The intellectual origins of America-Bashing

[Paul Mackin]

On Fri, 2003-10-24 at 11:05, Otto wrote:
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Paul Mackin" <paul.mackin at verizon.net>
> To: <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Sent: Friday, October 24, 2003 4:45 PM
> Subject: Re: The intellectual origins of America-Bashing
> 
> 
> > On Fri, 2003-10-24 at 09:45, Otto wrote:
> > > ----- Original Message -----
> > > From: KXX4493553 at aol.com
> > > To: Pynchon-L
> > > Sent: Thursday, October 23, 2003 4:34 PM
> > > Subject: FWD: The intellectual origins of America-Bashing
> > > >
> > > > The Intellectual Origins Of America-Bashing
> > > > By Lee Harris
> > > > http://www.policyreview.org/dec02/harris.html
> > > > Quite interesting article. Harris is a neocon, but what he has to say
> > > about Karl Marx is astonishing...
> > > >
> > > > kwp
> > > >
> > >
> > > Quite interesting indeed.
> > >
> > > What Harris doesn't realize is that before capitalism can turn into
> > > socialism there has to be the inevitable phase of fascism:
> >
> >
> > It sounds like socialism should be ridiculously easy to bring about.
> >
> >
> 
> In a complex world nothing concerning the order of society is easy to be
> brought about.

Very true. I was being facetious. It just had struck me that your
statement sounded very unMarxian--although "the worse the better" is not
an unfamiliar idea to revolutionaries.


> 
> It's the simple minded idea of neocons that just by smashing the "terrorist
> network" and leading wars abroad peace and order at home can be guaranteed.

This may be, but Harris's main contention in the article referred to was
that the Baran-Wallerstein thesis, assuming it's true, isn't a promising
basis for advancing the socialist revolution and toppling capitalism (as
the increasing immiserization  of workers in advanced capitalist
counties was once believed to be)

There was a lot of other interesting stuff in the piece but it was
secondary to the main point.



P