Andrew asked in [OPE-L:2747]:
> Jerry: "Except for small numbers of groups and individuals to the left
> of the Communist Parties (Maoists included), the typical pattern seems
> to me to be one of cowardice, apologetics, and dogmatism."
> Jerry, just to be sure: are you putting Maoists to the left of the Communist
> parties, or among them and the CADs?
This sounds like a hot potato question, but ...
I was not placing Maoists to the left of the CPs. While Maoist
organizations in many countries are politically to the left of the CPs
(for instance many CPs today are basically social democratic), I would
group them together as it relates to their conception of socialism
(although there are important nuances). Just for the record: Mao
considered himself a Stalinist and for many decades China had the dubious
distinction of being the only publisher of Stalin's _Collected Works_
(which, btw, were not mostly written by Stalin). I would also say that
the Maoist version of state capitalism, i.e. that there was a capitalist
restoration following Stalin's death and represented by Khruschev's XXth
Party Congress speech, was a classic example of ahistorical CAD.
In OPE-L Solidarity,
Jerry