I would like to present to you a series of notes -reedited- of a debate I held with different comrades from different countries on this side of the ocean, because I am convinced that they have a very relevant informative and conceptual value. I will begin with some considerations and then go into the exchanges.
The
stage of confusion has never been greater within the popular classes: strategic
knowledge [said the first modern revolutionaries] must come from outside the
popular classes. But, as they were neither so stupid nor so ignorant,
dialectically speaking, that same knowledge was learned and apprehended from
those same popular classes in action: of course, one must master the
contradictory side of knowledge and action in order to understand it (to overcome
the philosophy of an epoch one must realise it: knowledge and action to be
truly revolutionary must always march together).
So
the debate, the exchange of ideas aims to combat these evils and the causes
that provoke them. I will start with the last of the exchanges, because it
deals with the most pressing issue of the moment.
What is the reason for the enormous and undeniable confusion?
The 'political leaders' of the popular classes do not study[1], and what is worse they advocate that the militant base should not do so, the result is widespread ignorance: because reading the material that has circulated in militant circles over the last four decades is synonymous with functional ignorance (i.e. maintaining the revival of a glorious past, and not always maintaining fidelity to that past).
It
is only really studied when meaning is created (i.e. when knowledge is
directed), and society in general is devoid of meaning, because it makes no
sense for an organisation to have meaning in itself (socialism in its
revolutionary version), if the popular classes are inserted in a world that has
expropriated it of meaning. Sense, and above all the sense of becoming (that is
the future) must be mediated by a sense of becoming:
The
social revolution of the 19th (read 21st) century cannot draw its lyric from
the past, but only from the future. It cannot begin its authentic task until it
has rid itself of all superstitious adoration of the past. Previous revolutions
needed to reach back into the memories of world history to stupefy themselves
about their own content. The revolution of the 19th century must let the dead
bury their dead, in order to become aware of its own content. There, the phrase
overflowed the content; here, the content overflows the phrase ([1848] 2004: 20).
This quotation from Marx requires careful study because it alludes to philosophy and the science of knowledge, without which - Marx would say - "there is nothing". The establishment of Western knowledge (the hegemonic knowledge of the world) has imposed itself in this sensitive aspect in an overwhelming way with a task of demolishing the sense of becoming that had its roots in the historicism of the Enlightenment and that had its continuity in "Historical Materialism". This edifice of knowledge that guided the French revolution and reached its zenith with the "October Revolution" was demolished and denigrated to its foundations: nothing was left. To postulate socialism without solving this problem of the philosophy and science of the revolution is like wanting to breed fish without having a fish tank....
In science this problem was boldly solved, not by a revolutionary but by an American scholar: this extraordinary man was called THOMAS SAMUEL KUHN (and revolutionary militancy should pay him the same honour that Marx paid to Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach). Kuhn was the Feuerbach of the 20th century, and we still await both the tribute to Kuhn and the 'arrival of Marx'...
Let's get to the debate: exchange with the comrade Reme from the Basque country about the "War in Ukraine" and the situation in the Spanish state: in the first note the comrade, among other things, says:
“prepare a society of police and military, instead of teachers, researchers, health workers, carers and carers”[2]
Reme: clear,
strong and forceful …
1.
Anti-war petition sent by Reme via Email.
¡ NOT IN OUR NAME!
We the
undersigned, workers, pensioners, youth, address ourselves to the Socialist
Party, Podemos, PCE-IU, and all the organisations that claim to be of the
working class or of the right of self-determination of the peoples, and that
form the so-called "most progressive government" in the history of
the Spanish monarchy.
The peoples
of the Spanish state, the workers, the youth, in their great majority, have
condemned the invasion of Ukraine by Putin's troops. They are in solidarity
with the Ukrainian people and with the Russian citizens who oppose the war.
The vast
majority also do not approve of the dangerous game played by Biden and the
governments of NATO member states, who, with their policy of massive arms
shipments to the Zelensky regime, are just as responsible as the Putin regime
for the deaths of thousands and thousands of Ukrainian and Russian people, for
the devastation of Ukrainian territory and for the impoverishment and suffering
of the Ukrainian, Russian and European population.
An unjust
war that only benefits the arms manufacturers, the big American and European
companies and the Russian oligarchs, diverting the budget of the countries to
the arms race, which on the other hand contributes to the devastation of the
planet.
The Sanchez
government, whatever the speeches of its members at "peace
conferences" or anti-NATO rallies, sends billions of euros in arms to
Ukraine within the framework of NATO. Billions of euros that are missing from
the budget for public services, for salaries and pensions. Billions of euros
that could help mitigate the effects of climate change that will cause
displacement never seen before, even in wartime.
