Sat, 5 Apr 1997 22:30:08 -0500 COCKROACH! #51 A EZINE FOR POOR AND WORKING CLASS PEOPLE. WE HAVE NOTHING TO LOSE BUT OUR CHAINS. It is time that the poor and working class people have a voice on the Internet. Contributions can be sent to Subscriptions are free at Now on line! Check out the Home of COCKROACH! http://www.algonet.se/~malecki How often this zine will appear depends on you! Back issues of Cockroach and my book at http://www.kmf.org/malecki/ -------------------------------------------------------- 1. Albania: No responsibility, no slogans! 2. Aldolfo and the Stalin resurrectionsts! 3. Academic Marxism? -------------------------------------------------------- Albania: No responsibility, no slogans! Vladimir B makes some interesting points in his reply to me. Most of them are dealt with by Dave B in his posting. I'd like to comment on what Vladimir says towards the end of his remarks. >There is a danger to make too much or too little from these events. This is facile. The important thing about Albania, like Romania and the overthrow of Ceauscescu, is that there is no way this can be passed off as anything but a revolutionary situation, a popular uprising going for the overthrow of the government and most likely the regime too. In Albania with the complete arming of the population into the bargain. It is unprecedented and should be given the attention it merits. >But I prefer to concentrate on the positive side and see in them a token >of existing revolutionary potential internationally. I agree. But it's more than a token. This is yet another spark with the potential to set off an international prairie fire. >But this means an >even greater responsibility on the part of revolutionary Marxists. >The problem is that I don't see even a hint of recognizing this in >the statements from London and now from Hugh. Our responsibility lies in our efforts to build a revolutionary internationalist party -- the Fourth International -- capable of making concrete interventions in such revolutionary situations as the one now unfolding in Albania. More on this below. >Who are those "skeptics" >who are responsible "more than any others" ? And who the hell cares >who they are! I have a feeling that many trotskyists suffer from >a certain form of psychological timelag; they still feel being in >opposition, even if they triumphantly pronounce their Stalinist >enemy dead. They seem not to realize that there is no one left to >blame responsible for anything but themselves. Again, this is superficial. It underestimates the grip of counter-revolutionary forces on the international labor movement. It fails to see the damage inflicted while there was a counter-revolutionary troika of bloody opposition to Trotskyism -- imperialism, Stalinism and Social-Democracy -- and fails to appreciate the time and effort needed to repair the damage and intervene full blast. It also fails to appreciate that only the Stalinist faction in the Troika has been blown away (even though its shadows still flit in the murkier corners of the world and places like the Marxism-list). Imperialism is still forcing us into opposition, and Social-Democracy, though reeling and enfeebled, still controls the labor movement in a lot of important countries. The skeptics, too, academics, anarchists, and non-party socialists or "Marxists", are very real and a dead weight in the struggle to build a fighting revolutionary party. They're the "socialism is dead" crew that moved from Euro-Stalinism to complete pessimism on the sell-out of the Soviet Union by the Stalinist bureaucracy. They're the people who keep chanting that the working class is disappearing from the stage of history, and whenever they can't deny its existence they chant instead that it's no longer a revolutionary proletariat. Their responsibility is easy to demonstrate. Just imagine what a difference it would make if they started writing books and articles with a view to explaining the inevitability of events such as we're witnessing in Albania, the role the working class should play in such events and the need to overthrow capitalism and set up proletarian dictatorships working towards socialism. "No one left to blame" is the wrong way to put it. We're not copping out of any responsibility for our actions and the way they should be aimed. What we are doing is pointing to concrete problems for the development of an international revolutionary response that are due to the existence of treacherous leaderships in the workers' movement and false and misleading schooling about Marxism on the left. We aren't the only ones responsible for the current situation, and Vladimir knows this very well. >They understand the need for party-building, >but they want first to "prepare" for party-building. The Albanian >masses could then reasonably object: <party-building among themselves and can only "prepare" for this, what >makes you to believe that you can give sound advice on a much more >complicated matter of making a revolution. Why do you call us to base >our non-existing revolutionary government in our non-existing workers >councils, instead of only "preparing" for workers councils? >Why do you expect from us more than you expect from yourself? Why >do you only "take positions" not *actions*?