--- On Sun, 8/10/08, Marvin Gandall <marvgandall at videotron.ca> wrote:
> From: Marvin Gandall <marvgandall at videotron.ca>
> Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] South Ossetia
> To: "LBO-Talk" <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>
> Date: Sunday, August 10, 2008, 1:53 PM
> Eric writes:
>
> > So one does have to make a choice then. You're
> either with the Russians or
> > you're against them?
> ========================
> No. One can say Russia and Georgia are both capitalist
> states, and that we
> don't distinguish between capitalist states, in the
> same way we can choose
> to not choose between procapitalist parties. Since there
> are no longer any
> non-capitalist states (Cuba excepted, IMO) nor socialist
> parties, that's
> tantamount to abstaining from contemporary politics, or at
> least choosing
> only to comment on political developments while refraining
> to take sides.
>
> I can understand why those on the socialist left would
> adopt this stance,
> though , as regulars on the list know, it's not mine
> and I support the
> social democrats and the US Democrats as the parties of
> choice of the
> unionized workers, women, minorities and the other more
> politically
> enlightened groups against the conservative parties which
> want to reduce
> their organizations and take away their rights. I wish we
> had our own
> parties to present as an alternative, but these are the
> only choices which
> are on offer to ourselves and others right now.
>
> The same is true on an international level, where there are
> no longer any
> anticapitalist states we can support unequivocally. But
> there are still
> conflicts between US imperialism and those peoples and
> states - not all of
> them our cup of tea -wanting to develop outside of its
> orbit.
>
> In this particular case, I think it's pretty clear the
> US-backed Georgians
> are the aggressors against the South Ossetians and Abkazh
> who would rather
> be independent or a part of Russia than of Georgia. If
> it's ok for the West
> to recognize Kosovo's right to national
> self-determination, the same
> principle should apply here. On a more visceral level, any
> nation which
> gives a rapturous welcome to George Bush and names the main
> road between
> their capital and airport after him, adorned with his
> portrait, forfeits any
> claim on my political sympathies, though, of course, I
> don't like to see
> civilians on either side caught in the crossfire.
>
>
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