Re: Feedback from Leo Panitch, plus my reply

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Justin Schwartz:
> I don't even know what these labels mean any more. Do you mean that he's
> not really opposed to capitalism, he just wants a nicer version if it,
> while you are realy really opposed to it, but not in the bad
> marxist-Leninist way? This sort of sterile chitchat is part of why I don't
> thing it's useful to use the old labels. The glue is worn off and they
> won't stick; they don't tell us anything useful. Leo will certainly tell
> you that he is utterly opposed to capitalism and considers himself to be a
> pretty classical Marxist (whatever that means). I think that it is more
> useful and explanatory to talk about concrete views and arguments than to
> try to find the right magic words. jks

I think the fact that SR has never had a single article about Cuba in the
thirteen years that I have been reading it, plus I suspect the preceding 26
years indicates that they are interested in the idea of socialism, but not
particularly in the living struggles of people to construct just such a
system. Nor did they take any particular interest in the Sandinista
revolution, or the Central American revolution in general which was one of
the most significant challenges to capitalism in the past 20 years or so.
Except for a couple of articles by Carlos Vilas who tends to useful but
ultimately bloodless analytics of the region, one could not learn much
about struggles that had more to do with socialism than a ton of other
articles about socialism in general. Anyhow, that's my opinion.



Louis Proyect, Marxism mailing list: http://www.marxmail.org