>> And so on and so forth The "preparation" mentioned here is misunderstood by Vladimir. Party-building is carried on at all sorts of levels, from minuscule to intercontinental. It is done, it isn't waited for. On the other hand, a small group of a few individuals can see itself as a preparatory organization, and will hardly want to call itself a party, let alone a mass party. The same goes internationally. An authoritative workers' revolutionary international cannot just be proclaimed, but must be worked for. None of this kind of preparation gets in the way of interventions in the working class struggle. What it might do is limit the means with which we can intervene. That's not the same thing. The whole imaginary dialogue Vladimir presents is abstract. In such a dialogue we would be helping in the struggle, and pointing out what we see as the best way of helping the struggle forward, politically and organizationally. >To conclude. Revolutionary marxists in Europe must openly acknowledge >that they have failed (again!) to create any organizational presence >in Albania and most of Eastern Europe in the face of the spontaneous >protest movements against restorationist regimes in this region. This is true. It also explains the importance of the struggle with the liquidationist positions of the Pabloite leadership in the Fourth International a few years after the end of World War II. The lack of a revolutionary organizational presence in Eastern Europe is due to a combination of the bestial repression of revolutionary working class tendencies by the Stalinists and the refusal of liquidationist fake-Trotskyist leaderships to organize -- on the grounds that the bureaucrats would be forced to carry the revolution further to save their own skins!! >As the result, these movements continue to be blocked and demoralized by >the political cliques of all stripes formed from the remnants of the >neo-stalinist bureaucracies. The grave responsibility for this rests >*entirely* on those groups and individuals who identify themselves >with revolutionary Marxism. No amount of triumphalism about the >alleged demise of Stalinism in Europe can conceal this new failure. > >Unless this responsibility is recognized, all proclamations and good >wishes of the international organs like LCMRCI re Albanian revolt and >similar developments must be considered irresponsible phrase-mongering. Does Vladimir fail to see the responsibility of the treacherous leaderships in the labor movement? Is the battered woman *entirely* responsible for the brutality of her man and her failure to defend herself? This is nonsensical. Historical responsibility does not only rest with those who represent a progressive line. No one else is going to build a revolutionary international for us, that's for sure, but the concrete historical conditions in which the building takes place must be taken into account, and this includes the pressures and blows directed against the building by its enemies. If you realize the difficulties you're up against, it's easier to avoid demoralization when the going's tough. Vladimir's line here is a kind of voluntarism. In fact it reminds me a bit of the totally unrealistic goodness preached in Dostoevsky's Idiot. Innocence of this sort is useless. Hegel is incredibly scathing about Innocence in the Phenomenology of the Spirit, because it's totally unreal, it doesn't face up to the real problems of life. And in the labor movement, treacherous leaderships and overcoming them is the biggest problem of all. >To fulfill their revolutionary duty to the Albanian people, revolutionary >Marxists should immediately undertake an extraordinary international >effort with the objective to facilitate the creation of revolutionary >cells in the country, establish reliable communication with them, and >provide necessary means for building at least a minimal infrastructure for >revolutionary organization in legal and underground conditions. >If necessary, those revmarxists who live in core capitalist countries >should be subjected to a special "Albanian" levy in order to finance >these tasks. > >It is only through collective actions like this, inspired by the masses in >>revolt and having recognized our full responsibility for everything that >>happens to them, we can build our Party, and without any "preparation." Here Vladimir gives a recipe for intervention that is absolutely dependent on successful party-building. If you're in a party, you can begin considering actions like this. The contribution of funds included. If you're outside, you're nowhere. But there are a couple of oversights in Vladimir's picture. Most importantly, the objective is not conspiratorial but revolutionary. The better we help in the struggle, the better our chances of getting revolutionary organizational tasks accomplished. Even then, there's nothing straightforward about it, as the difficulties experienced by our Simon Bolivar Brigade in Nicaragua illustrate. Establishing reliable communication means establishing political trust, and this is not something that's done overnight, especially if you are a stranger. As for the "responsibility", this is something that must be monitored by both party militants and revolutionary fighters as the situation develops. Frequent balance sheets need to be drawn up. But we can only take full responsibility for our *own* actions and decisions, we can't take responsibility for the enemy's actions. Hugh -------------------------------------------------------- Aldolfo and the Stalin resurrectionsts! Aldolfo writes; >That is the consequence of the abject capitulation to the likes of Jerry >Levy by precisely those who made such a stinking about getting rid of him >only to fall silent and start to ruminate "game theories" (o games about >theories, who knows and, most importantly, who cares?) with the sole and >worthy purpose of hearing the sound of their own voices, something which - >it is now more than crystal clear for us - they surely appreciate