On Sep 7, 2010, at 1:18 PM, Patrick Bond wrote:
> Doug has shown that he has limited forward vision and in his cynical way, he also likes throwing cold water on Marxian crisis theory. For someone we all love to learn from on so many topics (and I remain one of his biggest fans), and for someone editing a Left Business Observer, these are unfortunate flaws. Not to sound too presumptious, but they can be remedied, with the right attitude. (I thought the wake-up call of September 2008 would have helped, but no.)
Patrick, there's so much wrong with this little passage that I hardly know where to start. I really don't see how relying on capitalism to blow a gasket - repeatedly predicting it, rejoicing when it seems to be happening, expressing regret when it's revealed to be a false alarm - demonstrates a great helping of forward vision. It's a sign of weakness, both of imagination and appeal. It means you tacitly admit that our side lacks the persuasive power and organization to change anything except when capitalism looks to be in mortal danger. It means you're telling the working class that their only hope is through a massive crisis of unemployment, foreclosure, bankruptcy. I like throwing cold water on it because I think it's wrong and politically toxic - and I don't see how that's at all "cynical." And, as you may have noticed, the present crisis has only energized the right, not the left.
Doug