>>> "J.WALKER" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 08/18 7:04 PM >>>
One part I did find
puzzling it where you say:
'The theory of communism lies in the critique of capitalism'
surely
if Marx argued anything it was more than this! His was not a
'theory'
of communism it was the action of communism, the practice
that would
bring it about. It was not a mere critique of capitalism but
its
physical overthrow. Even books of quotation give his famous
adage
about philosophers seeking to explain the world whereas
communists
sought to change it. If that is not what you mean then you
are
probably right you would be better off reading a book,
playing drums
or getting pissed.
John I think there is a misunderstanding here. I was
referring all along to the purposes of the debate occuring
over the list, and to me this is about debating the goals of
the revolution, which, as I've argued is a revolutionary act
in itself, if sincerely carried out and if it does help to
promote the common understanding I spoke about. But goodness
me, I didn't mean that this is the whole of revolutionary
practice!!! It couldn't EVEN be the main forum for
discussing tactics, because of the security problems of a
public communication channel like this.
On your other point I think you are simply wrong. There is a
theory of communism in Marx's writings, but it is an
implicit one. It is implied in the critique of capitalism.
If you know Marx then you will know that his explicit
remarks on communism itself are very schematic and confined
to certain shorter works, such as the German Ideology or the
Civil War in France. But I mentioned in an earlier post
Bordiga's statement that all of Marx's writing is about
communism - this is the same point that I was making. And by
the way I think theory is tremendously important. We have
had more than a hundred years of largely unsuccessful
communist practice, in which the dominant organisations
(especially those in the 3rd International), were, in my
opinion, guided by a deeply flawed theory. I have been part
of organisations, like the African Nationalist Congress
(aligned to the SACP) and a Maoist groupuscle, and I have
rejected them because their UNDERSTANDING of revolution
could not in my opinion lead to the communist society that
is suggested by Marx's work. So I believe that the
theoretical exercise is extremely important. And I think
also that communism should be personally liberating - I have
experienced that myself by abandoning what I regard as a
repressive ideology and embracing the "infantile disorder"
instead. I think the net is a very useful forum for
exchanging ideas and learning from others. I have met a
number of people in cyberspace who have advanced my own
thinking considerably - Mark Jones is one of them, even
though I don't agree with him on everything. In other cases
it's also good to be exposed to the arguments that you
reject, because it helps to clarify your own position. When
I read the remarks by a certain leninist recently, who's
left the list for the time being, I just thought "that used
to be me - thank god I've got that monkey off my back".
Marxism and the revolutionary project are at a critical
point no doubt - we need all the ideas and debate we can get
to build up the next wave.
Regards
Tahir
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