above any >other principle. > >Adolfo Olaechea Aldolfo! Not more then two (!) days ago you were begging the so called "duckpond" to get rid of those horrible Trotskyists who were destroying the list. The classical opportunist block of petty bougeois intellectuals and the Stalinists of the post second world war. So stop whining about principles! You were on your knees begging these people Aldolfo! In reality the only thing pissing you off is that you can not organize the duckpond according to your rules.. The good old days are gone forever... In case you haven't realized it the petty bougeois intellectuals no longer see Stalinism as a serious alternative to capitulate too. Despite attempts by some of the "Communist left" presenting long and boring documents trying to raise Stalin from the grave.. and building a new family of Stalinist organizations which have the common denominator of seeing the world devided up between before 1956 and after 1956. It will take another October Revolution and a new Stalin to create those conditions. So why don't you give it up? Go look for a progressive wing of the Peruvian bougeoisie or something..Or perhaps some sort of Euro-Communist reformism? Or even better become a Trotskyist then you might even be taking a step in the right direction. Because the only future for the Stalin society is old age, bitterness and a grave! Stalinism is dead and neither Aldolfo and his little photographer or the "Communist Left" will be able to resurrect a political line which was based on the counter-revolutionary politics of "building Socialism in one country" connected to all the twists and turns which evolved out of the COMINTERN by the Stalinists. In fact the only thing that kept Stalinism alive was the material basis of the deformed and degenerated workers states which financed a overwhelming part of the operation Internationally. Nor will the "unity" mongering of the "Belgian Workers Party" against "revisionism" change this dialectical fact. Our old Stalinists can howl at the moon and in fact have become in most countries and insignificant sect while the rest of the old Stalinist guard are trying to become Social Democrats in order to be good servants to their new masters--imperialism and capitalism. Any serious old Stalinist who really still stands for making a revolution must break with all these attempts to resurrect something which is responsible for the present state of things in the International Workers movement. And it hardly started in 1956 but almost immediately after Lenin's death. It is documented in the history of the Left Opposition led by Trotsky and the founding documents of the Fourth International. Warm Regards Bob Malecki -------------------------------------------------------- Academic Marxism? yoshie furuhash; >I agree with Will that we do need to consider what separates academics from >other sorts of workers who all Marxists can agree are indeed proletarians. Yoshie I assume with a lot of other people writes a rather formal correct position on the academics and their plight. I can only add that many academics because of the "education explosion" in the post war boom find that they themselves are today finding themselves on the dole for perhaps the first time in history! Ahh nothing like a good old portion of unemployment for our smarties to get them moving in one direction or another! Unfortunately historically these kinds of crisises usually drive the smartie crowd to the right at best and even towards fascists and racist solutions when things get really up tight. However there are those intellectuals that do not follow the pack and do work against their both material and cultural privileges that they historically have been based on.. But what Yoshie and others leave out despite their plight is the bougeois world of thoughts, values and ideals that are served to them on a silver spoon from birth. It creates a constant pressure to capitulate to these forces and in this case under the cover of being "Marxists". I do not think that there is much difference between the labor aristocracy and academia other then the labor aristocracy has built up its capital in the factories near the workers historically both as trade union bureaucrats and the specialized trade-in the industries whereas the academia do not even have these class roots! But both are naturally extremely dangerous. But getting back to the academia I think the best examples of academia actually writing something that workers can use comes from people like Adam Rose (who I disagree with because of his state capitalism) but his style and the things he sometimes produces can be used by workers. Dave Bedgood is another good example. Negative examples is Doug! Not because I disagree with his liberalism. The problem with Doug I think is that he does not give workers any information that they can use. He mostly contributes like others here as some sort of ego tripping mind game, sort of like masturbation, or a discussion over the head of workers. Proyect is another example of the same tendency and quite openly wants to create a list which in style is exactly like the garbage that he thinks is important. I should mention here Vlad who started off pretty bad politically but has a style which I think workers could understand.. And Stuward who is very honest, in fact to me one of the most honorable of the intellectual crowd that hangs out here! Aldolfo despite is religious fever and obsession with cockroaches has a style which can be understood by workers sometimes. But he is constantly wanting to join the intellectual playpen. When he is not threatening to