The same
government that spends billions on wars and NATO has just approved a new
pension reform that consolidates the move from 15 to 25 years for the
calculation of pensions and fixes it in the future at 29 or 30 and the
retirement age at 67. And this just at the time when French workers are
mobilising in their millions against Macron's pension reform!
NATO
commands, governments obey and the people pay the consequences.
We have not
forgotten that 20 years ago a criminal invasion began in Iraq, a criminal
invasion in which the former president Aznar, who together with the UK and the
US formed the infamous trio of the Azores, got us involved.
The
workers, the young people who voted for PSOE, UNO Podemos and their allies, did
not vote for a repeat of what happened 20 years ago NO MORE ARMS SHIPMENTS!
STOP PARTICIPATING IN THEIR WARS![3]
Colen's
response to the text of the "Petition".
Hello Reme!
I appreciate the initiative, but some things are too serious to be left aside.:
The document, on the one hand, omits that the war
was not started by Putin, but by the fascist forces that sheltered the Maidan
promoted by the US-UK-EU-NATO. The debacle of the Kremlin-supported bureaucracy
in Ukraine (Viktor Yanukovych and co.) exposed the working classes who had to
flee and take refuge in Donetsk and Lugansk (while Bandera's heirs burned alive
trade union militants within their unions).
The Kremlin and Putin tolerated Kiev's attacks (which cost the lives of 1,400 Russian children) against the republics which eight years later Putin belatedly acknowledged the failure of his diplomacy with the West (so treacherous was this silence that the Russian press asked Putin how he could be so patient: we all watched it for years on TV).
The document implicitly states that it is in solidarity with all the Ukrainian people, while it is in solidarity only with the Russian people who oppose the war (?) What about the right wing of the people who supported the Maidan in the streets by murdering dozens of militants and popular fighters, and who today are the basis of the puppet regime of Volodymir Zelensky? The majority of the Russian people support the war or justify it, otherwise it would be impossible to keep more than 140 million people silent? These Russian people know that Kiev is the spearhead against Russia, and that nothing good can be expected from the warlike 'democracy' of Biden and his allies.
The document ends where it should begin, if it is to be true: Biden's is not a dangerous game but the blatant use of Zelensky's puppet regime for a criminal war, which he started by promoting the Maidan and the fascist forces in Kiev, as Ford and US imperialism did with Hitler's regime, which got out of hand: in this sense Putin is right.
If it is possible to have a say and change what is not right in the document, I will gladly sign it; if it is a closed document, I am obliged to make public why I did not sign it.
Putin must be tried, but we will not tolerate the ICC (International Criminal Court), which is a den of bandits financed by NATO-USA and the EU.
We should promote an "International Peoples'
Commission" to judge war crimes, starting with the crimes of the serial
killers of the planet, who are the successive governments of the US-UK, NATO
and the EU (is it a utopia?: yes), but better a utopia than omitting the truth.
Reme: as I value the initiative very much, I propose that you open the document, at least to the closest militancy. It seems to me that we have time, the war will not end tomorrow, and that the document be agreed upon in its most important aspects (I am enclosing as a contribution an enlarged critical version of the document for your evaluation).
With fraternal greetings! Colen Grant
2. Colen's
proposal.
NOT IN OUR NAME!
We, the undersigned, workers, intellectuals,
artists, musicians, writers, pensioners, young people, are addressing the
Socialist Party, Podemos, PCE-IU, and all the organisations that claim to be
working class or for the right of self-determination of the peoples, and those
who form the so-called "most progressive government" in the history
of the Spanish monarchy.
The peoples of the world in their great majority condemn wars, and stand in solidarity with the defenceless people who suffer from them. Especially the war in Ukraine and Russia takes centre stage, not because it is the only war going on, but because it pits the world's major powers against each other and threatens a world war.
It is imperative to stop the main war offensive led by Biden, the UK and NATO (which in addition to Ukraine is instigating another war in Taiwan), who with their policy of massive arms shipments to the Zelensky regime, are as responsible as the Putin regime for the death of thousands and thousands of Ukrainian and Russian people, for the devastation of Ukrainian territory and for the impoverishment and suffering of the Ukrainian, Russian and European population.
An unjust war that only benefits the arms manufacturers, the big US and European companies and the Russian oligarchs, diverting the budget of the countries to the arms race, which in turn contributes to the devastation of the planet. The Sanchez government, whatever the speeches of its members at "peace conferences" or anti-NATO rallies, sends billions of euros in arms to Ukraine in the framework of NATO.
Billions of euros that are missing from the budget for public services, for salaries and pensions. Billions of euros that could help mitigate the effects of climate change that will cause displacement never seen before, even in wartime. The same government that spends billions on wars and NATO has just approved a new pension reform that consolidates the move from 15 to 25 years for the calculation of pensions and fixes it in the future at 29 or 30 and the retirement age at 67. And this just at the time when French workers are mobilising in their millions against Macron's pension reform!
