RE: [xmca] Banners of Brazil [without oppositions]

[Brett Bligh <Brett.Bligh@nottingham.ac.uk>]

I'd agree with Andy that these kind of quotations usually turn out to be bunk and that in this case this is so.

For the record, though, I think the quotation and comment arises from a *misunderstanding* of a passage in "Leftwing Communism: An Infantile Disorder". Lenin is reacting to some points made by the fiery Sylvia Pankhurst, who has quoted approvingly an enraged letter to a newspaper alleging that the BSP and ILP, some so-called working class organisations of the time, have been captured by careerists. Lenin's reaction is extensive, but begins with these two paragraphs:

--
In my opinion, this letter to the editor expresses excellently the temper and point of view of the young Communists, or of rank-and-file workers who are only just beginning to accept communism. This temper is highly gratifying and valuable; we must learn to appreciate and support it for, in its absence, it would be hopeless to expect the victory of the proletarian revolution in Great Britain, or in any other country for that matter. People who can give expression to this temper of the masses, and are able to evoke such a temper (which is very often dormant, unconscious and latent) among the masses, should be appreciated and given every assistance. At the same time, we must tell them openly and frankly that a state of mind is by itself insufficient for leadership of the masses in a great revolutionary struggle, and that the cause of the revolution may well be harmed by certain errors that people who are most devoted to the cause of the revolution are about to commit, or are committing. Comrade Gallacher's letter undoubtedly reveals the rudiments of all the mistakes that are being made by the German "Left" Communists and were made by the Russian "Left" Bolsheviks in 1908 and 1918.

The writer of the letter is full of a noble and working-class hatred for the bourgeois "class politicians" (a hatred understood and shared, however, not only by proletarians but by all working people, by all Kleinen Leuten to use the German expression). In a representative of the oppressed and exploited masses, this hatred is truly the "beginning of all wisdom", the basis of any socialist and communist movement and of its success. The writer, however, has apparently lost sight of the fact that politics is a science and an art that does not fall from the skies or come gratis, and that, if it wants to overcome the bourgeoisie, the proletariat must train its own proletarian "class politicians", of a kind in no way inferior to bourgeois politicians.

http://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1920/lwc/ch09.htm

--

Hopefully even this brief extract shows that Lenin was making quite a different point to the one being attributed to him. 


Brett


-----Original Message-----
From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [mailto:xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On Behalf Of mike cole
Sent: 29 June 2013 02:03
To: ablunden@mira.net
Cc: eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity
Subject: Re: [xmca] Banners of Brazil [without oppositions]

I am perfectly ready to believe that it was not lenin who said that.
Whoever it was Peter was urging us to consider as a key idea. I did not like the idea. It has deadly consequences when isolated in that fashion.

mike

On Fri, Jun 28, 2013 at 5:41 PM, Andy Blunden <ablunden@mira.net> wrote:

