I don't think it has to do with the outcome of the situation in Crimea so much as with the attitudes of people on the outside looking in. Popular support for ethnicity-based politics isn't a good enough reason to champion them as "democratic."
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The map shown there of Russian as a "native language" is absolutely ridiculous. One category ranging from 25-74%? Have they lost their fucking minds?
I don't think it has to do with the outcome of the situation in Crimea so much as with the attitudes of people on the outside looking in. Popular support for ethnicity-based politics isn't a good enough reason to champion them as "democratic."
"to become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly"
I agree with this statement a lot of the time relying on popular support for a platform doesn't end well there are many problems created by Populism and the few times it has ended becoming realized it has never really worked although this is just pulling from major events in Populist platforms of note such as the french revolution or the Nazi Regime in Germany although in some places it has created small political and economical successes in places like Venezuela under Chavez The Problem I have with it is that it only cares about manipulating popular vote to gain political power.
This Kind of manipulation can be good or bad depending on what the agenda of the party and it's leader/s are but generally speaking it's almost always a means to an end and doesn't actually have the Proletarians interests in mind but are simply swaying public opinion one might even say this kind of manipulation goes as far as to become a tool of the fascist.
Perhaps but the popular opinions of Crimeans does not change the class nature of the Russian state or it's imperialist inclinations.
Men vanish from earth leaving behind them the furrows they have ploughed. I see the furrow Lenin left sown with the unshatterable seed of a new life for mankind, and cast deep below the rolling tides of storm and lightning, mighty crops for the ages to reap.
~Helen Keller
To despise the enemy strategically is an elementary requirement for a revolutionary. Without the courage to despise the enemy and without daring to win, it will be simply impossible to make revolution and wage a people’s war, let alone to achieve victory. ~Lin Biao
http://commiforum.forumotion.com/
Interesting article by WSM member, Stephen Shenfield here
http://www.stephenshenfield.net/them...r-fascist-coup
For genuine free access communism
http://www.revleft.com/vb/group.php?groupid=792
I wouldn't presume to suggest it does, nor would I presume to suggest the Crimeans think it does. To repeat, the Crimeans may simply have viewed it as the lesser of two evils.
Perhaps you could be so bold as to condemn the lesser of two evils.
Why would I choose to condemn a people for choosing what they may consider to be the lesser of two evils? The fact that I consider them both evils is sufficient. Presumably, you consider that you do have the right to condemn them, yes? I, for one, am not so arrogant since I do not walk in their shoes. Do you?
It is not about condemning a people.
But I don't think you need to walk in their shoes to condemn both the lesser and greater of two evils.
Its not arrogant, its important that revolutionary socialist analysis can be unequivocally against both the lesser and greater of two evils.
I don't think that the Americans had to put on a 'made-up show' of Saddam's statues being toppled an I doubt that the Nazis had to 'make up' newsreels of Soviet citizens greeting them as libertators. Or that the Americans in WWII ha to fake newsreels of the French (or Italians or whoever) greeting them as liberators. There are always people who are against the current status quo who will be happy to show support for the 'new boss'.
Critique of the Gotha Programme, Pt IV: http://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1875/gotha/ch04.htm
No War but the Class War
Destroy All Nations
Lucius Accius (170 BC - 86 BC): "A man whose life has been dishonorable is not entitled to escape disgrace in death."
Vulgar democracy is not a position we should be supporting.
It is akin to failing to condemn a labour or liberal democrat government in Britain because it is chosen by the people as a lesser of two/three evils when compared to the Tories. It simply won't do.
The people of Ukraine are wedged into a hard place between a pro-EU, corrupt political class on the one hand, and Russian imperialism on the other hand. It is complicated by the peculiar history of the Crimea region, whose ethnic and linguistic make-up can draw some people to support the inclusion of the Crimea into the Russian nation. Such a position, though, should be alien and insupportable amongst those of us who do not support ethnic imperialism.
I would also like to just say something about this 'lesser of two evils' jargon, which is quite lazy. It is lazy because we are not talking about good and evil. If we were, then the vulgar democrats could indeed win by juxtaposing the 'really evil' people against the 'less evil' people. But this isn't a situation of morality nor evil. It is a situation, as always, of class conflict. In this particular conflict, the working class does not win by supporting the existing western-leaning Ukrainian political class, nor by encouraging further Russian incursions into Ukraine.
Where did I say I "supported" it? I have simply repeatedly stated the facts on the ground as they are and have tentatively suggested that the Crimean people may well have made the choice they did as one of the lesser of two evils. I have also repeatedly asked those on here who persist in telling us all how appalling both of these two evils are and vaguely implying the Crimean people's choice should be disregarded, what Credible alternatives were available to the Crimeans. Silence has been the predominant response.
I agree, they are wedged in a hard place. So, you would have the Crimeans chose an IMF/USA/EU future of endless austerity in the name of market forces? Or, if not, what would you suggest they do? Come on then, let's have it. It must be a truly amazing option that the obviously ignorant Crimeans have simply failed to see. I must be equally ignorant because, whilst there are several outcomes I might prefer, there are none on the ground other than the choice between alignement with either the EU or Russia.
I have not said the "Crimeans have "won" anything. I have said that they may consider the choice to align with Russia as the lesser of two evils. Stop putting words in my mouth and the mouths of others on here who have put forward similar posts. It really wont fucking do you know.
While your overall point is true, the toppling of Saddam's statue in Firdos Square was in fact not a spontaneous event, but mostly staged. It was initiated by a Marine colonel and loudspeakers were then used to encourage nearby Iraqis to join in.
As an aside there was an interview in the Guardian some time ago with one of the most prominent Iraqis who had joined in. He had been captured on film slamming the Saddam statue with a big hammer. In the interview he stated he now regretted the whole thing considering what a mess Iraq had turned into.
"to become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly"
Let the world see what the future has in store for them without the Communists, false conflicts and the lands littered with corpses.
[FONT="Courier New"] “We stand for organized terror - this should be frankly admitted. Terror is an absolute necessity during times of revolution. Our aim is to fight against the enemies of the Revolution and of the new order of life. ”
― Felix Dzerzhinsky [/FONT]
لا شيء يمكن وقف محاكم التفتيش للثورة
Lesser evils is bullshit. There is who is advantageous to support and those who are not. However big surprise that RevLeft clings to Russophobia in the face of literal fascists on the streets of Kiev being called a "National Guard".
Yeah because a handful of pimple-faced Stalin lovers calling for the defense of Russia is really going to shift power to the hands of the working class....
Yes, because Russia doesn't have fascists and their sympathizers making policy and killing people with impunity.
My machine my machine,
Please bring my machine.
The name of the game in Ukraine for the United States is national disintegration, its not important whether the fascists seize power, different opposition groups need to destabilize the country and open it up to American financiers. This is a repeat of what has happened in Libya but in a european context and with the presence of Russia being more immediate and effective (the same country that stopped America from going into Syria with the deployment of warships off the coast of Syria and a massive ideological campaign through groups like Russia Today). America is an empire in decline and its hegemony over countries such as France, the UK, and Germany is rapidly diminishing.
I think so too, yes. The only pertinent question is whether they can manage to go quietly into the night or, instead, go down with all guns blazing. One would hope for the former, but I suspect the latter is more likely.