NATO commands, governments obey and the people pay the consequences. We have not forgotten that 20 years ago a criminal invasion began in Iraq, a criminal invasion in which former president Aznar, who together with the UK and the US formed the infamous trio of the Azores, got us into.
EVERYONE who voted for PSOE, UNO Podemos and their allies, did not vote for a repeat of what happened 20 years ago.
NO
TO SENDING ARMS! ENOUGH OF PARTICIPATING IN THEIR WARS!
Reme’s note:
Dear Colen:
Good afternoon, as I told you we have discussed with
other comrades and I am sending you the new version.
I hope you agree with it and that
you will be among the first public signatories.
I am also sending you the
introductory letter and the data to be filled in, volunteers.
I look forward to hearing from
you. Best regards. Reme
Colen’s note:
It is my intention to add my signature to the valuable initiative. As you say, it does not vary much, only the order of criminal responsibilities is reversed, and that is not a detail.
I hope it will be understood and
thus add my signature.
Fraternal greetings
Colen Grant
2. Anti-war petition sent by Reme via Email (new version).
NOT IN OUR NAME!
We, the undersigned workers, labourers, pensioners, young people, intellectuals, artists, are addressing the Socialist Party, Podemos, PCE-IU, which form the so-called "most progressive government" in the history of the Spanish monarchy, and all organisations that claim to be working class or the right of self-determination of the peoples.
The peoples of the Spanish state, the workers, the youth,
in their great majority, have condemned the invasion of Ukraine by Putin's
troops. They are in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and the Russian
people, both victims of the war.
The vast majority also condemn the war offensive led by
Biden and NATO, whose policy of massive arms shipments to the Zelensky regime
is as responsible as Putin's regime for the deaths of thousands and thousands
of Ukrainian and Russian people, for the devastation of Ukrainian territory and
for the impoverishment and suffering of the Ukrainian, Russian and European
population.
An unjust war that only benefits the arms manufacturers,
the big American and European companies and the Russian oligarchs, diverting
the budget of the countries to the arms race, which on the other hand
contributes to the devastation of the planet. The Sanchez government, whatever
the speeches of its members at "peace conferences" or anti-NATO
rallies, sends billions of euros in arms to Ukraine within the framework of
NATO.
Billions of euros that are missing from the budget for
public services, for salaries and pensions. Billions of euros that could help
mitigate the effects of climate change that will cause displacement never seen
before, even in wartime.
The same government that spends billions on wars and NATO
has just approved a new pension reform that consolidates the move from 15 to 25
years for the calculation of pensions and fixes it in the future at 29 or 30
and the retirement age at 67. And this just at the time when French workers are
mobilising in their millions against Macron's pension reform!
NATO
commands, governments obey and the people pay the consequences.
We have
not forgotten that 20 years ago a criminal invasion began in Iraq, a criminal
invasion in which the former president Aznar, who together with the UK and the
US formed the infamous trio of the Azores, got us into.
The
millions of workers, labourers and young people who voted for PSOE, UNO Podemos
and their allies, did not vote for a repeat of what happened 20 years ago.
NO TO SENDING ARMS! ENOUGH OF PARTICIPATING IN THEIR
WARS!
¡Dear
Reme![4]
It was very comforting for me to receive your mail... Until I read the petition again....
Imperialist propaganda is so strong that it bends our conscience like the wind bends the weak branch of a tree. And, if the metaphor serves, the tree of our social conscience has never been as weak as it is today: it is the only reason that could explain why comrades like you, who risk so much in life in struggle, refuse to see something as elementary as the difference between saying what has happened or what imperialist propaganda imposes on us to say (we say, in the end, the same thing that Sánchez, whom we want to criticise so much, says). In this sense, President Lula of Brazil has been a little more correct, who has refused to repeat the Biden-Sánchez-NATO story...
From a political point of view, the document worsens the previous one. Not only does it insist on putting Putin's responsibility first, but it claims that Putin is the imperialist, and thus omits to emphasise that the only imperialists are Biden and NATO who have bloodied the whole world...
Is Putin the imperialist?
Is the "Russian Federation" the imperialist?
The peoples of the
"Russian Federation" who had to suffer, first, in defence of the
"October Revolution", the merciless attack of the imperialist powers
of the earth, who armed the White Army against the Red Army, then the
degradation of a murderous bureaucracy which agreed in the name of Stalin to
add them to a fratricidal war. Those peoples who have been losing territory
decade after decade to the war offensive of the Yankees and NATO do not deserve
to be called imperialists. One does not need to endorse Putin's policy to tell
the truth. Putin reacted because after eight years of attacking the popular
forces under siege by the fascists in Kiev, with their puppet government of
Biden and NATO, he could see - it was so obvious - that the Maidan steps were
aimed at disintegrating the Federation completely, and not to change the
corrupt Kremlin bureaucracy for something better, but to disintegrate it (eat
it in slices...) in the way they did until now. ) the way they did it to
exhaustion with Syria-Libya or Iraq.
