Sun, 4 May 1997 03:16:00 -0400 COCKROACH! #58 (Apology!) 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 Subscribtions 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! -------------------------------------------------------- 1. Reply to Joshie 2. The Trotsky quarantine. 3. List-Lobotomising Zarembka 4. Apology! -------------------------------------------------------- Reply to Joshie Well Joshie, Your reply for some reason makes me think that you are a women..And in fact I get the feeling that your answer was and honest answer. The reason I think you are a women was partially that two or three of the key things you think it is important to work around were unity, the women's question and the gay question. This appears to be a rather natural backbone reaction and deserves and answer. I think you are wrong! Not neccessarily about the goals which certainly are goals worth fighting for. But your approach which appears to be based on the hope of unity and in the future the poor and working class dropping down on the left side of the fence sort of like birdshit or something instead of getting in their and rolling up your sleeves and fighting for a program which can mobilise poor and working class people in to a revolutionary party Internationally to fight for the dictatorship of the Proletariat which is the only solution in reaching some of the goals you set up. History has shown us that the poor and working class people just don,t fall out of the sky like birdshit in the on going class struggle. In fact the October Revolution proves that in one way that if the Bolshevik party had not existed then there would not have been and October Revolution and the aftermath of building the Third International which put things like Communist work amongst women on the order of the day among many other things. The other side of the coin is Germany where there was no Bolshevik Party and look what happened there..We got the brown shirts and Nazis's and many workers followed them off the cliff.. So so much for your ideas of building some sort of vague kind of work which will lead towards people unconciously manning the barricades to overthrow capitalism in a crisis. In fact the only way the Proletariat will man the barricades and be successful is under the leadership of a party who has a program and will to go all the way... Now to the women's question and the homophil question. Good questions and important questions. But hardly questions to be taken out of context and especially their class context can be solved by building movements around these particular issues despite how dedicated the individuals involved are in these types of struggles. It will only be a Proletarian revolution that can solve these problems and will be most difficult under a long period of time in the transitional states to overcome the centuries of garbage, lies, myths etc. imposed on poor and working class people by the present system. Just as believe in god will not disappear over night will the position that boys who like boys or girls who like girls or whatever disappear. Nor will the positions and historical repression of women disappear. Only victorious revolutions can open the way to just beginning to find some solutions to these questions. And it will have to come from a Revolutionary Party that has a program and is prepared to fight for it that this stuff can succeed. Because most of this stuff is historically derived from the family,private property and class relations. Thus in order to remove the problem one has to attack and smash its very foundation and from their begin to build a new foundation. Until that happens nothing can change. Naturally this does not mean that one puts these questions on a back burner and say they have to wait until the revolution. Naturally a Bolshevik Party should in the future haved special forms of organisations for women to do Communist work amongst women for example. And on the homophil question the Communists on the one hand are in the front lines to defend the interests of peoples private sexual preferences while at the same time warning that we are not interested in solving your private sexual relations as a single issue but as spokesman for the freedom of all poor and working class people. Thus we have no tears for gays nor women who are class enemies of the proletariat! And never will be. But we do fight for women's freedom and sexual freedom for poor and working class people. This because there is unfortunately a trend to draw the women's question and the gay question as some sort of classless utopia which exists far outside of anything else. Most of the single issue stuff is run and operated by the class enemy who hardly want the poor and working class people to rule society. They want to reform the present society and make a few laws which say I can screw or marry who i want! Sorry, but as a Communist militant I say that this is not enough! You are either part of the problem or you are part of the solution. There are no half-way houses! I will stop there for now. I have to go to work. Bob Malecki ------------------------------------------------------- The Trotsky quarantine. One of the features of this debate about Stalinism, is that, apart from Bob's and Hugh's contributions, there seems to be a virtual ignorance of Trotsky's contemporary analysis of Stalinism in contrast to a flood of books by bourgeois academics rushing to make their careers, or flesh out their class interests, which is the same thing, on the bones of the SU. Trotsky's analysis was superior because 1) He was there as a main leader of October 2) played a key role in the events as a leader of the opposition, 3) was a marxist dialectician. Together these add up to much more than the latter-day bone-pickers. Therefore, Trotsky left us a record of the struggle which cannot possibly be reconstructed from any other source. I get this impression - of a Trotsky quarantine - from the ridiculously clumsy views of Trotsky and Trotskyism held by many people on this list 1) Trotsky is talked of as an individual, not as a revolutionary leader. 