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on 1/2/00 2:05 am, Louis Proyect at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>> Trotsky himself seems like not an entirely bad sort, but Trots are
>> another story entirely, except maybe for the Mpls general strike. I
>> can't imagine their net contribution to human betterment to have been
>> positive, but I'm willing to hear arguments to the contrary.
>>
>> Doug
>
> Without the "Trots", there never would have been an antiwar movement. After
> LBJ began escalating the war, the only group on the left that pressed for
> independent mass actions in the street as opposed to electing "peace"
> candidates was the SWP. You will find this detailed in Tom Wells' excellent
> "The War at Home". Try to find some room in your busy reading schedule for
> some history, Doug. It will improve your mind.
Without questioning the participation of Trotskyist activists, it might be
something of an exaggeration to say that without them there would not have
been an antiwar movement. They were as caught up in the flux of the times as
anyone else, and their activism was matched by those of other backgrounds in
organisations like SDS and SNCC. Symbiotically linked to this was the
campaign for civil rights, which gave subsequent antiwar street protest an
impetus it would probably not have had otherwise. The books by Doug Dowd,
Staughton Lynd and James Miller covering this period are most instructive.
Michael
