Re: Re: The coup in Belgrade

[Chris Burford <cburford@xxxxxxxxxx>]

At 20:22 08/10/00 -0400, you wrote:
> >Change is usually the result of a dialectical combination of internal and
> >external factors.
> >
> >Chris Burford
>
> Watch out for that dialectics stuff. It was what led to the Moscow trials
> and the murder of Andres Nin.
>
> Louis Proyect
> Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org/


Non-sequitur? Deliberate? Unless Louis Proyect considers that we should be
wary of all dialectical approaches because of a certain analysis of the
events of the 30's.

The issue was whether there were any internal causes to the fall of
Milosevic. I am sure Proyect really does not deny that, but in a serious
debate, it is not enough to look at just one aspect. Emphasising only
external interference, (which after all has been going on for 50 years)
does not get to the critical internal causes of the sudden change.

Whether anti-communists described the Yugoslav regime inaccurately as
communist, is almost irrelevant to the issue of whether the compromises
between socialism and market forces left a picture of oligarch or crony
capitalism rather than at least a national capital mixed with cooperatives
under overall socialist coordination.

The break up of the authority of the police and army, and the extent of
their dialogue with the opposition are clearly important details.
Late-breaking information about the planned storming of the Parliament
building by the contingent from Cacak fits in to these.

If anyone wants to discuss dialectics and the Moscow trials, I suggest they
start a new thread title, subject to Michael's benign approval.

If the owner of the Marxism List thinks that "dialectics stuff" is
dangerous, that would be an interesting and important thread in its own
right and we might all learn from it.

Chris Burford

London