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WAR, PEACE, REVOLUTION AND DIALECTICS
Thanks to the October NEWS & LETTERS for taking a genuinely dialectical
approach to the war. Marxist-Humanism states not only what it's against,
but also what it's for: the revolutionary dawning of new social relations
in which the authentic humanity of all human beings will at long last be
confirmed. This dialectically elaborated humanist vision is capable of
bringing a number of "doubles" into view, the understanding and
analysis of
which is urgently called for by this world-historical moment. First, the
Sept. 11 disaster is a double disaster. Second, within all of the
contending nation-states, there is a "second": a second America of
ordinary
working people to rally against the permanent war mobilization; and a
second Afghanistan beyond the pale of Taliban atrocities. Now is the time
for this second America and second Afghanistan to stand in solidarity with
one another.
The Taliban no more represents mainstream Islam than "Christian
identity"-the theology behind most of the "white power"
movement-represents
mainstream Christianity. Both are the logical terminus of fundamentalist
depredations, the logic of which is to transform revolutions into their
opposite, whether the American Revolution or the Bolshevik Revolution or,
today, the revolutionary aspirations of people throughout the Muslim world
who long to be free. George Bush is a "born-again" Christian who
speaks of
democracy and freedom but whose "election" by the Supreme Court is
more the
subversion of democracy, and whose attitude of "Homeland Security"
threatens to subvert the civil liberties without which democracy is a sham.
Bombing Afghan infrastructure and civilians will not "smoke Osama bin Laden
out of his cave" but have the reverse effect of making more bin Ladens. One
marcher's banner in New York put it succinctly: "No to war AND terrorism!
For a new HUMAN society!"
Tom and Beverly
Spokane
City of Detroit workers have not forgotten how President Bush was
"elected." When someone said that 85% of Americans support the war on
Afghanistan, another replied, "You know they only poll white folks. They
didn't come and talk to us."
Listening
Detroit
After the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Kofi Annan and the UN, there
were immediate protests from some Rwandans, where the UN failed to
intervene against the genocide, and Bosnians, especially from Srebrenica,
where the commander of the UN peacekeeping forces had drinks with Mladic
while the latter's troops were rounding up 8,000 men and boys for the
slaughter. We need a new society so peace no longer means the peace of the
grave.
Environmentalist
Tennessee
The October N&L was a real education for me. I got a much better
understanding of fundamentalism and anti-imperialism from Peter Hudis'
article and I related to what Htun Lin said in his column about his
experiences in Burma, and to David Mizuno Oto's reports from African
Americans concerned about discrimination against Arabs and other dark
people today. I was horrified by the Sept. 11 attack but also by the
attacks afterward against Arab-looking people in the U.S. I want to send
this issue to some prisoners I write to and a number of other friends.
Whether or not they could read it online, it is good to have an issue like
this in your hand.
Black woman
Oakland, Cal.
N&L began pointing to the threat of "permanent war" the moment
of the Sept.
11 attacks, but the words seemed abstract to me until I heard Vice
President Cheney the other day. He said the war we began last month was
permanent and might not end even in our lifetime. I choose to believe it is
still not too late to choose another future for our children and
grandchildren. Marxist-Humanism's vision of a human society is needed more
than ever.
Grandmother
Detroit
When Rep. Kucinich put forward a bill to establish a U.S. Department of
Peace, many in the peace movement were excited. To me it seemed like a P.R.
effort to enable a group of politicians who voted for Bush's war to claim
they're really for peace. They know the bill won't pass, but if it did it would
j
ust be another arm of U.S. imperialist diplomacy, just as surely as the
"Department of Defense" is really all about imperialist war. Diplomacy
may
sound good as against military action, but has everyone forgotten the
anti-globalization struggle against the diplomacy of free trade agreements?
Activist-thinker
Memphis
If a Department of Peace were ever really sponsored by the U.S. government
it would be turned into a warped idea. No matter how positive they would
try to make it sound, it would involve capitalism.
Women's liberationist
Tennessee
The October Lead-Editorial shows a plastic re-organization of the U.S.
empire. Suddenly they are making deals with a whole host of new devils:
with China which executes labor organizers, or with Russia where they are
dropping opposition to using tactical nuclear weapons in the Afghan
mountains in exchange for not opposing Russia's war in Chechnya. Bush is
embracing an authoritarian regime in Pakistan whose overthrow by Islamic
fundamentalists could bring to power those who would be unafraid to use the
"Islamic A-bomb." This new barbarism is now the standard for world
relations.
