[lbo-talk] INSTANT POPULISM: A short history of populism old and new

[Somebody Somebody]

SA: As for Marxism, let's be honest. Classical Marxism was very simplistic. I have unbounded admiration for Erik Olin Wright's much more sophisticated "Marxist" theory of contradictory class locations, but its practical import leads to something like, "The People, Yes!" Precisely because classical Marxism was so simplistic it had to be revised almost immediately once the Marxist parties had won some initial success

Somebody: Exactly. What really existing Marxism hasn't ended up becoming populist itself? Peace, land, and bread is a populist demand. Pure scientific Marxism is for propaganda sects and academics. In reality the connection between Marxism and the working class is a theoretical one. We've had too many counter-revolutions led by workers and revolutions led by military officers and guerrilla armies to conclude otherwise.