'ultraleftism'

Gordon Fitch gcf at panix.com
Thu Aug 8 13:24:02 PDT 2002



> Nathan Newman write
> > There is a whole wing of the left that prefers the purity of failure,
> > since it avoids the actual strategic choices required by any
> > moderately successful movement for social change. There is a
> > perpetual utopianism allowed by failure.

s-t-t at juno.com:
> Certainly. Adolph Reed, Jr. said it succinctly in this excerpt from
> "Sectarians on the Prowl" in _Class Notes_:
>
> "Ultraleftism is a distinct political tendency. At bottom it is a
> refusal to take into account the ways that existing political realities
> limit possibilities for action. Ultraleft politics confuses means and
> ends, muddles the distinctions among goals, strategy, and tactics.
> Historically, for instance, ultraleftists have dogmatically opposed
> participating in coalitions with liberals and mainstream politicians.
> ...

Yes, I've noticed all the Democrats and labor union organizers hanging around wanly at Food Not Bombs while the rad kids cruelly spurn them for the pleasures of vegetable soup. You have to step over them to get into the kitchen.

What makes Adolph Reed think that liberals and mainstream politicians _want_ anything to do with radicals?

-- Gordon



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