Dear comrade, as you can see, what I say to you is not meant to be polemical, nor to make anything bigger or smaller: the truth can be omitted or told in the same lines. As long as I deny it, I will not even make concessions to my mother (I think this justifies my harsh language)?
Militancy has paid a heavy price for concessions....
I hope that by sustaining a position on the merits I will not lose your esteem.
With a fraternal embrace.
Colen Grant
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-CHINA AND
THE WAR [5]
v Exchange with comrade Stefano Vagnoli of the Socialist Workers Club of London about the war in Ukraine, the role of Russia and China.
This is the statement of our comrades in Genoa, a few days after the outbreak of war the steelworkers and dockers went on strike and once again the anti-war position is strengthened: the Genoese FIOM announces a two-hour strike of the Genoese metalworkers against the war for tomorrow, 25 February.
"On
the eastern frontier of Europe, arms are once again the protagonists of a new
conflict with unpredictable results - reads a pamphlet of the Genoese FIOM Cgil
- In the face of the barbarity of the war that is breaking out once again, the
Genoese metalworkers cannot and will not remain silent and, as the
internationalist tradition of the international workers' movement dictates, declare
a two-hour strike tomorrow, Friday 25 February, with a garrison in Massena
Square at 9 o'clock in the morning. Against all wars of all imperialisms,
in defence of the workers of all countries".
Being in
Europe it is important that we underline our workers' opposition to our own
enemy at home, European imperialism.
American and Russian workers must denounce their own.
See you
soon
Reply
from Colen:
Do you
realise, dear Comrade, that the right political position tends to coincide with
reality?
I did
not know anything about the statement and action of the Genoese workers, but my
pointing out in the letter[6] goes in that direction... This, too, is
not a detail?
There is
a serious problem, which at some point we must address, in your statement about
imperialism: Neither Russia nor China are imperialist states, nor could
they be: it is a historical problem which has not been adequately dealt with to
date.... In the ashes of Russia lies latent the historical leap for humanity
that China has taken best advantage of (that leap is called PLANNING)...For
this reason, it is not by chance that it has surpassed capitalism and shown,
especially in the crisis of the pandemic, that qualitative aspect of the soil
where the workers' and peasants' revolution stepped on... The mirage of
'democracy' obscures and prevents us from seeing clearly this nodal difference:
'democracy' as a truly obsolete and useless regime, and planning, which sheds
the little political light that shines on this planet...
I think,
it can be seen that this approach represents a new thesis that requires study,
analysis and debate...
Reply
from Stefano:
Hello
Colen, thus is a complex matter that deserves a long conversation and cannot be
exhausted in a message, but I will give you a few points, so you can better
appreciate our position. The question of the social nature of the USSR (and of
all other so called socialist countries) was amply debated in the 30s and 40s
and we consider it fully solved. Trotskyist, which we respect as honest
revolutionaries, got it wrong, Bordiga, with his analysis of stare capitalism,
got it right. Although we are not bordighist, we own him for clarifying the
social nature of the USSR. That analysis actually goes back to Lenin himself,
who never thought socialism to be possible in 1 country and had a clear
understanding of the role of the State in the economy and of economic planning.
Marx and Engels also wrote extensively about the risk of confusing economic
planning with socialism (the famous joke about Bismark being an example of
socialist leader). So in our analysis USSR after Stalin took power was a stare
capitalist country, and so was China, which is now transitioning to a more
market economy. Stare capitalism and planning is useful in early stage of
developments and in moments of crisis, many countries use it to develop faster
and to protect their economy from international competition (the US, Germany,
Japan and South Korea all used a great state control of the economy at
different stages of their development). I will not discuss the merits or
demerits of this economic form with respect to growth and stability, as this misses
the point. The question of imperialism is also an economic/objective one, as it
simply means identifying the signatures of this phase of development, as Lenin
clearly argued in his book. The most important of these signs is the export of
capitals abroad and the role of finance the economy. According to those criteria China entered its imperialist phase about
20-30 years ago and now it is a fully developed imperialist power. It was not born such, it just evolved
into this form with economic development, regardless of the role of planning
and the State in the economy. The New Silk Road is a clear demonstration of
this process: after being for decades the place to invest money, China is today
massively investing in Africa, Central Asia and elsewhere. Today imperialism is
fully developed and it took the novel form of continental powers, fighting for
spheres of influence. Another important novelty is that in the leading to the
first and second world war only less than 1/3 of the world was industrialised,
now 2/3 is (mainly because of India and China). This means a much fiercer
competition and crisis and war that will be on an unprecedented scale. Building
a strong internationalist, working class, bolshevik Party in the heart of one
of the imperialist brigands is our goal, my hope is that we are fast enough
before the world order breaks and the shit hits the fun. Final point, as you
touched it in your previous message: our party is modelled on the bolshevik
one, that is a party of quadres, not a mass party. We believe we still live in
an age of social passivity and in counter-revolutionary times, so we know we
can conquer to revolutionary struggle only a small minority of the workers, the
most class aware and willing to fight back. We do not worry about mass following,
because we know, with Lenin, that when
masses will finally awake in old Europe, they will follow the strongest
organisation, one with strong roots, clear strategy and a solid network. We aim
to be one such reference points, when the times come for a 4th International to
bring all true revolutionaries, forged in the flames of war, once more together
in a single, world communist party.
