Marv wrote: "3. It's at its lowest ebb not because we don't follow the advice you and others freely dispense about how to resurrect it but because of the effects of automation, globalization, atomization, and the fragmentation of work in a service economy which has sharply reduced the size, confidence, bargaining power and political influence of the organized working class." #29071
Marv - Could it be that perhaps you have subsumed your estimation of the down-turn of our movement into more recent events? By recent - perhaps I really mean just over the last 30 years or so since the 'neo-liberal' swing? I equate the more rapid swings of 'globalisation' to the development of new financial instruments and the web with huge fluxes of wealth at an eye-blink across the world. Maybe I am wrong here, as in so much else. However what I am getting at, is that "historically capitalism was far from dead - it had not played outs its part on the world stage. At an earlier stage of the Bolshevik revolution, many had expectations - more than just hoping for - but really expected - that revolution would come world-wide. Poland and the drive to Warsaw for example was an event where a lot of those hopes/expectations were played out. Yes - there were subjective problems and some frank errors with some of the words and actions taken. In fact Lenin acknowledged that, but also - drew the 'post-mortem' of what had happened to a halt within the party. But beyond those subjective issues, there was also an increasing reality - that the 'historical space' for capitalism had not been lost. It was still expansive. I believe that became even more evident after WW2. Again - subjective issues aside, including leaving aside potential subjective errors. [I am *not* trying to exculpate errors - they must be weighed]. But something more objective was going on, as seems to be evident now - in hindsight. Of course it is always 20/20 in the rear view mirror. Nevertheless, maybe... that 'life' motor for capitalism is 'diminished' - to put it mildly. Of course I am aware that that is exactly what was being said at the Foundation of the Comintern. Personally I prefer to believe that the objective conditions have 'ripened', and the 'subjective factors lag way behind now. Yes - all the above is speculative. H -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#29089): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/29089 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/104479559/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: marxmail+ow...@groups.io Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [arch...@mail-archive.com] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
