Doug Henwood wrote:
Carrol Cox quoted Doug Henwood wrote: Lots there too. People who are constantly expecting capitalism to crash & burn have little incentive to think or organize. As if it would all fall into their waiting arms, too.
Carrol commented:
There are fewer of these people around than there are single-taxers.
Warring against invisible opponents is the politics of fools.
And Doug responded: What planet are you on? There are few people on the left who think capitalism is heading for an inevitable smashup, who see every recession as the onset of the Big One? Are you making some sort of subtle joke?
I apparently did not reply at the time. I now respond.
I was not making a joke, subtle or otherwise. I was claiming that no significant number of people _at all_ believe this, and that Doug is making it up either from his dreams or from reading hole-in-the-corner left papers (or perhaps weird web sites).
I have known people from all the following groups, and I don't remember a single one of them who ever believed this.
RYM 2 New University Conference October League (later CPML) RU (later RCP) Communist Labor Party Line of March The New Voice League of Revolutionary Struggle
and I have read over the years
Guardian (the former radical paper published in New York City) Science and Society Monthly Review Canadian Dimension Against the Current Class & Race Unity The Communist (internal journal of LRS) many others.
I simply don't remember this anyone who claimed that capitalism was going to crash and burn. I really don't know what Doug is talking about in the post quoted above. It seems to me delerious raving. If he can't quote from any significant group of leftists over the last 30 years I would love to see it.
And actually, I think this wild nursry tale Doug tells is typical, not just of Doug, but of almost everyone who presumes to make sweeping statements about "The Left in the US" or "most leftists," et cetera.
As long as people on lists argue with fairy-tale characters instead of other positions expressed on the list the resulting political discussion is going to be childish.
Carrol