Thanks for your careful evaluation of Leo Panitch, Richard. It deepens my disagreement with Panitch's political perspective. I do appreciate Panitch's dedication and steady work over the decades.
In March of 1983 - somewhat adrift and politically disoriented after my departure from the U.S. SWP - i was able to attend the wonderful Marx Centenary conference held at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. It was Ernest Mandel and Tariq Ali on the program who had attracted me, along with interest in Ralph Miliband. The unexpected joy came from 'meeting' Panitch, Sam Gindin, Cy Gonick and the many other socialists participating in a constructive ecumenical political discussion (one exception was Marlene Dixon from the ill-fated Democratic Workers Party - in the U.S. of course). I was inspired to see what active socialists in Canada had been able to put together (partially enabled by the NDP provincial government). I came back home encouraged to continue my socialist activism. On Tue, Feb 9, 2021 at 11:31 AM Richard Fidler <[email protected]> wrote: > > Many of us on the left both in Canada and internationally were shocked and > saddened in mid-December by the sudden death of Leo Panitch from Covid-19, > contracted while in hospital during unrelated treatment. Leo was well-known > not just as an insightful political economist but as one of Canada’s rare > “public intellectuals” who combined his Marxist scholarship with a profound > engagement with contemporary social and political issues. His views, always > expressed with admirable clarity, were increasingly sought out by a new > generation of political activists in North America and Europe. > > By Richard Fidler > > I first met Leo personally in 1984. Articling with a progressive law firm in > Toronto, I found that Leo was my contact for arranging the visit of Ralph > Miliband as guest speaker at the annual Law Union conference. Miliband’s > presentation was well received, and following the meeting Leo suggested the > three of us should repair to the pub to which other conference participants > had adjourned. > I remember telling Miliband that I had read several of his books but that my > favourite was still his first, Parliamentary Socialism, A Study in the > Politics of Labour. He laughed and said “It’s mine too.” Published in 1961, > it began famously with the statement: “Of political parties claiming > socialism to be their aim, the [British] Labour Party has always been one of > the most dogmatic — not about socialism, but about the parliamentary system.” > I was in 1962 a member of the provincial council of the recently-founded > Ontario New Democratic Party, and had found Miliband’s analysis of the BLP of > immense help in understanding the disturbing features of the NDP that I was > encountering. > Leo Panitch had just recently moved to Toronto where he was to establish the > most progressive political economy faculty in English Canada, at York > University. 1984 marked his addition to the editorial team producing the > annual Socialist Register founded by Miliband, Leo’s mentor from the days > when he studied for a doctorate in England.[1] > In what follows, I want to signal and critically engage with what I consider > Leo’s major contributions to our understanding of the Canadian state and its > place within global imperialism, as well as the conclusions he drew as they > might affect the development of an alternative anticapitalist project. Taken > together, both aspects reveal, in retrospect, a remarkably consistent > approach in Leo’s lifelong attempt to not only interpret the world but also > to help change it. > > https://lifeonleft.blogspot.com/2021/02/remembering-leo-panitch.html -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#6262): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/6262 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/80512204/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
