Hybrid Marxism (1)

[Charles Brown]

I have been debating this issue
of the revolutioness of the American
Rev. and  especially the
Civil War on another list. As to the Marxist
attitude toward the American Revolution,
I have a quote of Marx referring to 
the "Founding Fathers(sic)" as revolutionaries.
Also, Engels and Lenin refer to the American
Revolution as a Revolution. I think Lenin
lists it as one of the truly great revolutions.
Yea, here it is in Lenin's "Letter to
American Workers" (1920):`
"The history of modern, civilised
America opened with one of those
great, really, liberating, really 
revolutionary wars of which there have
been so few compared to the vast number
of wars of conquest which like the present
imperialist war , were caused by squabbles
among kings, landowners or capitalists over
the division of usurped lands or ill-gotten
gains.. That was the war the American people
waged against the British robbers who 
oppressed America and held her in colonial
slavery, in the same way as these
"civilised" bloodsuckers are still oppressing
and holding in colonial slavery hundreds and
millions of people in India, Egypt, 
and all parts of the world."

I don't think in the Marxist model
any single historical occurrence is 
considered the complete transfer between
the major categories of modes of 
production (slavery-feudalism-capitalism-
socialism).  The Communist Manifesto
discusses " a series of revolutions
in the modes of production and exchange."
as comprising the transition from feudalism
to capitalism.

So, I would say the "standard" Marxist
answer is that the Am. Rev. was a 
truly great rev.

Charles Brown

Workers of the West, it's our turn.


>>> <JKSCHW at aol.com> 11/22 8:11 PM >>>
In a message dated 98-11-21 16:47:51 EST, you write:

<< Of the 3 great revolutions in modern history: the

 >French, the Chinese

 >and the Russian,

 

 I've seen this written before.  Why is the Am

 Revolution not considered 'great' on the same order by

 some folks?  This doesn't seem to be true for all,

 since I've seen some include the Am

 Revolution?

  >>

A standard sort of Marxist answer is that the American revolution" wasn't a
revolution in the Marxist sense, i.e., one that changed the mode of production
for a different one and put a new ruyling class in power. One view is that the
Civil War was the nearest America has had to a revolution because it got rid
of solavery in the South. Barrington Moore, no Marxist but strongly influenced
by MArx, spells out a story to this effect in Lord & Peasant in the Modsern
World. (Or am I giving the subtitle)?

--jks