The riddle of socialist democracy

Rob Schaap rws at comserver.canberra.edu.au
Wed Dec 22 08:32:39 PST 1999


G'day Charles,


>CB: With great respect for the heroic fighters in Spain, I must say the
>war was >lost. Sadly, winning or losing is the test of effective fighting
>in war.

Aye, but then it can be hard to win a war when you've the misfortune to have an 'ally' who thinks its status as sole champion of the world's left, and concomitantly the perpetuation of a hierarchy capable of supporting such a notion, is more important than a local victory for democratic socialists.

You'd have to be effective indeed to prevail over the other side while your own is fingering your till, wiping out your commandoes, and withdrawing military aid.

This is a potentially interesting conversation about optimal modes of organisation, and to invoke historical reversals completely out of historical context is something with which Leninists flay me all the time. So they should be extra careful themselves, eh?

Cheers, Rob.



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