----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles Brown" <cbrown at michiganlegal.org> To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org> Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2005 16:44 Subject: [lbo-talk] Identity wars and other issues
>
>
> Wojtek:
>
> WS:
> This is an absurd comparison, pure demagogy. There is a big difference
> between western governments and eastern suicide bombers. The former do
> mainly other things, such as managing vast economies, and blowing other
> people up is a tiny and rather marginal fraction of these activities.
> What
> is more, even when they engage in blowing up, they usually show
> considerable
> restraint, trying to limit "collateral damage" and punishing (at lest in
> principle) those who fail to show such restraint.
>
>
> ^^^^^
> CB: This seems patently and grossly false. The main western government,
> the
> U.S., is more terroristic than the petit terrorists, because the U.S. has
> bigger and more bombs. Shock and awe is the biggest form of terrorism
> right
> now. Surely you don't buy that guff about "limiting collateral damage".
> "Considerable restraint" ?! You must be trippin' !@ The U.S. indulges in
> mass slaughter more than anybody. ( Although it keeps egging others on to
> match them, endangering me and mine).
>
> The U.S. military budget is not marginal. The U.S. has terrorist military
> bases all around the world.
>
> "Join the Navy. See the world. Meet new and interesting people. Learn how
> to
> kill them. "
>
> I realize Wojtek gets the list prize for ruthless criticizer of all that
> exists, but it causes him to take reactionary positions sometimes. I can't
> tell whether he is serious or "it" is serious. Anyway , gotta call him on
> it
> when he does it.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
WS, CB, et al,
The comparison of the relatively feeble efforts of "terrorism" to the exercise of power of organized nation states and globalised corporate business is pathetic. Political volunteerism [Gramsci's terminology] is the surest sign of the political military weakness of a movement and systematic martyrdom the refuge of the militarily and politically incompetent. The reduction of global opposition to the inordinately and irresponsibly powerful to self-immolating volunteers moved largely by magical belief in the metaphysical justice of their cause is a sad commentary on the state of progressive leadership at the beginning of the 21st century.
While the critics and activists engage in melodrama, and like it or not 9-11 and most of the actions like it, are just drama, the truly powerful focii of productive and political force develop and employ ever more effective means to practical control of world conditions. The impunity with which powerful nation states such as the US, France and Russia employ the most coercive forces on the nearly leaderless masses in the interests of irresponsible elites, local and global is completely disproportionate to the violent thrashings about of political absurdities like the International Jihad, the anti-globalisation movements, and others like them. Nor should we expect it to be otherwise. He who can overcome the obstacles to realisation his objectives will do so.To discuss the exercise of power, and particularly the military projection of power, in terms of who is more or less awful is at best a fruitless exercise in advanced scholastics. The exercise of power is held in check only by countering power, and power resides in united and organized forces with relevant and clear objectives. It is the critical work of organizing the opposition to unchecked and irresponsible exercise of power that the progressive leadership has discarded in favour of melodrama and moral criticism, and it is their preference for drama (the activists) and moral criticism (the theoreticians) that has played a most central role in bringing them and the people whom they claim to represent to the distressing situation of their current powerlessness.
Oudeyis
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