tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062509833711600070.post8748948869438601251..comments2024-01-19T04:00:42.885-05:00Comments on Permanent Revolution: Impressions from Occupy Wall StreetAlex Steinerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09128453587484101609noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062509833711600070.post-58489211832514139252011-10-18T16:42:51.404-04:002011-10-18T16:42:51.404-04:00It is absolutely correct that “we must start with ...It is absolutely correct that “we must start with the reality that has been given to us”. The growth of the Occupation movement internationally is cause for great optimism that the working class is finding its way back to the fight for socialism. There is no need for pessimism in spite of the weaknesses of the Occupation movement.<br /><br />However, the past lives in the present. The Marxist movement in particular must learn the lessons of the past period if we are to give leadership to this movement. We must be careful not to adopt the pragmatic mantra of the Obama administration and all levels of the decaying capitalist state that we must “look forward, not back”. This method is being promoted to cover the crimes of the Bush administration and the U.S. military and the vast corruption that exists in the corporations, banks, and all levels of government.<br /><br />As adherents to historical materialism, Marxists must examine the past in all of its contradictions, including the role of Marxists in the past period, and learn the lessons of history.TomBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04735918515440988899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062509833711600070.post-75592353467573515222011-10-18T02:58:22.273-04:002011-10-18T02:58:22.273-04:00Tom B. wrote,
"It is a tragedy that there is...Tom B. wrote,<br /><br />"It is a tragedy that there is no Marxist movement in the United States which has been fighting for the method which is Marxism..."<br /><br />One might as well say that it is a tragedy that Anthony was defeated in the battle of Actium or that Trotsky lost his factional battle against Stalin. History is full of such tragedies. Hegel called the vicissitudes of history a "slaughterbench". It is what it is and we must start with the reality that has been given to us, without any illusions. Yet in spite of these ups and downs, there is a certain logic discernible in the historical process. <br /><br />Those who wish to make history must avoid on the one hand, wishful thinking - the illusion that the conditions we have inherited are somehow other than they are. But the flip side of wishful thinking is equally pernicious - bowing down before the accomplished fact - the idea that we are trapped by the tragedies that have befallen us. <br /><br />The failure to build a revolutionary movement on American soil in the past does not mean that it cannot be done. And the demise of all those claiming to represent those revolutionary traditions just means that this is still a project to be fulfilled. The OWS movement, for all its contradictions, poses a challenge to those of us who have fought for the socialist future of mankind. The challenge cannot be met by either adapting to the political confusion of the OWS movement nor by presenting ultimatums to the protesters. Instead we must find the bridge between where they are and the objective requirements of the situation. That is the task.Alex Steinerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09128453587484101609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062509833711600070.post-72699818107812809152011-10-18T00:05:03.671-04:002011-10-18T00:05:03.671-04:00The economic crisis is throwing many people into t...The economic crisis is throwing many people into the streets (literally). The vast majority of the people involved in the Occupation are college students who face a future of debt slavery and low paying jobs or unemployment. They are very clear that their plight is a class question.<br /><br />The great weakness of the Occupations around the country is the lack of a program. This leaves them vulnerable to forces detrimental to their cause. In particular, those who follow the theories of anarchism have played a key role in the occupation. The anarchists seek to draw this movement into attacks on symbols of the state but have no interest in a mass mobilization against the capitalist state. They can lead the occupations into a dangerous place where they can be led into actions which will only strengthen the state. (Study the history of the First International and Marx’s fight against the anarchist Bakunin and his secret Alliance of Social Democracy which sought to disrupt and take over the First International.)<br /><br />It is a tragedy that there is no Marxist movement in the United States which has been fighting for the method which is Marxism, dialectical materialism, for the past twenty years. As a result, this mass movement is dominated by the ideology of the ruling elite, pragmatism. This can only leave them disorganized and leaderless.<br /><br />This occupation may be a bitter lesson for the working class. It will also be a bitter lesson for those claiming to be Marxists. If the occupiers had been educated about the history of the workers movement, in particular in a broad, persistent education in the history of Trotsky’s struggle against Stalinism, this movement would have a clearer path.TomBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04735918515440988899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062509833711600070.post-41672261105070565872011-10-17T10:14:45.913-04:002011-10-17T10:14:45.913-04:00@Phill G.: The steps you list may strengthen the O...