[lbo-talk] Iran's Youth Movements

[Jim Straub]

Here here, but this points to a bigger problem: the us left has no
divisions.  Beyond that, they don't -want- any.  To get any involves doing
various unsavory things like talking to or allying with various folks far
removed from our own ideological values.  Or building compromised
institutions nontheless able to maintain bank accounts and membership rolls
in the six figures for continuous years.  Moving individuals, to say nothing
of the masses, happens by bits and increments rather than transformative
leaps, and so most leftists today prefer the art of critique and rhetoric,
which involves no responsibilities and little effort.  The left doesn't want
a base and if it accidentally got one the majority on this list would be out
to undercut it, and they no doubt could find many valid points of criticism,
but at the end of the day, such purism can't even play a support role to
base-building.


> of how.  It is my belief that, to offer anyone more than symbolic
> solidarity, we have to have a base of power ourselves.  As Bricmont
> says, we have to take this question into account: "how many divisions
> will you send into battle?"
>
>