Fundamentalism and capitalist imperialism may look like opposites but are
not the absolute opposites. You need to dig deep to find the true voices of
opposition.
Ron Brokmeyer
Oakland, Cal.
There is an important Iraqi dissident, Kanan Makiya, you and your readers
should know about. In his latest article he discusses how legitimate
grievances have made Arabs more resentful and angry at the West today than
at any other time in modern Arab history. But he says the Sept. 11
apocalyptic act unleashed on the U.S. shows that Arabs and Muslims need to
face up to the fact that their resentment at America "has become unmoored
from any rational underpinnings it might once have had."
He says that we cannot go on attributing all of the ills of the world to
either the great Satan, America, or the little Satan, Israel, and argues
that we have to draw a line that separates us from the Osama bin Ladens
just as it was necessary for Americans to separate themselves from the KKK.
Anyone who wants to read his articles can go to the internet and type in
Kanan Makiya to find lots of references to his work.
Iranian dissident
Chicago
The Sept. 29 anti-war rally in Washington, D.C. was large considering how
soon it was after Sept. 11, but there were fewer than 20,000 there. Most
appeared to be young and old peace movement people. The IAC, a front group
for Workers World, dominated everything with their speakers and signs. The
issues were anti-war and anti-racism, but nothing was said about the new
developments of Sept. 11. The same demonstration could have taken place 10
years ago! Also, there was so much anti-Israel talk that I had a problem
staying. They gave the impression that the Middle East situation was the
cause and justification for the attacks in the U.S. I know the German press
did the same.
German visitor
New York
I didn't need to add anything to the Statement of your stand on the events
of Sept. 11. Since Oct. 7 the Bush administration has begun what it had
heralded: war for revenge. The situation in the world becomes more and more
dangerous. That is why this sentence of your National Editorial Board is so
important: "In a word, those opposing Bush's drive for war need to take
this moment to stop and think." In your Perspectives thesis, printed in
your August-September issue, you put it well when you said that the
movements of the 1960s failed because they thought they could pick up
theory "en route." If the Left wants to be successful in our
contemporary
situation, this lesson has to be learned.
Worker
Amsterdam
No section of the Indian Left has taken a clear position against war as
well as the dangerously reactionary nature of Islamic fundamentalism. I
have issued leaflets that incorporate a stand much like yours, which has
created a strong impact among peace activists and has initiated considerable
discussion among Left intellectuals as well. Our position must be made clea
r: No to terrorism. No to war.
Revolutionary
India
About 20,000, according to the media, took part in a march in London called
by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, under the title, "Peace and Justice
for All." We were at Trafalgar Square at the end of the march and noted two
main strands: one was the CND itself, expressing a pacifist opposition to
the war; the other was the SWP, which immediately defined the issue as
"anti-imperialism." Most of the other left groups were there, too, but
the
general tone of the event revealed little evidence of new thinking to
answer a new kind of crisis. We sold a number of copies of N&L.
British Marxist-Humanist
London
What is needed is another type of anti-war coalition than the kind that has
been organizing the demonstrations we have seen so far. I am all for
democratic discussion of various viewpoints, but the vanguardist groups
like the ISO and Workers World are an albatross and it is a shame that they
should be the ones to lead the movement. What we need is a coalition of
those who understand the complexity of the situation, such as the thesis
you have presented in the October N&L. I know many who might be willing to
help.
Willing to try
San Francisco
AN APOLOGY TO OUR READERS AND TO DAVID MIZUNO 'OTO
We greatly regret that the words "Nosei Network" in the article by
David
Mizuno 'Oto, titled "Bay Area Battles Racism" (p. 11, October 2001
N&L)
were changed by mistake to "Yonsei Network." It was an especially
serious
mistake by the editors inasmuch as Nosei Network was founded in 1999 by
young Japanese Americans who didn't think they fit into the orthodox
generation lineage of Issei, Nisei, Sansei, Yonsei, Gosei, etc. The author
has informed us that it would be very offensive to members of Nosei Network
to be labeled Yonsei, even though there are Yonsei in the organization.