> Don't be quick to condemn, Mike. I searched Lenins CW at marxists.org 
> and there is no record of Lenin having said that or anything vaguely similar.
> In my experience, at least 90% of the quotes imputed to Marx or other 
> Marxists turn out to be either outright hoaxes or urban myths.
>
> Andy
>
> mike cole wrote:
>
>> I agree with a lot of what you said, Peter. American citizenry is 
>> not, yet, in such a situation. Although the outpouring of support for 
>> the woman who dared to stand up for reproductive rights in Texas 
>> provided such an experience for many and has engaged many beyond.
>>
>> I do not agree with Lenin, however, that anger is the root of ALL wisdom.
>> What a dim view of the human experience.
>>
>> mike
>>
>> On Fri, Jun 28, 2013 at 8:48 AM, Peter Feigenbaum [Staff] < 
>> pfeigenbaum@fordham.edu> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> Dear Brazilian colleagues,
>>>
>>> I find myself in envy of your situation. The struggle to create a 
>>> better life for working-class and middle-class families in the US 
>>> has been frustrating and demoralizing these past few years. Directly 
>>> and through their political representatives, the capitalists have 
>>> done severe damage to unions and their efforts to organize workers, 
>>> and the community activists and union activists I'm involved with 
>>> are worn out and exasperated from many defeats. So the news of a 
>>> mass outpouring of people onto the streets of Brazil, and the 
>>> possibility of truly progressive social change in your country, 
>>> comes as welcome and uplifting news to those of us suffering in the 
>>> "belly of the beast".
>>>
>>> For purely selfish reasons, I'm sorry that the events of the past 
>>> few weeks did not occur last year--when I was visiting Brazil and 
>>> lecturing at the University of Sao Paulo. It's been a long time 
>>> since I had the opportunity in my own country to participate in mass 
>>> demonstrations where the power and strength of the people becomes a 
>>> palpable and conscious experience. The shared sense that the social 
>>> order could be changed by our mass action is an exhilarating 
>>> feeling! I remember thinking that the feeling is fragile, however, 
>>> because it arose spontaneously and there was no understanding or 
>>> plan for establishing the conditions for its continuation. Thus, the 
>>> experience of <people power> was always episodic rather than sustained.
>>> In
>>> countries where socialism has already been achieved, however, such 
>>> as Cuba, it's a different story, of course: the people are able to 
>>> deliberately experience their own power simply by summoning to 
>>> action their mass organizations such as the Federation of Cuban 
>>> Women and the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, which 
>>> can mobilize 95% of the population on short notice.
>>>
>>> The events transpiring in Brazil were not consciously planned, but 
>>> instead arose from an outpouring of emotion. (Lenin wrote that 
>>> "anger is the root of all wisdom"). It seems to me that to sustain 
>>> what has begun--to preserve and nurture people's sense of their own 
>>> power--is going to require a conscious approach from here onward. It 
>>> will be necessary to identify the material obstacles to realizing 
>>> people's unity, and to develop concrete plans for overcoming those 
>>> obstacles, whether they be ideological, theoretical, political, 
>>> economic, technical, linguistic, etc.
>>>
>>> I cherish the reports of events in Brazil that have been shared on 
>>> this listserve. I appreciate knowing what is happening through the 
>>> lenses of your personal and professional perspectives.  I also 
>>> appreciate the difficulty you must be having trying to reconcile the 
>>> emotional and the rational sides of these events, particularly since 
>>> the events are still in their infancy. As developments allow, please 
>>> keep us appraised of your progress. Your achievements are 
>>> heartwarming to those of us in need of such news.
>>>
>>> In solidarity (and with best wishes), Peter
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Jun 28, 2013 at 10:07 AM, Achilles Delari Junior <
>>> achilles_delari@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>> Internationally working. I believe and hope. :)
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> From: Phillip.White@ucdenver.edu
>>>>> To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
>>>>> Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 07:53:04 -0600
>>>>> Subject: RE: [xmca] Banners of Brazil [without oppositions]
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Achilles - both you're welcome, and truly there is nothing to apologize
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> for.  clarity of communication through the internet is daunting.  and,
>>>>
>>>>
>>> yes,
>>>
>>>
>>>> again, here's working for greater transformations in Brazil.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> phillip
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> ______________________________**__________
>>>>> From: xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu [xmca-bounces@weber.ucsd.edu] On
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> Behalf Of Achilles Delari Junior [achilles_delari@hotmail.com]
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> Sent: Thursday, June 27, 2013 2:56 PM
>>>>> To: xmca@weber.ucsd.edu
>>>>> Subject: RE: [xmca] Banners of Brazil [without oppositions]
>>>>>
>>>>> Philip, thank you very much. I sincerely believe that me and you are
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>> talking maybe not about the same things, but with a more important and
>>>>
>>>>
>>> deep
>>>
>>>
>>>> agreement in the essential ethical values. Because this, please accept
>>>> my
>>>> apologizes because my aggressive way to talk,  and my real respect in
>>>> relation to your patience and solidarity inside your critical
>>>>
>>>>
>>> thinking... I
>>>
>>>
>>>> guess after some time all we will can understand better what is going
>>>> on,
>>>> in the eye of the hurricane is not so easy. But you give us some
>>>>
>>>>
>>> important
>>>
>>>
>>>> insights - I will reflect about all your tips. Sincerely, my best wishes
>>>> for you and all people that have the dignity for don't leave another
>>>> strange person talking alone, only because different forms of
>>>>
>>>>
>>> disagreement
>>>
>>>
>>>> epistemological, ethical or political. This is an actual aptitude of an
>>>> international scholar. Thank you. I hope to see you soon. Achilles.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> ______________________________**____________
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>>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Peter Feigenbaum, Ph.D.
>>> Interim Director of Institutional Research
>>> Fordham University
>>> Thebaud Hall-202
>>> Bronx, NY 10458
>>>
>>> Phone: (718) 817-2243
>>> Fax: (718) 817-3203
>>> email: pfeigenbaum@fordham.edu
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>
> --
> ------------------------------**------------------------------**
> ------------
> *Andy Blunden*
> Home Page: http://home.mira.net/~andy/
> Book: http://www.brill.nl/concepts
> http://marxists.academia.edu/**AndyBlunden<http://marxists.academia.edu/AndyBlunden>
>
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