Marty wrote:
> As for Lou’s recent post, asking for more information about my claim that
> many of those on the left continue to be remarkably supportive of the
> current regime and its policies, let me put it this way: in my experience,
> when I now ask progressives or leftists whether they think that China is
> socialist, the great majority say no. But when I offer sharp criticism of
> Chinese state policy, I immediately run into heated disagreement. In short,
> a significant minority, and perhaps even a majority continue to defend the
> regime and its policies.
In the US left, there have always been those who aren't interested in
promoting socialism as much as the economic development of
underdeveloped nations. These folks prefer state-promoted economic
development, rejecting the neoliberal market-oriented approach. They
may not like much of what the Chinese government does, but see the
problem more as a matter of the CP there being ignorant or misled
about policy issues. They don't worry about class issues as much as
international core/periphery relationships.
To the extent that these folks see themselves as socialist, they
equate socialism with state ownership and/or control of the means of
production, missing or minimizing the need for popular-democratic
control of the state. (Sometimes they seem to assume that workers'
control of the state prevails -- despite the clear lack of democracy
-- perhaps due to the alleged ability of the CP to know and act on
workers' long-term interests while ignoring its own collective
interests and its members' individual interests.)
A classic case of this phenomenon was the late Paul Baran.
--
Jim Devine
"Those who take the most from the table
Teach contentment.
Those for whom the taxes are destined
Demand sacrifice.
Those who eat their fill speak to the hungry
of wonderful times to come.
Those who lead the country into the abyss
Call ruling too difficult
For ordinary folk." – Bertolt Brecht.
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