New
reply from Colen to comrade Stefano:
My reply (London, 29 Sept 2022) Stefano, I am not familiar with Bordiga's work. In any case, the statement about the Trotskyists raises strong objections for me, but I don't want to dissolve the central point in secondary or non-current questions, as, too, in the old debate about the nature of the USSR....
I am
interested in seeing (I know it is not easy) the problem of planning as a
salient historical feature, apart from the nature of "political
systems", which are the contingent side of development: planning is not.
Lenin
claimed that monopoly was a monument to the function of socialism. Why did he
say that? Because monopoly creates the perfect machine necessary for
revolution, i.e. planning... With planning begins the transition of human
domination over things. This definition of Lenin contains the fundamental
problem of our time: there is nothing more efficient than planning and monopoly
executes it perfectly (of course, in the interests of capital). But it is from
the exhaustion of capitalism that the revolution will be born, and the monopoly
of planning accelerates this race towards the abyss of capital.
China
demonstrates this clearly: has it not become the warmest home for the monopoly
development of capital?
Although
under the enormous deformation of the Chinese bureaucracy, planning shows that
it is, in historical terms, superior to the democracy of capital. And it shows
and demonstrates this not only for the mass of rural and urban poor, but for
the great force of international capital.
In the
struggle with the headquarters of Western capital, China plays an unappreciated
pedagogical role. ..... Western democracy, which is the worst executioner of
capital, has fallen by the wayside in the face of the planning directionality
of the Chinese bureaucracy...... This is the most important international
political development in decades.
By
equating China, Russia, the US and the EU, we only generate confusion...
This subject deserves a new book...
As you rightly say comrade, a few
WhatsApp notes are not enough.
new
embrace
The
exchange continues: new note from Stefano.
(Stefano London 18-9-2022) I agree with your general statement about planning and its role in monopoly. But there are more and more powerful monopolies/cartels in US than in China, think about Amazon, where everything is planned to the minimal detail. There is planning under state capitalism, there is planning in the private market. Once workers take power they will use what they find ready for them in this society. A rational plan for production is the main element of transition to socialism, on this we agree. Strongly disagree about the democratic form as being less efficient: democracy is the best shell of class power, although with different gradations. It is the preferred choice of capitalists, especially during periods of economic development, whereas more authoritarian forms can be used in periods of crisis or stagnation. Cervetto has written a book about this 'The political shell'. I agree with you that democracy is an illusion for workers, but the focus should be on a revolution to get rid of the State, not to point them to China or Russia as more 'advanced' models, this is a dangerous illusion and generates confusion. It will be used in the future to drag workers into one of the imperialist camps, whereas skepticism towards democracy and internationalist solidarity can be used to unite them behind revolutionary banners.
New note from Colen:
[London 20:40, 19/9/2022] Dear comrade! I’m sending you my contribution:
I am convinced that this debate we
are having contains a nodal problem for the revolutionary left. As you say
comrade, it is not a question of creating illusions on either side of
bureaucrats or capitalists. But we must distinguish between the soil fertilised
by two great revolutions and the soil where the liberal creed has taken root
with its most effective mechanism of deception, the democracy of capital. (On
democracy we must review a hundred times "The State and the
Revolution", especially what Lenin rescues from Engels and Marx on the
subject of "The Commune"). Because the qualitative aspect of planning, which in
Russia remains only in ashes, and which China has used with state efficiency,
must be seen against the background of the negative problem of the masses in
general (if we do not do this, we miss the facet that benefits us, the positive
side of the problem). For in developing the idea of communism, the question of
planning is secondary to the negative side of the problem. The fundamental work
requires the detoxification of the thinking masses in general (if this central
negative aspect of the problem is understood, the question of planning will be
easier to grasp). It is a question of
introducing philosophy and science into the debate (two aspects absent from the
leaders of today's left): without philosophy and science there is nothing, said
Marx and subscribed to by Lenin: that is why (although his comrades said that
Vladimir lost his head) he wrote his two fundamental works on the gnoseology of
Marxism before and during the war, in the heat of the new discoveries of the
natural sciences...
