As an ex-weatherman, ex lrs-member said to me back in '92 (explaining why he would vote for Clinton) "I would like to win for a change." Understand, that slogan doesn't mean "I want to achieve this or that goal" but merely "I want to win" just to say I won. Some of my former lrs-comrades in Chicago had sincerely hypnotized themselves into the belief that "Daley represented the progressive wing of the bourgeoisie."I guess it's a little perverse of me, but in all sincerity I find this comforting. I'm not being snide here. "Keep trying and losing" -- well sheeit, that I know how to do.Except for those widely separated times when capitalism really badly wounds itself the opposition (whether revolutionary or reformist) is going to lose -- and it will lose even worse if it hypnotises itself into thinking that it could win if it only had another strategy or only didn't make this that or the other mistake.
The job of leftists is to keep trying and losing trying and losing until their trying occurs at one of those times when capitalism has wounded itself. If they don't keep up the fight (without illusions of some new trick of winning) they won't be prepared when victory is possible.
The major fact of the post-war period up to and including the present is the enormous strength of capital. Part of that strength is creating the illusion of correctible weaknesses or errors on the left, so in trying to correct those irrelevant errors leftists stop being leftists.
Comments (5)
"Fail again. Fail better". Samuel Beckett.
(The extended quote: "Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better." from Worstward Ho)
Posted by Jonathan Lundell | March 5, 2007 1:27 PM
Posted on March 5, 2007 13:27
lrs???
father dearest :
is that a hip short hand
for
league for revolutionary struggle ??
Posted by owen paine | March 5, 2007 2:41 PM
Posted on March 5, 2007 14:41
"is that a hip short hand for league for revolutionary struggle ??"
Hip? HIP??? Me hip? How ridiculous. I graduated 60 years ago this June from a midwestern small-town high school. Me hip? Don't be silly. As of 1954 I even had a top-secret clearance as an Air Force staff sergeant attached to NSA!!!
But yes, LRS is as you guess. (I'm saving keystrokes as tennis elbow forces me to two-finger typing.)
Carrol Cox
Posted by Carrol Cox | March 6, 2007 4:09 PM
Posted on March 6, 2007 16:09
comrade cox:
greetings from the east
you are an inspiration to us all
here at
stop me before i hip it up again
for what ever that's worth
Posted by owen paine | March 6, 2007 7:29 PM
Posted on March 6, 2007 19:29
What an elegant statement by Ms. Cox.
Posted by Reechard | March 14, 2007 1:46 AM
Posted on March 14, 2007 01:46