Revolutionary defeatism was predicated on the existence of a class conscious mass movement and a conscript army drawn from it which could be persuaded to turn its guns against its government and ruling class rather than the foreign enemy. This demand was realized once in Russia and seemed within reach in Germany and elsewhere in the aftermath of WWI more than century ago. In WW II, revolutionary defeatist agitation by small Trotskyist groups never gained currency within the mass Communist parties in the vanguard of resistance against foreign occupation.
Today, given the vastly lower of mass political consciousness and leadership in the Mideast and East European regional conflicts, it would surprise me if the slogan that the main enemy is at home was being advanced, much less acted upon, by any of the participants engaged in the fighting. While the subject is admittedly of historical interest, is there any evidence that revolutionary defeatism is anything more than an abstract ideal today? -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#42250): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/42250 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/119987077/21656 -=-=- 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. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/13617172/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