The
social mass of the West is poisoned against communism by decades of relentless
work of the establishment's academic, educational, cultural and political
apparatuses... What to do against this poison? That poison which has been
abundantly served for decades from the devices I point out (In addition to
state devices, special societies have been created to poison thinking
consciousness: like Popper's and Hayek's Mont Pellerin Society). So first we
need a powerful antidote to the poison deposited and sedimented in the
consciousness of two or three generations: the generation born with the 1930s
and those after the Second World War up to the present day: How is it possible
that the pathological work of the Establishment figures I denounce has been
propagandised in the academy and we have not used history to our advantage, to
counter it?
The
Anglo-Saxon Establishment profusely financed the intoxication work centred on
the Popper/Hayek figure, with continuity in Lakatos... The international left
did not see this fundamental and determining problem that has closed the way to
the thinking mass of society. Shouldn't we have created the organisational
reverse side to counter this mass poisoning? A specific body for this specific
task? There is a saying "Better late than never"?
My solo
task, with two theses devoted to the problem, is a basis which, not only should
not be disregarded, but should be used, precisely as what it is, a general
basis of up-to-date knowledge, which operates against this mass poisoning of
the social consciousness.
Without
this antidote, political development from science and philosophy, i.e. from the
perspective of Marxism, will not prosper. .....
What do
the leaderships of the left know about this fundamental problem I enunciate? In
general, nothing...
Only a
high grounding in the style of Lenin's works in "Materialism and
empiricism" and his "Philosophical Notebooks" will give us
authority in the centres of knowledge (the antidote must first touch the
thinking masses) and will radiate to the masses in general because we will link
it to everyday problems.
PS:
Ilich
wrote to his sister in May 1908 (on the occasion of the publication of
"Materialism and Empirio-Criticism"), that the publication of the
book was not due to literary questions but to profound political reasons....
Without
the works that Lenin devoted between 1908 and 1916 to the problems of
knowledge, the product of the revolution in the natural sciences, the
Petersburg and Muscovite intelligentsia would have refused to support him. The
effect that Lenin's works had on the Lunacharskys, on Vigotsky (who, influenced
by Lenin's work, gave lectures on Einsteinian "relativity"), on the
Bogdanovs, on the enormous biologist Timiryazev, discoverer of chlorophyll and
recognised, before the revolution, in the world's leading academic centres,
accompanied the revolution until his death in 1920: these leaders, with an
enormous social background, were the wise intellectuals who marked the praxis
and theory of the October leader in the universe of knowledge. They knew that
whoever was at the forefront knew...
¡Great hugs!
Last
note (so far) from Stefano.
(Stefano,
London 19-9-2022)
Hello
Colen, you touch on many very interesting points and, again, I agree with a lot
of what you say. I am a trained scientist (my research is in quantum physics)
so I certainly appreciate your appeal for reclaiming the scientific heritage of
marxism. Materialism and empiriocriticism has been formative for me, and it is
one of the text we have republished in our editions, together with State and
revolution, an essential read for all your comrades. Cervetto, the founder of
our Party, delved deep into the phylosophy and scientific methodology of
marxism, especially in his book 'Method and the science-party'. His conclusion
is that marxism is the only scientific methodology for the study of society,
and it is the task of the revolutionary party, not of the academic community,
to continue the scientific analysis of capitalism, that informs its strategy,
and to connect this science and phylosophy with the working masses. Having been in academia for the past 15 years, I have no confidence that
anything truly revolutionary will come out of it. The examples you mentioned of
important academics, they came to revolutionary conclusions thanks from the
consciousness brought from within, by the bolshevik party and by extraordinary
times. Marx and Engels were also ridiculed by most of their contemporary
intellectuals. There is nothing surprising here, because academia is
fundamentally a bourgeoise institutions, although in revolutionary periods
quadres for the revolution can come from it. In conclusion, although I totally
agree with you that science and phylosophy are extremely important task to
spread and strengthen marxism in the masses, my view is that only a truly
revolutionary party can realise this task effectively. The party is like a
scientific laboratory where hypothesis are elaborated and tested in a constant
interaction of theory (scientific analysis, strategy, tactic) and practical
action (participation in the class struggle, propaganda, education of the
masses). I would have
many more things to add but I will leave it here and hope we can continue this
interesting debate in person soon.
Best.
Stefano Vagnoli (London)
v Exchange
with comrade Dominique Ferré from Paris, member of the IOC
(International Workers' Committee) and of the French left (Pierre Lambert),
about the situation in France and in different countries with very relevant
reports, actions and initiatives, where the IOC is involved.
