On 12/23/06, andie nachgeborenen
> The upshot is that the Cuban Revolution deserves what
> Trotskyists called out "critical defense" -- defense
> for its accomplishments, criticism for its failings
> and abuses, including most of its policies towards
> GLBTs. Brian's flat out condemnation is insufficiently
> nuanced, even if Cuba has been a disappointment on
> this dimension.
One thing that I have been saying for some time is that, at this point in history, no government in the world, even a socialist government, is likely to _really_ care about whatever defense or friendly criticism or even flat-out condemnation that comes from leftists in the USA, for there is no social force behind it that makes it matter politically.
I bet they care far more about what the Russian government, the Chinese government, etc. have to say than what American leftists have to say.
To think that our "critical support," or lack thereof, makes a difference to anyone other than ourselves seems to me to be a sign that we have gotten too comfortable in our permanent opposition ghetto and become unable to see the true extent of our stature in the world. There is something slightly ridiculous about leftist pretensions here. -- Yoshie <http://montages.blogspot.com/> <http://mrzine.org> <http://monthlyreview.org/>