[lbo-talk] what's left

[shag carpet bomb]

When SA mentioned France, I thought I'd ask a friend of mine to comment. 
Here's what Sylvestre had to say. I think it's interesting that he thinks 
that the left in France is a reference to something less radical than it is 
here in the u.s. Sylvestre is most definitely working from a communist 
perspective. His web site, tin tin revolution: http://tintinrevolution.free.fr/

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Sylvestre wrote:

Sure, you can forward it.

I also understand that "left" in a US context is much more radical than in 
the French context. In this regard, there is a difference of experiences 
generally between countries with a tradition of mass reformist working 
class parties (such as France, Britain, Germany) and those who don't have 
that tradition - the US, but also Argentina, Japan....

S.

At 06:54 AM 4/26/2010, sylvestre wrote:

Hey k, flattered you're interested to know what I think - and also 
stimulated by the question

I'd say the analysis is accurate to the extent that there is a recognition 
in the French far left that parties and tendencies may appear to be part of 
the left to "the wide masses" while really being a version of bourgeois 
politics - and that this means we have to address workers who support those 
parties a bit subtly : they have a degree a class consciousness which can 
be quite high, they know unions are important, the bosses are on the other 
side, strikes have to be supported, etc. and this is voiced also by the 
leaders of reformist parties. This leads to the necessity of uniting with 
them on any possible basis compatible with advancing the interests of 
workers, at the same time as keeping organisationally and politically 
independent of reformist leaderships - I don't know how familiar you are 
with the whole <http://www.isj.org.uk/index.php4?id=397&issue=117united 
front idea.

Now, this means the analysis is lacking in that there is of course a fight 
for a definition of what makes us not so much part of "the left", but 
within the left what makes us revolutionaries, or anticapitalists. The 
answer in the far left varies when it comes to particular issues and does 
lead to heated arguments, but there is a consensus on the basic criterium, 
which is the class orientation of a particular movement, policy, 
organisation. A lot of the ideological fight is focused against the 
"democratic" and "republican" theoretical framework of the reformist left, 
which implies a "class-neutral" standpoint, and towards a class struggle 
orientation.

Perhaps I have to read more of the discussion this is from - let me know if 
this is useful to you.

In solidarity !

Sylvestre