RE: [OPE] Venezuela and the goal of Socialists.

I think Jerry's excellent point can be put very succintly.

'It is another of those misconceptions to believe that we can have an
unbiased view in matters of class struggle. Our judgement is built from the
start on the premise of the sanctified present social order; it has been
instilled in us for generations. The so-called objectivity is therefore in
the last analysis a stand against revolutionary changes - against the
working class.To be really "objective" we must first decide on which side
we stand: with the oppressed or with the tenacious champions of the
privileged minority' (Rosa Levine-Meyer)

This comes from her book Levine Saxon House 1973 p130 - she attributed it
to Lenin but I could never find the exact words in Lenin.

David Yaffe

At 17:19 26/09/2008 +0100, you wrote:

> > When I want to act as an activist I go behind barricades. But the
> barricades in
> > the social sciences are a lot more delicate, carefully built and, what
> is more important,
> > constantly dismantled to reinvent them again.
>
>
>Well, Alejandro, the 'barricades' in the social sciences - in times of
>intense,
>heightened class struggle especially - are often not at _all_ delicate or
>subtle.
>
>When we take a position on a struggle we put ourselves 'behind the barricades'
>- on one side or the other: the class struggle itself forces us to
>evaluate situations
>and pick sides.
>
>These are real struggles in which millions of workers and others participate,
>effect, and will be effected by. What we say and do about Venezuela et al
>*tests* us - it tests our commitment to workers' movements, it tests our
>revolutionary and socialist principles, and it tests our consistency. History
>itself will determine whether we pass or fail these tests.
>
>Also, _others_ watch to see how we perform in these tests. It is part
>of the process by which solidarity is built: others take note of when we
>offer solidarity and then offer solidarity in return. This is true
>whether we are
>academics or not: _all_ of us are tested in struggle. Even when we say nothing
>- especially, when our principles say that we should say something - is a
>test.
>Indeed, silence can under certain circumstances be even more damning than
>words.
>
>I can understand the positions of some others on the Left who are critical
>and/or skeptical of the Bolivarian revolution. But, I wonder sometimes if they
>are aware of who is listening to what they say, who will be encouraged by
>what
>they write, and whether their words and actions will advance or retard the
>actual struggles of working people.
>
>In solidarity, Jerry
>
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Received on Sat Sep 27 08:41:34 2008