@Phill G.: The steps you list may strengthen the Occupy movement. But how do you propose that they get over their "New Left" prejudices? The structure of the protests themselves, along with the zeitgeist of conflating Marxism with Stalinism, make it very difficult for the majority of the protestors to pay attention to what Trotskyists are prescribing on a blog. Despite recent scholarship, we have not even been able to settle the question of what happened at Kronstadt without enduring thousands of high-pitched screams from this so-called "New Left".<br /><br />What is needed is sorely lacking: A revolutionary party of our own to intervene on behalf of the working class, that is equipped to fight against the "New Left" prejudices and the right wing. Or since we lack a party, we could have organized efforts to recruit members to this effect. Time is running short. After all, the class struggle waits for no one; the actions that the police have taken against the protestors has proven that. While the SEP dallies about with journalism and nothing else, we should take steps to oppose them and win the working class as soon as possible.<br /><br />Admittedly, I do not know how we should do that, either. I simply don't see the protests achieving any lasting success precisely because it is disorganized, politically motley, and reformist most of all. My only question is this: Besides simply reporting on and providing advice to this movement, are we really doing all we can?Thomas Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06160437331705650542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062509833711600070.post-44065742306737447232011-10-15T11:04:42.472-04:002011-10-15T11:04:42.472-04:00This comment has been removed by the author.TomBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04735918515440988899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062509833711600070.post-38915140593425528942011-10-13T02:56:28.581-04:002011-10-13T02:56:28.581-04:00Lots of the protesters are demanding "respons...Lots of the protesters are demanding "responsible and accountable rule." They want to be ruled over by a state, but they want the state to "represent the will of the people, and not the rich minority." (As an aside, this, of course, was a basic tenet of fascist populism, along with the call to go beyond "the left/right paradigm.") There have also been reports that some demonstrators have held up signs lambasting "Jewish bankers" but they were told to leave by a majority of demonstrators. <br /><br />As for me, you won't see me begging to the rulers be ruled over, to create more jobs, to tax the rich or any other nonsense. Capitalism has got to go.<br /><br />So, to put some of this as concisely as possible, I would say that the protesters need to get over the atavisms of the new left, specifically the prejudices against organization, leadership, a coherent revolutionary program. A few small steps that I would approve: they need to start a differentiation process against right-wing elements, particularly the democrats and the supporters of Ron Paul.Phill G.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062509833711600070.post-37910699379550597262011-10-13T02:56:03.174-04:002011-10-13T02:56:03.174-04:00However, despite some of the more radical and accu...However, despite some of the more radical and accurate slogans and signs being put up by the most far-sighted and revolutionary minorities at the demonstrations, my opinion is that most of the "demands," slogans, and claims are misled and false. For instance, many people in the movement see themselves as rallying against "greed" as if it were the moral failings of those at the top of the food chain that causes poverty, war, environmental destruction, and so on-- rather than the normal *social relations* and *economic purposes* of capitalism. This populism smacks of petty moralizing, and because many of the protesters are convinced that it's a matter of "values" and "morals" they already have their false, simplistic explanations about why things are the way they are. If one thinks that "Greed" (as many Christians do) is the cause of poverty in the modern world, then they are mistaken. They will believe that this system can be reformed if only those financial speculators who are "Greedy" (i.e. they want the money they have to turn into more money) find Buddha. Of course, the protesters don't seem to mention that this basic principle of capitalism is also at work in the "real economy" (as opposed to the finance industry) and even the small, local businesses that are held in high regard.<br /><br />Many of the protesters identify as libertarians (followers of Ron Paul and Ayn Rand), and they are idealists of the status quo (that is, they take their ideals from this form of society). These types are reactionary because they don't want to abolish capitalism and replace it with an economy that actually has the purpose of meeting human needs. Rather, they want to return to this invented golden era of small, local competition in a "true free market." They are convinced that the reason why all the social ills people are protesting happen because the "state has intervened in the economy on the side of the bad banks and corporations." They think that most of the social ills are caused because "the government abolished the gold standard." So, they want to abolish fiat money and the federal reserve and bring back the gold standard-- they have nothing against exchange-value and it doesn't seem coherent to them to advocate a planned economy that produces direct use-values to meet human needs. A lot of these libertarians are also claiming that that the occupy movement "represents the true aspirations of the Tea Party" and they think we need to go back to the original principles of the "constitution."