Re: [Marxism] Alan Woods versus James Petras

[Waistline2@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 6/26/2009 8:31:51 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, 
_Jscotlive@xxxxxxxx (mailto:Jscotlive@xxxxxxx)  writes: 
 
> Either I've suddenly lost the ability to read English or Petras  doesn't 
repeat that at all. Reading the passage again, I believe it's the  latter. 
What he does do, legitimately, is state that everyone on the side of  
imperialism,  including it seems, some 'Lefts', have joined in a chorus of  
hailing 
the protests as the vanguard of a democratic revolution. 
 
Please explain where in the Petras quote above you refer to he suggests  
that the protests in Iran are organized by imperialism. After you're unable  
to,  kindly apologise for smearing the man's reputation.<
 
Comment 
 
The article in question was written by Alan Wood, which I read twice. Also  
read the Petra's article three times and I concur with the above. Petras  
critique of the imperialist left wing is its immaturity and political  
backwardness. The "left" is to immature to duck the issue of the Iranian  
elections, which is none of their business in the first place, and  under the 
banner 
of democracy joint lockstep with the American imperialist  bourgeoisie. 
 
Iran is not in need of a democratic revolution. Iran faces proletarian  
revolution. The era of the democratic revolution is long gone. The October  
Revolution closed off this political period of history, although the capitalist 
 in the colonial world saw things different. The victory of the Vietnamese  
Revolution brought the period of the National-Colonial Revolution to its 
end.  Iran is no feudal society in its mode of production. The Iranian state 
is a  bourgeois state and bourgeois property relations is the primary form of 
 property. The political struggle within the bourgeois state - all 
bourgeois  states . . . all the time, unfolds over the different classes share 
of 
the  social product and for political liberty. Fighting for political liberty 
does  not translate in the need for a Democratic Revolution. 
 
Petras does in fact present a broad and general analysis of the class  
forces involved in the Iranian election. I still have zero opinion about  
election in countries outside the US state. SHutting up has its benefits.  
Specially, what Petras writes about is the role of the economic and  political 
middle, as classes, versus the rural and lowest sections of the  proletariat. 
Then he briefly speaks of a middle section of the proletariat  connected to 
petroleum extraction and production. Here is how Petas sums up his  argument 
about class relations and policy differences within the Iranian state -  a 
bourgeois state, and Iranian capitalism. 
 
"The only group, which consistently favored Mousavi, was the university  
students and graduates, business owners and the upper middle class. The 
âyouth 
 voteâ, which the Western media praised as âpro-reformistâ, was a clear 
minority  of less than 30% but came from a highly privileged, vocal and 
largely English  speaking group with a monopoly on the Western media. Their 
overwhelming presence  in the Western news reports created what has been 
referred 
to as the âNorth  Tehran Syndromeâ, for the comfortable upper class enclave 
from which many of  these students come. While they may be articulate, well 
dressed and fluent in  English, they were soundly out-voted in the secrecy 
of the ballot box. 
 
In general, Ahmadinejad did very well in the oil and chemical producing  
provinces. This may have be a reflection of the oil workersâ opposition to 
the 
 âreformistâ program, which included proposals to âprivatizeâ public 
enterprises.  Likewise, the incumbent did very well along the border provinces 
because of his  emphasis on strengthening national security from US and 
Israeli threats in light  of an escalation of US-sponsored cross-border 
terrorist 
attacks from Pakistan  and Israeli-backed incursions from Iraqi Kurdistan, 
which have killed scores of  Iranian citizens. Sponsorship and massive 
funding of the groups behind these  attacks is an official policy of the US 
from 
the Bush Administration, which has  not been repudiated by President Obama; 
in fact it has escalated in the lead-up  to the elections." 
 
 "âprivatizeâ public enterprises"means one is dealing with capitalism  or 
the bourgeois property relations. 
 
Alan woods article actually presents a blueprint of what the Iranian  
working class should do. The imperialist arrogance of Alan Wood is only matched 
 
by his shallowness.  
 
WL. 
 
 
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