They expressly do not want to be linked to any generation-hence, "No"
sei.
They also mean to convey the double entendre "nosay" (no say in the JA
community) and "no se" ("I don't know"-in other words,
alienation). We want
to thank David Mizuno 'Oto for allowing us to set the spelling right.
-The Editors
WOMEN'S LIBERATIONISTS ON THE FRONT LINE
The anti-abortion fanatics revealed their affinity with terrorism when they
took advantage of the fear caused by the destruction of the World Trade
Center to send anthrax threats to over 100 Planned Parenthood and women's
clinics. Not only did they make it difficult for HAZMAT teams to check on
the real threats, but they revealed a single-mindedness similar to Osama
bin Laden's in their mutual willingness to kill anyone who gets in their
way to reach their goal. And we're supposed to believed they care about
life?
Terry Moon
Memphis
As part of a national series of "Scarves for Solidarity" events,
several
hundred non-Muslim women are wearing hijab in defense of Muslims harassed
since Sept. 11 at Wayne State University and the University of Michigan. I
was proud they were standing up against prejudice but disturbed that the
chosen symbol, the headscarf, was one that Muslim women in Iran had fought
against only 22 years ago when Ayatollah Khomeni imposed it on all women
going out of their homes. What we need to find is a way to support freedom
of religion and culture for Muslims in the U..S. at the same time that we
support those who seek freedom from religious, theocratic oppression.
S.V.G.
Michigan
The war in Afghanistan continues and so does the Israeli occupation. In
that context the news that the international movement of Women in Black was
not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize carries little weight but we were
disappointed nevertheless. The prize would have been a boost to the
international demand to end the occupation and get peace. Women in Black
vigils continue throughout Israel and are expanding. There are also more
vigils springing up all over the world. Prize or no prize, we will not
remain silent.
Gila Svirsky
Jerusalem
Thank you for printing the statement of the Revolutionary Association of
Afghan Women (RAWA) in the October issue. That is what solidarity with all
forces for freedom means. A young friend said their statement tells us in
the U.S. what being Afghan means. I wish you had also included contact
information for RAWA. Will you please print it in your next issue?
Women's liberationist
Detroit
Editor's Note: See "Other America welcomes other Afghanistan" for
news of
RAWA's current national tour. To assist with the tour contact rawa_afg@yahoo,com.
For background information visit www.rawa.org.
LABOR ON THE FRONT LINE
When Andy Phillips wrote of the mine disaster at Blue Creek, where 10
rescue workers were killed along with the three they were trying to rescue,
he said it was an "eerie reminder" of what happened to the
firefighters in
the N.Y. terror attack. We need to have a daily national outrage over the
ongoing terror workers face under capitalist production. The Blue Creek
mine disaster could have been avoided if warnings about methane were
heeded. Look at the story of anthrax that dominates the news now. Contrast
the immediate precautions taken for congressmen who were sent home, to the
treatment of the postal workers who were told to stay on the job.
Outraged
California
What kind of world do we live in when one of life's most basic necessities,
the ability to work and earn a living, is so closely tethered to the
ability to make war? Why did the columnists, whose job it is to dissent
from conventional wisdom, end up losing their jobs? Do journalists now have
to toe the administration line in order to keep working? My heart goes out
to other workers as well-the over 20,000 who lost their jobs as part of the
economic fallout from the terrorist acts in New York. As a unionist I
solidarize with all those who are victims of the terrorist attacks and what
followed.
Unionist
Oakland
Americans who are part of the labor movement understand well that "in
unity
there is strength." But does the need for unity against the threat of
terrorism mean workers should forfeit the right to strike for a decent
standard of living? When 22,000 public employees in Minnesota decided on
Oct. 1 to strike for a decent contract they exercised their democratic
right under the law. The truth is workers always think twice about striking
and when they do strike, it is usually because of the employer's
unwillingness to be fair and reasonable.
Labor researcher
Los Angeles
YOUTH ON THE FRONT LINE
Six students of Delhi Students Union were arrested on Oct. 8 while
distributing antiwar leaflets in East Delhi. Police seized all the leaflets
in their office, thoroughly interrogated their members present and put two
of them under house arrest. They went to the extent of arresting the owner
of the printing press too. There are heavy charges against those detained
that include sedition, spread of communal hatred between different
religious sections and breach of peace. This police action is an attack on
our democratic right to express our strong condemnation of the war that has
begun. We are calling for a wide protest to demand the release of those
detained.