use the steel boots on them! Louis G is extremely intelligent but goes on with endless desertations without openly coming out and defending his obvious Stalinist line. He draws all the arguments but not the tactical and organizational conclusions they involve. He is trying to get people to buy a pig in the bag. The same old pig of Stalinist politics that the workers movement has been chained with for years. Albeit a cleaned up version. Barkely is just a whining apologist that wants to be one of the boys. Justin appears to be one of those dry dusty types who will have to change his ways if he thinks he is going to communicate with working class people. Scott is a clown and lives off leaching on intellectual quips amongst the learned here at Jefferson village. Bob S. who apparently has disappeared from M-I was more of and honest bougeois intellectual with quite clear positions that at least defended the male half of his protogees! Jerry Levy who was one of the "ivory tower" people has his own problems these days. >From carrying the big stick against the "Stalinists" and the Trots on first m1 and then M2 he is getting hit with the stick because of the Proyect affair.Very Funny in fact. In regards to this I find it interesting that the moderators Godena and Zeynep defend Louis on this one with Jerry and quietly let slip by Proyect going all over the net accusing malecki of being and "agent provacateur", "cop" and a lot of other lies and slanders. But for these intellectuals their are one kind of thing that should be looked into and Jerry gets the big stick and others which are ignored that were and are far more dangerous. I assume that the rules and arts of respectability on M-I only are for certain elements of academia. Sort of like being in a sandbox playing with your prick or something! So much for our moderators. Although I think that Jon certainly was principled in removing himself from the Jerry-Proyect controversy. To bad you could not do that with the Malecki stuff on M1 John. And as far as the recent controversy I think that Jerry should not even have been allowed to write and then get thrown off the list for his writings. because he was never a member of the list. So if anybody should get a smack on the hand it is in fact those moderators that allowed Jerry's letter to reach the list despite him not being subbed! But I see that this stuff as been taken care of now. But as they usually say one of the traits of the petty bougeois intellectual is defending their own kind through thick and thin from those horrible "vulgar" proletarians! "Each to his own and never the twain shall meet." Who said that? Obviously a very smart ass. Finally I guess that Lenin and Trotsky were the best examples of a communist intellectual intellegencia who could go to the very heights of the intellectual aristocracy and deal with them in the interests of poor and working class people and then on the other hand could write to the lowest of poor and proletarian elements of the vanguard of the proletariat and grab them by the balls. Our list has a long way to go before we find any of this caliber to help poor and working class people find a way forward. It is a sign of the times and naturally the character of the new left and its both historically being born in the post war boom and years after the great events which shaped the intellectuals of the first-second, third and fourth Internationals. In fact not to much original thinking from our intellectuals on this list. Just a parroting of the various trends that have existed since the victory of the October revolution and the Stalinist and Social democratic aftermath! And to think that these intellectuals have accuse Malecki of being a horrible sectarian who just repeats those horrible Bolshevik Leninist formulas and talks about Trotsky all the time. I mean Christ our bougeois intelligensia who appear to go through every word any asshole writes and bickers about it trying desperately to find something so that they can throw that oh so horrible Lenin and Trotsky out the window! Hmmm it just makes me wonder. But even in these questions the ivory tower types appear to defend their own! However their are a few exceptions! Probably take a small group of revolutionary Bolshevik-Leninists and a new October somewhere on this planet in order to break all of our intellectuals from there bad habits! Then and maybe then should workers take you people seriously. Until then nobody gets a free ticket! Especially our "Marxist academicians"! So the message is not your woes but where are you thinking about taking poor and working class people, the revolutionary motor of history. To new victories or new bloodbaths? Warm regards Bob Malecki PS: For those intellectuals I have not named (Rob S) for example. Well, consider yourself lucky! You might just make it on to my list! PPS: Oops their goes that horrible vulgar malecki again! Why won't he stop picking on us. I guess we will have to deal with him in one way or another! Well, the same goes for you! As the great cry from the French Revolution once again walks the halls of history on Internet! Off with their heads! Especially those with the powdery wigs on... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Check Out My HomePage where you can, Read the book! Ha Ha Ha McNamara, Vietnam-My Bellybutton is my Crystalball! Or Get The Latest Issue of, COCKROACH, a zine for poor and working-class people and now starting the "Never Ending Story"... http://www.algonet.se/~malecki Back issues of Cockroach and my book at http://www.kmf.org/malecki/ --------------------------------------------------------