Note by comrade Dominique:
Dear Colen (Paris: 17/1/2023),
We thank
you for your letter and for your attention and support for the initiatives of
the International Workers' Committee and our campaigns against the war and in
defence of Afghan women.
The IOC liaison committee against war and
exploitation met on 12 January with the participation of workers' activists
from Benin, Burkina Faso, China, France, Germany, Haiti, India, Korea, Mexico,
Pakistan, Philippines, Romania, Russia, South Africa/Azania and USA.
The debate was introduced by comrade Daniel
Gluckstein (France), who recalled that the World Conference against War and
Exploitation had called for the withdrawal of Russian troops, the withdrawal of
US and NATO troops from Europe, and the end of imperialist and neo-colonial
interventions. That the workers of all countries do not have common interests
with the multinationals and warmongering governments but, especially in the
main capitalist countries, that we workers are confronted with the refusal of
the leaders of the main workers' organisations and "left" parties to
oppose the war. He also recalled the very positive realisation of the
international days against the war that we are holding on 9, 10 and 11 December
2022.
Other activists then took the floor. Nnamdi
Lumumba, from the USA, stressed the need to develop propaganda among US workers
that establishes the link between austerity policies and the politics of war.
Nambiath Vasudevan from India said that this was all the more necessary as the
political, economic and social crisis was deepening in all countries. German
comrade Klaus Schüller shared the observation that the leaderships of the
workers' parties and trade unions are lining up behind the warmongering government.
Jung Sikhwa from Korea pointed out that war is threatening everywhere: the
Korean government is moving more and more towards military confrontation, while
intensifying its attacks on the workers and the trade union movement. Mandla
Phangwa from South Africa/Azania added that the so-called "left"
South African government is implicated in the imperialist intervention in
Mozambique, which is driving tens of thousands of people in the area into
exile. Comrade Randy Miranda from the Philippines, therefore, recalled the
urgency of continuing the mobilisation against the war, as they have done by
forming the "Stop the war" coalition, which they want to extend to
South Asia. The IOC will soon report on proposals to broaden the international
struggle against war and warmongering governments.
The International Workers' Committee also affirmed its support for the campaign of the International Committee for the Defence of Afghan Women. Christel Keiser from France said that there are already thousands of supporters in the committee all over the world. It is necessary to support the spontaneous Afghan Women's Movement against the Taliban's decision to expel women from schools, universities and workplaces. In France and Mexico, representations have been made to the President of the Republic to grant asylum to women activists threatened with death. Rubina Jamil from Pakistan explained that many activists, lawyers and democrats were joining the International Committee. Also, US comrade Alan Benjamin reminded us that the Taliban were restored to power by the US administration in August 2021 and that the US government is therefore responsible for the Taliban's crimes against women in Afghanistan.
In your letter you asked us how you could help
us. We thank you for this proposal and we have several things to offer you.
Firstly, there is a website of the
International Committee for the Defense of Afghan Women
(https://defendafghanwomen.org/).
Do you think you could help us to translate
into Spanish the communiqués of the international committee, as well as the
various documents that are published on the site?
Secondly, whether it is the IOC, the anti-war
campaign or the Afghan women's campaign, do you have any suggestions of
activists or organisations in Argentina (and other countries) to whom we could
send information and materials on these issues?
We would also like to know if you have any
suggestions on how you could help us.
I don't know how long you will be in Madrid,
but we can connect you with the comrades, corresponding to the COI in the
Spanish State who are present in Bilbao and Barcelona.
Fraternally yours,
Dominique Ferré, Paris
New note by Comrade Dominique:
Dear comrade Colen,
Please forgive me for not being able
to write to you more regularly.
But as you probably know, we are in a
very intense period of class struggle in France. For more than a month now,
there has been a very strong mobilisation of millions of workers and young
people for the withdrawal of President Macron's reform bill attacking pensions.
It is
the strength of the "grassroots" movement whose influence led the
leaders of the inter-union, on 11 February, to launch an appeal to
"paralyse the country" on 7 March (...) to define demands and
organise themselves into strike preparation committees, integrating the trade
union organisations. Based on the call of the inter-union, these committees are
now discussing how the workers can effectively organise the paralysis of the
country, not only on 7 March, but until the government is forced to back down.
The
events of the last few days make the struggle for a united front against the
war more necessary than ever. And therefore the struggle against any
"sacred union" with warmongering governments. For the fourth time in
the last year, the European Parliament voted an almost unanimous resolution
(bringing together almost all "left" MEPs) that commits itself even
more to the military escalation of the war in Ukraine. The European Parliament
thus reaffirms its support for arms shipments to Ukraine by NATO member states,
which it deems necessary. The resolution goes even further than NATO in
specifying that it is essential that all types of weapons, including offensive
weapons such as fighter jets, be delivered. The resolution also insists on
economic sanctions against Russia and Belarus, which, as we know, affect
Russian workers more than the mafia oligarchs of the Putin and Lukashenko
regimes. This resolution was adopted almost unanimously, which is why it was
also voted for by the vast majority of MEPs of the so-called left'.