2) Karl finds it a contradiction to say that the degenerated workers state could also be a dictatorship of the proletariat - this is elementary stuff for an ex-trotskyist like Karl. 3) Mark thinks that because I identify 1923 as the beginning of the Stalinist betrayals, that I give up on defending the USSR and blocking with the Stalinists in its defence. Again an abysmal misreading of Trotsky. What does Mark think Trotsky meant by Political Revolution? 5) There is a common tactic on this list to reduce Trotsky to post-war trotskyism with which they may have had bad experiences. They are not the same. 6) certain caricatured views attributed to Trotsky. e.g. to say as Mark does, that Trotsky counter-posed Stalinism to World-Revolution as if to prove that because World-Revolution is impossible then Stalinism was, unfortunately, necessary. But Trotsky meant by world revolution what was already obvious to the Bolsheviks from the start and was the principle behind their foreign policy in the early years - how to get the European and Asian workers to smash their bosses and come to the rescue of the Russian revolution? Anyway, the effect is to close off Trotsky from the analysis of what caused Stalinism, and therefore what it takes to overcome it, and to prevent it from occuring again. Mark says, it won't happen again because "we now know" that socialism is impossible in one country. First, he doesnt recognise that the petty bourgeois will never concede this as it is against their class interests which is to manage a peaceful national road to socialism. Second, more important, he doesnt recognise this as a fundamental tenent of Bolshevism. We did not have to experience Stalinism to learn that lesson. The Bolsheviks deduced this from their marxist method, and Lenin never conceded this position. Even when he was writing at the end of the need for workers and peasants to collaborate to save the workers state, it was so that it would survive until the impending revolution took place in the East and in Europe. But these revolutions never happened. What happened instead? According to Mark, Lenin succumbed to syphilis and abandoned the historic stage leaving some `iron law' of history to assert itself. No such stage, no such law. The revolution was forced onto the back foot for reasons we can probably agree on, and the bureaucracy began to take power and to defend its position by rejecting Bolshevik politics for menshevik politics. That is, permanent revolutions such as occured in Russia, would be postponed to allow support for bourgeois revolutions which would not activate revolutionary opposition against the bureaucracy in the SU. In China the "Bloc of 4 classes" doomed the emerging working class to massacre at the hands of the nationalists. Godena some months back tried to excuse this counter-revolution by blaming the infant, poorly organised working class and communist party. The CP was very well `organised', from Moscow, with Chiang as an honorary member of the Comintern. Even so, the CP was so well organised it forced Chiang to turn on the working class rather than risk being overthrown in a Chinese October. Hows that for an iron law of history? One down one to go! This pattern of menshevik/stalinist betrayals was driven through against the resistance of the left opposition. This was class struggle. The bureaucracy, representing a petty bourgeois peasant and NEPman social base, took a position mediating the struggle between the working class and the world bourgeoisie. It blocked with the world bourgeoisie against the world working class in order to consolidate its caste rule in the SU. This reached its fatal point of no return in Germany where the communists blocked with Hitler against the `social fascists'. So Stalin and Stalinism had, following some `iron law' of history, having made sure that the revolution failed in the East, now made sure that the revolution failed in the West. In both cases it was Trotsky and the oppositionists who fought with Bolshevik method and programme, to overturn the grip of the bureaucracy on the international movement. They failed but not for want of trying and against the terrible odds of international stalinism exploiting the authority of October and of Bolshevism to retain their grip on the working masses steering them into chauvinist popular fronts to defend "socialism in one country". No matter how much historical `fact' is turned over today as archives and memories are exposed to the hordes of academic bone-pickers, none of this essential class analysis of the basis of Stalinism will be disproved. Not until the working class settles accounts with this rotten history, and has broken from all those who continue today to find reasons to defend any aspect of Stalinism, will it be able to free itself from the dead hand of the bureaucracy and strike out on an independent course for socialist revolution. Bolsheviks/Leninists/Trotskyists Unite! Forward to