Jang Roko Abhiyan
India
PHILOSOPHY AND THE LEFT
Running an archives column by Raya Dunayevskaya in the October issue that
addresses the current situation by beginning with Hegel talking about
philosophy, you are going against a lot of resistance not only in the
mainstream but in the Left. It's important that she shows not only the
urgency of raising a banner of full freedom but the dangers of not looking
at the concrete in the Hegelian sense of "concrete Universal" which
led
part of the Left in the Iranian Revolution to hail as revolutionary an act
that actually helped the counter-revolution. Today we see that the failure
of the Left to raise a banner of a totally new society can't be separated
from the descent into lesser-evilism, missing the concrete of the two
worlds in each country. Reducing the blame for everything to U.S. policy is
a big step backward from the movement against global capital that had justbegun
to recognize that it is the capitalist system itself that has to be negate
d.
Marxist-Humanist
Memphis
I was part of the Left that Dunayevskaya was criticizing in her October
archives column. Now I can see that the reason the fundamentalists took
those hostages was not to help the revolution but to displace it. I was
taken with the section that says theoretical differences are not liquidated
just because you are a revolutionary. I keep hearing now that we need a
united front but when you bury the dialectic with three points of unity it
can wind up serving some vanguard ideology. Dunayevskaya was right that
theoretic differences reappear when a new objective situation arises.
Asian-American
California
FOR MUMIA
Man of honor!
Uniting force!
Militant for the right causes!
Independent thinker!
African born in America but loving Africa!
Afrocentric at heart!
Black and proud!
Unity for all righteous human beings!
Justice for humankind!
Armor shielding for the powerless!
Mentor for the youths!
Alliance maker for what is right!
Leader who deserves to lead!
George Wilfrid Smith Jr.
Chicago
THE LABOR SCENE, NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY
A public International Labor Rally is going to be held in Paris on Nov. 8,
to build support for the International Conference Against Deregulation and
For Labor Rights for All, to be held in Berlin in February 2002, with
representatives from America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. I
have been invited to address the meeting in Paris on behalf of the All
Pakistan Trade Union Federation and to share our views on the situation in
Pakistan and Afghanistan following the terrorist attack on Sept. 11. The
workers and people of Pakistan condemn the atrocious act of terrorism. We
also denounce the American government for any attack on Afghanistan. In
Paris I would like to describe the sentiments of the people and workers of
Pakistan against monopoly capitalism and its worldwide domination and
plunder of down-trodden people.
Gulzar Ahmed Chudhary
All Pakistan Trade Union Federation
TV here reported 4,000 protesters at the Labour Party conference, fewer
than predicted but large under the circumstances. The control by the media
and the incorporation of labour union activists and leaders means that
little dissent is allowed to show. But long-time activist Claire Raynor
resigned from the party over its refusal to treat elderly people fairly.
The budget is under strain and it's possible that even the money set aside
for police and health may be lost. The build-up for a never-ending war has
proceeded with little public discussion or debate.
Patrick Duffy
England
The Western North Carolina chapter of the Council of Conservative Citizens,
a white-supremacist organization, sponsored a protest here aimed at the
immigrants in the area, specifically Hispanics. They blame them for the
increasing unemployment rate and crowded schools. It was attended by 75
immigration opponents, blue-collar workers and white racists, who stood by
the town's Confederate monument and held signs saying "It's Our Borders,
Stupid" and "No illegals, No unemployment." One of the most
disturbing
parts to me was that two Black women attended, saying they couldn't get a
job because of "them."
Worried citizen
North Carolina
A civil suit was filed in federal court this past summer on behalf of
Mexican Industries workers in Detroit by UAW Local 600. Since 1994 the
owners, children of former Tiger baseball pitcher Hank Aguirre, have
allowed the company to fall into bankruptcy. About 1,200 workers nationwide
lost their jobs when the company finally closed this year. In many families
in the Hispanic community, several members are unemployed. The union is
fighting a widely-held belief that the plants closed only after they became
unionized. The battle for decent and fair labor conditions has been dealt a
major blow.
Observer
Detroit
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