Kautskyist Politics (was Foster responds)

[Yoshie Furuhashi <furuhashi.1@xxxxxxx>]

> Nothing really offends me except Kautskyist politics.
>
> Louis Proyect

I'm sympathetic to your sensibility here, but you can't fight against
"Kautskyist politics" by declaiming that "Aztec Mexico was a better
place to live for its average inhabitant than Mexico City today."
Instead, what it takes is to build back socialism as a political
movement in which masses of people participate, here & elsewhere,
with allegiance to the principle of anti-imperialism.  It is TINA
that makes many -- including those on the Left -- call for UN and/or
even NATO interventions when conflicts flare up.  That is not just
because of skillful media manipulation from above (though that is not
to be underestimated).  That is because with the decline of socialism
many well-meaning people -- say, the kind of young people attracted
to ETAN, Amnesty International, & the like -- do not see any
practical (not just theoretical) possibility for self-emancipation --
hence the idea that human rights can & must be enforced by armed
forces of the UN and/or NATO to which they see no alternative.  In
the absence of a practical alternative, it is no wonder that even
such excellent leftists as Michael Keaney -- no fan of Hardt &
Negri's Empire at all -- concludes that "Gareth Evans is a major
improvement on General Wiranto," though I continue to disagree with
him.

At 12:19 PM +0300 6/28/01, Keaney Michael wrote:
> Louis continues:
>
> > The only answer really is to overthrow the US government and send all the
> > criminals like Clinton, Bush Sr. and Jr. to prison. That's how world peace
> > will be achieved, not by providing left apologetics for their criminal
> > behavior.
>
> Absolutely true, but, let's face it, a distant dream, however noble. At
> least many East Timorese can now live to fight another day.
>
> Michael K.

When we have a serious challenge to Michael Keaney's pragmatic
conclusion, we can put an end to "Kautskyist politics" in reality.
And the challenge is not serious unless it is practical.  Besides, if
there were a practical socialist alternative on the ground to what
happened, Michael would no doubt support it.

Yoshie