Re: [Pen-l] Thoughts provoked by the Platypus

[Carrol Cox]

We are in a period normal for capitalism -- i.e. the absence of an
effective left opposition _or_ of any possibility of bringing such an
left into existence by any deliberte act. Nevertheless, it is essential
in such periods that leftists _do_ continue vigorously  to attempt to
initieate effective opposition. The lack of such (almost certainly
futile) efforts would guarantee that the normal period of capital
strength and left weakness would become permanent. 

This createsd a difficult theoretical and practical problem: What is to
be done when there is nothing to be done. That requires a good deal of
clear collective thinking and and activity. There is a strong
temptation, however, to sink into mere passivity disguised in the form
of endless "criticism" of "The [non-existent] left for not instantly
changing the world and endless arguments in whatever forums are
available, are how bad capitalism is. It is just too frustrating to face
the reality that demands we think and act under conditons when our
thinking and acting will (almost alwys) achieve nothing. 

There was no chance in 1960 that a student political organization woulc
achieve anything. There was no chance in 1956 that demanding the right
to ride in the front of the bus in Montgomery would achieve anything.
There was no chance in 1965 that an anti-war demonstration would achieve
anything. There had been student organizing before which disappeared.
There had been refusals to sit in the back of the bus which led to
nothing. There had been anti-war demos in v arious localities whch led
to ntohing. Withoug all those acts which led to nothing there would nver
have been acts which led to something. 

So it is a serious political question and has nothing to do with bad
temper: What is [best] to be done [and how] whenwe know in advance that
nothing that we try will succeed. Without continuous f ailures there
will be no successes. But those failures have to be planned as
intelligently as possible and carried out as intelligently as possible.
Hence the need for thinking about tactics and strategy -- and the
poinless ness of endless rehashing of the idiocies of political trash
such as Platypus or of enless roars and wails about how bad capitalism
is. 

Carrol
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