeois-nationalist. It's what I call the "cooties theory":

http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/marxism/2007w47/msg00158.htm

"They don't want to associate with someone with cooties, lest their perfect 
(and perfectly imaginary) brand of socialism catch a case."

No doubt it is more difficult to defend the imperfect than the imaginary. And 
no doubt it is easy to denounce someone as "Manichean." But if you don't see 
imperialism, most prominently U.S. imperialism, as the main force holding back 
the liberation of the working class worldwide, then you have your eyes closed. 
Until that force is removed, focusing on the imperfections of those resisting 
it serves in practice to *strengthen* imperialism, not to weaken it.


Eli Stephens
 Left I on the News
 http://lefti.blogspot.com


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