[lbo-talk] Benny Morris responds

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Tue Jan 27 01:02:29 PST 2004


Michael Pollak wrote:


>On Mon, 26 Jan 2004, Doug Henwood wrote:
>
>> How can one really be a leftist and advocate an ethnically based state?
>
>Just about every leftist in Central and Eastern Europe does that. Your
>friend Slavoj, for example, is from a state that defines citizenship based
>on the jus sanguinis.

I don't know how much SZ approves of this - I refined my dislike of nationalism by reading Tarrying With the Negative and watching him comment on Laibach in that wonderful film.


>I think the question is more how can you be a leftist and argue that
>ethnic cleansing has its good side. And the answer is you can't. Afaik,
>Morris is no longer considered a leftist by anyone on the left. His
>rejection has been more absolute than Hitchens'.

Obviously he's no leftist now, but he certainly personalizes the contradiction of leftish politics and nationalism.

Doug



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