[lbo-talk] Chavez's socialist world vision

[Somebody Somebody]

Carrol: As I said, it has been quite a while since I last had to scoff at this kind of ignoant horseshit. 
 
 
Somebody: It's quite alright, there really isn't any common ground in our positions whatsoever. To me, somebody like Chavez is important to the extent his government can improve people's lives, whether directly in his own country, or as a political influence in Latin America and elsewhere. For others, all that matters is where the class forces stack up, and if the bourgeoisie hates what they're doing enough. 
 
Moreover, whether a particular movement, individual, or political philosophy actually *does* improve people's lives is basically an empirical matter, which may rub the more Hegelian-minded participants of this discussion the wrong way, I suppose. Alas, this could mean spending more time studying mortality statistics and the comparative efficacy of literacy programs, and rather less time quoting the Grundrisse, but such are life's tradeoffs.