From: dashyaf@EASYNET.CO.UK
Date: Tue Sep 16 2003 - 07:39:06 EDT
Lenin studied Marx and Engels' position on Ireland and it influenced his theorising on a whole number of issues including that of the Labour Aristocracy. Unfortunately most British Marxists have ignored this and have never really understood Lenin's position on both the national question and the role of the peasantry in the Russian revolution. It goes without saying that the issue of the Labour Aristocracy has been totally dismissed by most British theorists who have ignored the importance of that question for Marx and Engels as well. David Yaffe At 10:27 15/09/03 -0400, you wrote: >Jerry asks: > > >2) If Marx believed that working-class division is the "secret >by which the capitalist class maintains its power", where >does that leave 'breakdown' theories of crisis? That is, doesn't >the above suggest that Marxbelieved that capitalism will only >"breakdown" once workers are aware of and overcome "the >secret"? > >I don't see any connection. Breakdown theory of whatever sort is not a >discussion of working class consciousness (or lack thereof). > >In any case, the quote from Marx's 1870 letter is very interesting and >reminds me of Lenin on labor aristocracy -- did Lenin's get his idea from >someone else? > >Paul > >P.S. Sorry about the private message to Steve which I accidentally posted >to OPE-l. > >*********************************************************************** >RESEARCH IN POLITICAL ECONOMY, Paul Zarembka, editor, Elsevier Science >******************** http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/PZarembka
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