And that the slogan, "Workers know no Country" be updated to say, "Workers know no Empire"
in order to make explicit what was always implicitly reference by this slogan: imperialism _not_ nationalism.
This issue has produced the most comprehensive division on that list that I've seen so far. I though I'd smell something fishy when first got on that list and noticed zilch discussion of the Middle East - this after last October. That is a bit of (hardly conclusive, but not really surprising) confirmation of my characterization that zionism has too much influence among american leftists. It is no wonder then, that we seen no organized mass opposition (as in the Vietnam War, or even Central America in the 80's) to US intervention in the Middle East, which is all the "Israel" thing is. Together with Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, etc.
Behind all the smoke and mirrors of our political opponents is this as their bottom-line position: Imperialism has progressive possibilities. This is what underlies support for the Democrats, support for NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia (which was openly proclaimed as "progressive, overall" despite the "regrettable bombing") and so forth.
It's the classical New Deal progressive position. Sure, the Israel/Palestinian situation is a bloody awful mess, but the american regime is always capable of reforming itself to 'do the right thing' with the proper pressure from the left, of course. Just like in the 1930's. Didn't the US go to war against fascism? (Answer: no). The problem is, much has change in the world since the 1930's. From the turn of the previous century to WW2, the US _was_ "the most progressive imperialism" in a world still divided between rival, independent imperialist nation-states. After WW2 this completely changed, and the hegemonic state that unites imperialism is _also_ the most reactionary of the imperialist nation-states, especially when compared to the Western Europeans, but even when compared to Japan. The tables have completely turned, and after the supposed "death of communism" have continued to turn in an even worse direction. Expect, not more progress, but more reaction, from the US. As the ultimate guarantor of the world system, it is the only sort of behavior one could reasonably expect, leaving "progress" to the subalterns.
Yet our Progressive Imperialists still stubbornly cling to this completely stale, outdated, Old Leftist view - even as some adhere to the new capitalist ideologies of "neoliberalism" and "globalization", or even some variant of postmodernist perspective. And if reality turns out otherwise and the Palestinians are driven into Jordan, they'll find something "progressive" somewhere in that, too. If Kosovo was, overall, progressive, despite the unfortunate "cleansing" of most of the Serb and Gypsy population, then why not the West Bank and Gaza? But I doubt if most of our Progressive Imperialists would have the honesty or courage to admit that that is the "solution" really advocated here in practice. Still they pretend that it can't happen, all the while beginning to muster the courage (and the arguments) to cover and run interference on the left for the "solution" should it actually come to pass.
But we will be sure to make them pay a very dear political price for their stand.
The dialectic of Free Trade and Secure Borders - for another time.
- Brad Mayer