China & the WWP Re: Ideological Purity

Nathan Newman nathan at newman.org
Sat Oct 6 08:55:31 PDT 2001


----- Original Message ----- From: "Yoshie Furuhashi" <furuhashi.1 at osu.edu>


>But because the Kosovars and the Tiananmen protesters were the "wrong"
>victims, violence against them is apologized for and dismissed.
>
>-- Nathan Newman

-It appears to me that you are not opposed to war and murder per se.

I've said repeatedly I am not a pacificist, because peace without justice is an oxymoron and some violence often prevent even greater scales of violence.


>You are opposed to war and murder by minor regional powers such as
>China & Serbia that got on the wrong side of the Empire, which you
>believe should be stopped by war and murder by the Empire.

China is hardly a "minor" power and neither was the Soviet Union and its allies, despite the endless apologias by WWP and its ilk in defense of its empire repressions. I oppose all mass murder based on injustice and will side with those opposing it, whether against the US or on the side of the US when it (occasionally) takes the right side.


>Otherwise, you'd also advocate war on Russia, Israel, etc., not to
>mention the USA itself.

I don't advocate "war" (in its general term) on anyone, since I advocate justice and a particular intervention is justified only based on the goals likely to be achieved. But I do support mass pressure and military deployments if needed against Israel-- I am all for UN troops being deployed in the West Bank and Gaza to defend a Palestinian state. And I supported the right of the Vietnamese, Nicaraguans, Salvadoreans, Cubans, and every other group that needed to use violence to repulse US repression against them.

I just have no problem also supporting US intervention against even thuggier groups such as in Haiti and in Kosovo. Just as I supported the interventions that threw the Khmer Rouge out of power in Cambodia. As I said, the whole basing of left policy on the assumption that the policy of any government is PER SE evil and thus to be opposed is just a substitute for critical thought on the actual existing political situation and the players involved.

-- Nathan Newman



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list