> Left politics is neither a courtroom nor a university seminar, the only
> contexts in which arguments on this or most issues might make a
> difference.
So, despite Marx and others making claims about "scientific" socialism, we should not attempt rational argument on anything important?
> Left goals are achieved only by mobilizing a minority to create
> enough public excitement to give the impression of a majority in
> action.
I suspect right-wingers could have a field day with that sentence quoted out of context. Even in context and from a left viewpoint, it seems dubious.
How is that different from the other side doing the same thing, claiming to be a "moral majority" (though they were neither) and creating massive ruckus in defense of "family values" and the "right to life"? If you disallow argument, it becomes hard to demonstrate the fallacies in their claims.
What about, say, the NRA or a legalise weed campaign acting as vocal and well-organised minorities?
-- Sandy Harris, Quanzhou, Fujian, China