The
height of hypocrisy was reached in Madrid last Friday, when a so-called
"peace conference" took place, which you may have heard about. It was
chaired by Ione Belarra, secretary general of Podemos and a minister in
Sánchez's government, i.e. a member of a government aligned with Biden, which
is sending arms to Ukraine under NATO.
In contrast to these initiatives of
doublespeak and support for NATO policy by the "left", we take note
of the call for a demonstration to be held in London on 25 February by the Stop
the War coalition. I think I understood from your previous letters that you
were in contact with the initiators of this coalition. Perhaps in this period
when the accompaniment of war seems to dominate the labour movement, it would
be useful to establish contacts with the initiators of the Stop the War
coalition.
Apologies for not having sent the contact
details of our comrades in Bilbao and Barcelona earlier. I am enclosing the
address of our comrade Reme from Bilbao: rememartinr@gmail.com
She was
the main speaker at the rally in the port of Bilbao against the sending of arms
to NATO by the government of Sanchez last February 6th. I send you the video
Moreover, if I have understood your political
trajectory correctly, in the past you have militated in the ranks of
organisations that claim to be Trotskyist in Argentina. Without this
conditioning our collaboration in the framework of the International Workers'
Committee, we would like to send you a letter of invitation to an International
Conference in November 2023. We would like to know your point of view on the
questions developed in this Letter. Do you agree?
Once again we thank you for your support and
attention to the IOC and our anti-war campaigns.
Fraternally
Dominique Ferré-Paris
Colen‘s final note:
British/US imperialism is reeling:
the "Middle East" morsels are not enough for it and it is opening its
maw wider to gobble up Russia, that's what it's all about...
If the alliance headed by Biden
succeeds in disrupting the Kremlin's political structure, it will have taken a
giant step towards stabilising the plundering ship or unleashing the forces
that will enable us to put an end to the demon: this cannot be anticipated
given the weak international consciousness and organisation of the popular
classes. But, one thing
is definitive ... Putin must be defeated from the left or we will have lost
a battle...!
In the confrontation between Russia
and imperialism (Zelensky is its puppet) we must side with Russia, for three
fundamental reasons: 1) to prevent Yankee predominance-2) to support the weak
against the oppressive force (fundamentally thinking of the Donetz and Lugankz
people's republics, which is from where a revolutionary initiative can arise
and from where we must press for a revolutionary initiative in the Russian
Federation [Россси́йская Федера́ция]), and reason number three which is complementary to one. 3) thwarting
Biden and NATO's initiative would further bog down the already critical
situation of the US economy and finances, which are in the red and in potential
loss with China, and this will only get worse (it is this decline that explains
the empire's aggressiveness).
I argue that we should pedagogically
use a certain sympathy that China arouses to mark that trait left by the
"Mao Revolution", which is the quintessence of a revolutionary policy
(planning against market anarchy should be that pedagogical campaign that can
and should interest the popular and middle classes and also the academy: the
latter is not a detail) in the current conditions (we should also think about
touching the millions of members of the CPC, which is not a detail either).
Colen Grant
Spain-Cantabria may 2023
[1] The resistance against higher studies of
militancy by the leaders of the left (at least in Argentina) is well known.
[2] Reme’s Notes: Good evening:
yesterday I sent you a letter: 14 April, Republic Day, because of the haste
with which I wrote it, because I wanted to send it yesterday, there are two
important issues that I did not include.
As I said at the beginning of the letter, the Republic
is not an abstract entity and neither is the Catalan Republic. On the other
hand, there is another issue: the sending of arms to Ukraine by the Spanish
government.
I include
them in the document, along with some other details, and I will send it to you
again.
I apologise for the inconvenience, if you want to
comment on something, no problem, and if you want to distribute it, no problem
either. Best regards. Reme.
[3] The form for the registration of signatures is included below.
[4] When an exchange between comrades is serious and historically important, and especially if it cannot be settled, it is an obligation to make it public and socialise it. It is the healthiest thing for the future of any struggle: I urge you with all my appreciation once again to review the position.
[5] I won't mention them all
specifically here, but there have been many comrades who have helped me through
the difficulties of translation, to whom I am enormously grateful (such as
Jimmy from Manchester or Jon from London).
[6] I refer to the "Open Letter" I addressed to British trade unions during my stay in London (The Atheist Heaven: OPEN LETTER TO BRITISH TRADE UNIONS).
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