<br /><br />These libertarian arguments are completely idiotic and incoherent.<br /><br />Going back to the first point I made (about classes), most of the protesters slogans and demands aren't against this form of society or even the fact that there are classes. Take the slogan, "tax the rich." This slogan implies that it's okay for there to be super wealthy people as long as the State takes some of their wealth and distributes it. As an article I posted below states, 'Not just the rich and powerful, but even the poor and dependent appear in the “new system” in their old roles again. All the economic principles that hold sway in capitalism, and all the social roles this system generates are apparently held in high esteem.'Phill G.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062509833711600070.post-91046580980634274972011-10-13T02:54:29.990-04:002011-10-13T02:54:29.990-04:00This is a very thoughtful piece. It seems to me th...This is a very thoughtful piece. It seems to me that the New York protests have been the most radical thus far. <br /><br />I've been paying attention to the Pittsburgh and Cleveland groups. Things are not so radical there. I wrote down some thoughts earlier, which at points touch on similar topics, although at others they diverge. Here's what I wrote earlier today to a friend who asked me what I thought:<br /><br />I'll start with the positives. It's good that many of the protesters can admit certain basic, obvious truths like the fact that there are deep, entrenched class differences. For a long time, it was a false cliché to claim that in America "everyone is middle class" and that if one wanted to they "could get rich by hard work." Of course these are confused sentiments, not to mention that they are vague and abstract.<br /><br />But, on the other hand, stating a fact is not an explanation. Of course there is massive disparity in wealth, war, poverty, joblessness, police violence, and so on. What is important is being able to explain why these negative facts that everyone laments occur in the first place.<br /><br />This is where the problems arise. These "social ills" must be conceptualized and explained properly if their causes are to be known. Once we understand the valid causes of these "evils" then the conditions that give rise to the "evils" can be removed, and better conditions can be established. However, not too many demonstrators are interested in this. They have a relativistic attitude that sees it as positive that "I believe one thing, you another, and she yet another."<br /><br />It's also good that there are some socialists, anarchists, and communists present. But the whole consensus shit seems to ensure that their voices will be drowned out. The whole anti-leader thing could perhaps work in small groups where there is already clarity and agreement on a political program, tactics, and understanding of how this society works. People are saying "we are all leaders." Some Marxists groups are like this: but it's a different matter when one has been steeled in the fire of rigorous cadre training and equipped intellectually with the tools of Marxism. But for the protest movement now, it is going to be a bad move.<br /><br />But a deep understanding of marxism is certainly not the case with this movement. It prides itself on having the most contradictory, inchoate demands. They supposedly defend pluralism, but in the next gasp of air they also explain how unity is the highest goal and political criticism is to be kept out because that divides the group. What results is a lowest common denominator politics that gets things wrong because it assumes the people are stupid and can't grasp what is true, even if it's a bit complicated.<br />.Phill G.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2062509833711600070.post-25451523927174820312011-10-10T23:43:04.010-04:002011-10-10T23:43:04.010-04:00Alex His article is brilliant. Clap, supports the ...Alex His article is brilliant. Clap, supports the occupation of Wall Street despite its limitations and to present a minimum program for mobilized. Write a description sufficient vigorous mobilization of the poor in America against the Wall Street financial machine, their dreams and bold but naive conceptions. What is happening now in America-although not yet a revolution, perhaps the start of it. Dust comes to making the idea that U.S. workers and the poor do not fight the system or against the capitalists. Those who have lived close to and have participated in similar demonstrations, we can safely set the picture of the political vacuum, though, by contrast, has a courage and revolutionary imagination in action - that accompanies such developments. Is repeated in another context, what happens in the world today between boldness and certainty without the name of scientific and technological revolution and miserable poverty and uncertain social and philosophical conceptions. It reveals how the working class and masses of the world are forced to repeat practices, ideals and organization that were defeated or doomed to failure. Since the Argentine piqueteros to the assembly and outlaws in Ecuador, through the "unworthy" of Spain, there is a common hatred of all politics, is fleeing the nomination of even a temporary policy, attack any possibility of leadership, believe in the absolute spontaneity of movement and realizing the ideals of "justice", "democracy", even "real equality" in the short term, since. Not that we are against a revolution to meet within days, but no direction, no politics on a scale comparable to the deep crisis of capitalism that bends, it is possible to obtain the fulfillment of ideals of true equality and eliminate the cause no name of misfortune suffered by the poor and the working class internationally.Antonio Baluartenoreply@blogger.com