<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1458" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Yoshie, to the point as ever:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>'what's the point of "theory" if you are using it, like David <BR>Harvey, only to construct an elaborate rationalization for <BR>campaigning for the Democratic Party?'</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>Well, yes, but that was rather my point.</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>The interesting thing about Harvey is that he reconciles a very pessimistic interpretation of the prospects for capitalism with a throughly reformist outlook. (That's a reversal of the long-standing association between economic optimism and political reformism, as per Kautsky.)</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>More to the point, Harvey's political opportunism seems to raise no questions about the theoretical analysis that leads up to it.</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3>My point would be that Harvey's account of imperialism needs to be criticised. But, as you suggest, there is no appetite for that kind of theoretical clarification.</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>"<B>Without</B> <B>revolutionary</B> <B>theory</B>, there can be no revolutionary movement.".<BR><B>Lenin</B>, What Is To Be Done?, 1902, CW, Vol.5, p.369</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>