[lbo-talk] Theory: Scope & Limits was Deconstructionism in contempo...

[Carrol Cox]

I have tried a number of times over the last 10 years or so to provoke a
serious consideration of what theory can and cannot do. I think FHP were
incorrect in assigning "anti-intellecutalism" to leftists, and they were
also incorrect in (essentially) confining  "thinking" with analysis. Hence
they could not see that the opening quotation from an unnamed "activist," re
"paralysis of analysis" was (a) a theoretical proposition and (b) roughly
correct, though it needed development. That such development clearly could
not occur in the midst of a demonstration was the first error of the
criticism. The second error was failure to recognize that in the overall
development of any (anti-war) movement such development could occur, but
could only occur if _first_ there was a rush to action and the consequent
_creation_ of a movement within which there would be grounds for theoretical
development.

Carrol

-----Original Message-----
From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
On Behalf Of Carrol Cox
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2015 7:45 PM
To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Deconstructionism in contemporary leftish discourse

For what it's worth: I remain an admirer of Mao & the Chinese Revolution  --
BUT as I argued on the old (Spoons) Marxist list, "Maoism" is an oxymoron.
Mao specifically denied that he was promulgating a _theory_ (as the suffix
'ism' implies. His _thought_ was concretely addressed to temporally and
spatially specific conditions, those of China. "Maoists" tried to turn that
thought into an anstract _theory_ which they then attempted (and attempt) to
impose on the concrete conditions of Europe and the U.S. Shane's Trotskyism
(and Trotsky's Troskyism) made (and make) the same error as is basic to
Maoism.

Carrol

P. S. And it was T. Rajan, not Carrol, who cites Hidegger.

-----Original Message-----
From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
On Behalf Of Shane Mage
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2015 7:29 PM
To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Deconstructionism in contemporary leftish discourse

On Jan 16, 2015, at 3:47 PM, Carrol Cox wrote:
>
"as Heidegger presciently saw in 1938, publishing is a form of
governmentality"

As a good Maoist, Carrol obviously has no problems with its sister ideology,
"Socialism with German Characteristics." A "form of governmentality" that
states its opposition to a Revolutionary Government inspired by the
"Thought" of Hitler, Muhammad, or Mao, is obviously CounterRevolutionary and
needs to be suppressed by whatever means lie to hand, as parteigenoss
Heidegger so "presciently" noted.

Shane Mage

"Thunderbolt steers all things." Herakleitos of Ephesos, fr. 64

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