Leninism in 2003 (was: Re: Revolutionary Defeatism

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Wed Mar 26 16:37:32 PST 2003


LouPaulsen wrote:


>Jeez, Doug, think what you like :-( If you want 'precision' in defining
>adherence to an ideology in practice, you ain't gonna get it. What's
>Christianity, *precisely*? Adherence to the Nicene Creed? What's
>liberalism? "Leftism"? This is the Left Business Observer list, so what
>precisely does it mean to be "Left"? What's Darwinism? What is it to be an
>economist? Precisely?
>
>If you think there has to be some magic secret formula that "Leninists" all
>recite, or dharma transmission from Lenin, etc., or else you'll think it's a
>meaningless symbol or brand, well, you'll just have to believe that.

I'm not the one who claims the label. You and Yoshie do. And when I ask just what it means, I can't say I'm satisfied with the answers. "Leninist" is a pretty loaded word in the U.S., too, so you'd think embracing it would come with some sense of why. If I asked a Christian what it meant to be a Christian, I don't think there'd be much ambiguity about the answer, unless my interlocutor was a graduate of Pacific Theological.

Doug



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