Promoting mass purchasing power

[Charles Brown]

Without considering any Keynesians on this
list as unreliable or treacherous, our participation
in this list is an endorsement of Chris' classic
argument below. Whatever practical
alliance might come out of dialogues here will
be strengthened if we Marxists are honest in
our disagreement with Keynesianism and
social democracy. Because Left Keynesians
are sincerely motivated to drastically ameliorate
the problems of capitalism for the great many,
if we show them an imaginable revolution,
they are openminded, and I think they will
bring their expertise about the vast and
complex objective aspects of world
capitalism to that revolution
if they see realism and not just
slogans and radical phrases in
our discussion and practice.

People on this list are not satisfied with
the system, but they don't see
ours as a realistic alternative.

Charles Brown

  Detroit


>>> Chris Burford <cburford at gn.apc.org> 09/18 6:49 PM >>>
At 11:44 AM 9/18/98 -0400, Charles wrote:
>
>I have to support again my comrade Lou in his continuing
>agitation against the merger of Marxism
>and Keynesianism. The latter makes no
>claim for abolishing the capitalist system. Therefore
>all of its reform proposals are ultimately aimed
>at preserving the capitalist system by 
>partially and temporarily ameliorating SOME
> of its horrors. But reforms that are not
>part of a revolutionary program are
>the cruelest , cleverest deceptions of the working
>class. 

Apart from the fact that Lou, in his haste, failed to notice that I was
gently criticising the idea of large unemployment benefits as idealist, he
also failed to notice that I pointed out the even more difficult thing is
to destroy a chunk of capital, whereas Keynesians seem to imagine that
value is infinitely expandable.

Charles however grasps the nettle and supports Lou against an alliance with
muddle headed, or, even worse, treacherous, Keynesians.

But only those who are not sure of themselves can fear to enter into
temporary alliances even with unreliable people;

not a single political party could exist without such alliances.

The combination with the 'legal Marxists' was in its way the first really
political alliance entered into by Russian Social-Democrats. Thanks to this
alliance, an astonishingly rapid victory was obtained over Narodism, and
Marxist ideas (even though in a vulgarized form) became very widespread.

After all, Communists do not set up any sectarian principles of their own.

The theoretical conclusions of communists are in no way based on ideas or
principles that have been invented, or discovered by this or that would-be
universal reformer. 

They merely express, in general terms, actual relations springing from an
existing class struggle, from a historical movement going on under our very
eyes.

Chris Burford

London

PS no names invoked.