Doug wrote:
>I think the best thing the U.S. left could do for the rest of the world
>would be somehow, magically, to weaken the imperial might of the
>United States.
Doug is much too modest. The *only* thing that the U.S. left can do for the rest of the world is struggle to weaken U.S. imperial might -- this is not in question. What is in question is how "the left" comes into existence at any given moment, and how it gathers about it or participates in the formation of the more massive popular forces necessary to make such an impact possible.
At the present there is no "left" in any sense that can give content to the phrase, "the left" but only scattered individuals and collections of individuals who more or less self-consciously aim at becoming part of "the left" -- i.e., in participating in the creation of "the left."
May I also suggest that among that inchoate left defined by acceptance of Doug's point this is no time for extraneous quarrels, personal or political -- or at least such quarrels must somehow become secondary to resisting this latest outrage from our imperial masters.
Carrol