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Mikhail, just like Louis, I'm eager to apologize if I offended you and your
friends with my immediate reaction. My only and still pertinent objection to
the quotes from Mao was not about being irrelevant to a particular subject
discussed between two communists, but the subject itself is completely out of
the context regarding Mao's own advice, namely, being an activist in promoting
the revolutionary massage. To be way too serious about the unity and excluding
people when it is almost impossible for two leftist to come together is surely
not a suitable way to do it. I don't remember exactly where I read, but, Mao's
first advice to Western communists who visited him was, "Do not follow the
Chinese path" because, "In the social sciences and in Marxism-Leninism, we must
continue to study Stalin diligently wherever he is right. What we must study is
all that is universally true and we must make sure that this study is linked
with Chinese reality. It would
lead to a mess if every single sentence, even of Marx's, were followed. Our
theory is an integration of the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the
concrete practice of the Chinese revolution. At one time some people in the
Party went in for dogmatism, and this came under our criticism. Nevertheless,
there is still dogmatism today. It still exists in academic circles and in
economic circles too".
Besides, for a moment, think of me as curious person willing to join your
group. I come to participate your discussion and then someone starts to preach
about unity. The funny thing is, I wouldn't be there in the first place if I
think we don't have a common ground to exchange ideas. As Lacan said in his
Ethics, the Law itself produces the desire to transgress by introducing the
prohibited object to us. So, as you see, I had no desire to sow discord among
your group, but you seduced me by resolutely mentioning about unity in a
permissive world where objection and criticism is justified regardless of
whether it is just or not. My god, I'll probably oppose everything you say.
I think, first topic of an American communist debate group should be about,
Obama, ongoing wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, economic recession, etc. For a
Turkish group, it may be Kurdish question, the power struggle between opposite
factions among bourgeois, Kemalists and neolibaral Islamists, AKP and the Army,
privatizations, etc. This is what I meant by connection to material reality.
Isn't the foremost Maoist critique of Stalinism indicates its tendency to
subordinate politics to state, thereby, depoliticizing the revolutionary will.
So when you start from the the sole question whether Stalin is good or bad, you
somehow depoliticizing the will of audience to engage politics for a socialist
alternative. But if you find a way to connect the subject with Obama and the
approval he has received from CPUSA, I won't have any objection.
Lastly, I wish you and your friends all the success in organizing a productive
space for exchange of socialist ideas.
mç
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