a new Revolutionary Communist International! Dave. ------------------------------------------------------- List-Lobotomising Zarembka Mark wrote; >What most interests me about all this is why, Bob (and I told you before >I respect you because I know with the same absolute certainty that when >the time comes to build the barricades, you and I will be on one sight, >still shooting the breeze about the 1930s, as I know who will be on the >other, whatever they say now)-- I say, what interests me is, if >socialism is on its knees and dying, if the ship is sinking as Neil >says, why then, if we are just a few fools pissing in the wind, is there >such a phenomenal amount of emotional energy behind the null attacks of >people like Zarembka or Jack Duncan? Why is there never an atom of the >same passion displayed about the evils of *this* world, the one we live >in today? How actually is it possible to live in such smug, complacent >ease while, as Einstein said, engrossing so much of the labour of >others, and feel such hollow indignation about Stalinist Russia in the >1930s, and not to notice the great crimes commited on their behalf on >every street-corner, almost? >The conclusion I have reached is that if people like Zarembka, Neil, >Duncan, whoever he is, hate Stalin so viscerally, then he must have done >something right. Well, the problem with our "anti-Stalinists" mentioned above is deversified and it depends on where you are coming from and where you are going.Paul Z. I think is using the "hate Stalinism" line not so much to draw Stalin through the mud but Lenin and the Bolsheviks! At the same time he appears to like to use the classical witchhunt and baiting that the Social Democracy just loves to attack any militants whether its is in the trade unions, a meeting or this list for example. The bottom line in all this i believe is certainly a hate for Stalinism (good) but much more important is the Social democratic fear of real Bolshevism and Proletarian revolution...That is why they immediately and all times start screaming about how horrible Communism is and put great big equal signs all the time between Stainism and the Leninists..Only in order to peddle that reformists sellouts. And it worked quite well in the post-war situation and the economic boom that came after the war where they could with there Keynesian politcs keep a few of their reformist promises to the working class. But this ONLY can be seen it the light of the bougeoisie in respective countries being willing to go along with this type of compromise both for "peace" in the labor market and in fact in face of the dire fear of and expansion of the Stalinist led states at the head of the Red army after the war. However today Paul Z,s arguements have a false clang to it! Because they really have nothing to offer the working class any longer with the historical class collaborationist schemes. In fact the death of Stalinism in way also sealed the doom of the post war Social Democracies and that is why we are seeing what is going on today both in Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, as elsewhere! So in fact Paul's ravings in a certain sense mean dip shit! Because the dialectical movement of the class struggle is pushing both the Stalinists and the Social Democracy into the hands of the bougeoisie and at the same time the policies of the new era after the disintegration is pushing the workers to the left both in their *real*living situation and also in a beginning of a new radicalization and rethinging of the old political ties. Naturally there is a huge vacum that must be filled. And the ravings of our Social democrats and the Stalinists sooner or later must come down to the CONCRETE in political PROGRAM and ACTION! And even with all of their shouting about these horrible discussions from the thirties is just a very funny hat trick by these people. Because in fact they just want to renew the politics of just those tendencies that has put the Proletariat in the position they find themselves in. The vacum that has been created both by the Stalinists and the desertion of the Social Democracy is a vacum which says that the "stupid" workers are once again moving. Now we either fill this vacum with a revolutionary Bolshevik Leninist leadership or we will either get a clone version rerun of a combination of neo Stalinist Menshevik politics or we will get facism! There is no other way out of the present crisis of leadership! So calm down Mark! Don't worry! These Stalinist and Social Democratic suckers ain't got nothin to offer the working class! Now to Neil our ultra left Bordigist with the state Capitalist line. Neil is a different story all together in a way. His history comes from a combination of ultra-left sectarianism on the one hand (the Bordigists) and a ultra right petty bougeois theroy on the former deformed and degenerated workers states. A combination of ultra left tacytics on the everyday questions like the trade unions and making allies with imperialism on the state cap questions both today and historically does not seem to me to be any serious threat! Neil will either break with his past and move to the left or the right. Otherwise it is the isolation in the desert that awaits his tendeny. A bigger danger is the state capitalism of the SWP (Adam's Party) because Adam takes some very good positions on individual issues of class struggle and then throws it all away when the transitional states did not go the way that we Bolsheviks would like it to have gone. And