[lbo-talk] the politics of food

[Carrol Cox]

It seems to me that this conversation proceeds on a false assumption:
that any sizeable population believes tehre is any alternative to the
Two-Party structure, and that their action could bring about that
alternative. Thus it is not on the "lesser evil" theory that they vote
Democratic but on the "Best of All Possible World" theory and its
conomitant of Progress built into history.

Before this attitude can change some shock must open to a larger segment
of the population the possibility of change through direct action rather
than through action by the government. This rearely happens -- try
making a list of the major explosions in the core capitalist nations
over the last 200 years. 

Though rare, it does happen. Voluntaristic dreams that it can be _made_
to happen come up against the fact that this has never been the case.
Probably there would have been no USSR but for the existence of the
Bolsjevols. but they made this huge difference ONLY because of the fact
of WW 1. No War, no Russian defeats, and there would have been no
revolution regardless of what the Bolsheviks or anyone else did.

The Bolsheviks, by endlessly _trying_ to do what could not be done DID
prepare themselves for the totally unpredicable and unpredicted
catastrophe of WWI.

That is why it is necessary for leftists to join some local group,
attend the boring meetings, engage in endless conversation, help
organize endless bumping of head against brick walls. That is the
essence of Lenin: You must keep trying even when you know that you won't
succeed, because you won't ever recognize in advance that this time you
will succeed. So if you haven't kept fighting a losing war you will
never have a chance to fight a winning war.

Volunttarism is for babies on the sidelines.

Carrol