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Michael writes: There are good reasons why the big majority of leftists from Trotskyist, semi-Trot (eg state-caps) and anarchist backgrounds have been fairly good on Syria. I'm not so sure, and I would like to hear what you think those reasons are. My research on Trotskyist groups on this question, which I admit is not exhaustive even in the English-writing world, leads me to believe that this poisonous trend crosses all sect boundaries. Among the US Trot & semi-Trot groups only the ISO is actually good and covers Syria consistently. Socialist Alternative, the sister group of the Socialist Party (UK) has a crappy position and does not cover the issue. Socialist Action is by far the worst I have come across, and it is the sentimental favorite of numerous former SWP-US members because it seems to resemble the pre-Barnes-cult SWP. SA's position is based on an extremely narrow reading of Permanent Revolution that goes more or less along the lines of "get a real working class and we'll talk." On the other hand, as Marxmail subscribers know, the Oakland Socialists have an excellent take on Syria despite having come from a Hoxhaite background. Hoxha, you may remember, attacked both China and Russia (then the Soviet Union) for insufficient Stalinism. On the third hand is the intermediate position of like Joanne Landy and Sam Farber who are clear on the crimes of Assad but cannot find anyone to support and would not send a pen knife to Syria. It is possible that I have mis-characterized something here, and, if so, my apologies. I'm not really up for this sort of excavation anymore unless it yields some immediate results. I would say "Go figure" except there is no one but us and a large bunch of Arabs who get this. Of the Not-Trotskyist type formations, I think that a history of looking for or at least accepting the idea of "Third Camp" makes it easier to see through to the actual Syrian Revolution. The Arab Spring has altered the world. It requires revolutionaries in the West to do more than try to apply lessons from the past. I am re-reading "Orientalism" to try to get a handle. Reading Wendy Pearlman's "We Crossed a Bridge and It Trembled -- Voices from Syria" I was struck by the first-hand accounts from different cities, towns, and villages in Syria of the moment when the dam broke. In numerous cases people gathered tensely and silently until finally someone broke the spell and unleashed the fervor brimming up in everyone's heart with a cry of -- not "freedom", that was the second utterance -- but "Allahu Akbar." _________________________________________________________ Full posting guidelines at: http://www.marxmail.org/sub.htm Set your options at: http://lists.csbs.utah.edu/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