this is very dangerous because in the future we certainly are going to have lots and lots of "transitional" states and the state capitalist line of a plague on both your houses of the past means at least for me that Adam and the SWP want some kind of fucking high road to a communist society. And if you can not defend the gains of the old. Well then you will never be able to defend the new "transitional" societies of the future if the going gets tough or we gets some Bonapartist "coup de tats" and bureaucratic deformations which lead to all of those glorious political positions like "the third Red Front Period", "the popular front period", the stage theroy of revolution and Socialism in one country stuff... By the way I promise to keep and eye on you Paul because you want proof of your "Menshevism". It will be forth coming I promise. Just keep writting and i will fill in between the lines for you. Unfortunately i can not answer your letter now. This is my second post today and I want to write something to "yoshie" on the squatters which I think is important in this debate which is presently going on. Finally Gary our Australian Maoists....Fuck off you whinny little dickhead! I mean what else can i say when your letters are filled with the Malecki,Hugh Trotsky baiting and whining which appears to be your only tune at all. Why not come with something political so the Trotskyist like myself and Hugh can eat you alive and spit you out for breakfast. You can't! Because neo-Stalinists like you only come with your miserable "don't read that stuff" line. You are both boring and stupid. So stop wasting everybodies time with your fake organisational solutions in your hate the Trots on going campaign. By the way! One important question left on this Stalinism stuff. There are still a lot of people out there in the world who's only connection with Communism was and is the Stalinist scholl of falsification and political bankruptcy. In fact many of them are more then likely going to be very good class struggle militiants in the future! Once they get rid of the lethary and demoralisation and in fact the flirt with imperialism's fake "democracy" they are once again going to be looking for answers and ONLY the creation of cadre organsations Internationally who in theroy and practice base them self on the history of the Bolshevik Leninists Party, The first Four Congresses of the Third International, Trotsky and the history of the Left Opposition and the founding documents of the Fourth International can show the way forward! All other ways are doomed to failure and at best a clone version re-run of the past horrible mistakes of the Stalinists and the Mensheviks in the form of Social Democracy. So once again I say to Mark. Cool it! Don't worry the Neo-Stalinist and Mensheviks have nothing to offer and no *real* solution. They are at best treading water, standing still or going backwards. I am not really worried about them at all. Other then at present they are just a minor roadblock on the way to creating a revolutionary Communist International...In fact a much MORE MINOR roadblock then just ten years ago!!!!!!Ha Hah Ha Ha. That is so fucking funny.Really! SO very very fucking funny..Because it is the Stalinists and Mensheviks on this list and everywhere Internationally who are finally in deep shit asnd without a paddle.. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha...:) I will stop there for now... Warm Regards Bob Malecki -------------------------------------------------------- Apology! PO writes; > > Bob, you need to make an open *apology* to the LCmrci and ben Burgis >for all the slanders that you made. > > Ben and us always defended you against the Stalinists slanders in >the internet lists. Ben and PO were expelled from LU for that reason. >Unfortunately, you used against us the same arms and slanders which the >Stalinists used against you. > > If you will not apologise to us you will damage very much your >credibility. After lying once again about the fact that both Cockroach and Dave from the Lcmcri agreed to stop the discussion the Lcmcri once again is trying to beat a dead horse. I think that this desperate effort has hardly anything to do with who slandered who the name calling level on both sides has been quite high. I guess it is the Lcmcri having image problems of being those poor little "Trotskyists" that the big bad Malecki abnd Cockroach are picking on. After the rather long exchange between Cockroach and the Lcmcri; Both the Lcmcri and Ben see Cockroach and Malecki as a "Stalinist".. Fine! Just a few days ago Malecki and Cockroach were those horribile "Yankee Cannonites" and now we have made it into the Lcmcri "Stalinist" slot. In my defense I must honestly say I have at least been consistent. I mean I have accused the Lcmcri of being "cop lovers" and "military asskissers" from the beginning of the exchange! They on the other hand not only do pancake numbers on their political line but now the name calling allso! Obviously the Lcmcri are worrried about this exchange where both sides have had their say and are trying to get in some parting shots..But after this latest letter from them Malecki has decided to set up his apology for everyone on the Internet to read and think about! My open apology can be found at my homepage! Bob Malecki ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 http://www.algonet.se/~malecki Back issues of Cockroach and my book at http://www.kmf.org/malecki/ --------------------------------------------------------