tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post6158492021588288769..comments2024-03-26T05:19:30.411-04:00Comments on PA Editors Blog: Is the Era of Armed Struggle Over?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post-54783006536792884982008-06-17T09:59:00.000-04:002008-06-17T09:59:00.000-04:00As is usually the case, this has been a fascinatin...As is usually the case, this has been a fascinating and instructive conversation, and I'm glad to see that so many participated. Thanks for raising this issue.<BR/><BR/>So when do we meet for special arms training?!Krumbled Kookiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10191781837942962249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post-82533666495011406522008-06-17T08:20:00.000-04:002008-06-17T08:20:00.000-04:00Al's and Harold's are among the better comments. ...Al's and Harold's are among the better comments. Of course one shouldn't completely rule out any tactic, and armed struggle may well be necessary at some point for sheer survival. The Left should familiarize itself with military tactics and weapons usage just in case. That said, however, I do think that the tactics used do have an impact on the end result. Military tactics require a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post-67097214229868835102008-06-16T23:57:00.000-04:002008-06-16T23:57:00.000-04:00The idea that armed struggle is always an error se...The idea that armed struggle is always an error seems to make a universal claim and not be based on an analysis of specific situations. The American, French,<BR/> Russian, Chinese and Cuban revolutions would all be mistakes then. The armed struggle against Nazi occupation would be as well. Whether there will be armed struggle or not depends on many complex social forces at work-- it is not a Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post-7493769386538614692008-06-16T23:14:00.000-04:002008-06-16T23:14:00.000-04:00I agree with Harold's points.One should neither ab...I agree with Harold's points.<BR/>One should neither absolutize armed struggle (or any other single form of struggle)nor rule it out. It all depends on time, place and circumstance, and these variables are subject to constant change. In other words, one must be prepared to employ ANY form of struggle depending on it's appropriateness to achieving a specific goal. To think otherwise is to Al Sargishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16914827304011231103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post-2717992985905568072008-06-16T21:14:00.000-04:002008-06-16T21:14:00.000-04:00I have two issues with things people have said in ...I have two issues with things people have said in this forum. <BR/><BR/>First, with Mariposa's comment: While I agreed with most of what Mariposa said, I think it erroneous to state that violence and war are inhuman. They may be <I>inhumane</I>, but to suggest that they are inhuman is contrary to what science tells us.<BR/><BR/>Also, Joel stated that armed struggle "is always an error." This Krumbled Kookiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10191781837942962249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post-6320206461967746852008-06-16T16:39:00.000-04:002008-06-16T16:39:00.000-04:00I agree with President Chavez mostly. But I argue ...I agree with President Chavez mostly. But I argue that there was never an "era" for armed struggle as the main tactic of revolutionary movements, and that it is always an error.Joelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16818415755568794461noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post-85623931537985344682008-06-16T16:26:00.000-04:002008-06-16T16:26:00.000-04:00I agree with Joe and with the others who have comm...I agree with Joe and with the others who have commented. Developing a mass movement of millions for socialism is where the emphasis should be placed, in my view, if we are to have a genuinely democratic, and I mean mass-empowering, transitional stage and eventual realization of communism. Anything else, as Marx forewarned us in a somewhat different context, would result in "the old crap in new Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post-38853067597726291662008-06-16T15:42:00.001-04:002008-06-16T15:42:00.001-04:00have long thought the era of armed struggle was co...have long thought the era of armed struggle was coming to a close. The author though did not address more specifically the use of armed struggle by the right. Does he mean terrorism that comes from various sources including the U.S. state, religious fanatics, etc.?<BR/>On Nepal, the Maoists were considered "terrorists" by many, including some of the left and progressive forces in Nepal. It wasn'tAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post-82001890390313960432008-06-16T15:42:00.000-04:002008-06-16T15:42:00.000-04:00I have long thought the era of armed struggle was ...I have long thought the era of armed struggle was coming to a close. The author, in his excellent and provocative essay, though did not address more specifically the use of armed struggle by the right. Does he mean terrorism that comes from various sources including the U.S. state, religious fanatics, etc.?<BR/>On Nepal, the Maoists were considered "terrorists" by many, including some of the leftAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post-6377478114920251222008-06-15T15:24:00.000-04:002008-06-15T15:24:00.000-04:00Remember that Venezuela (and Chavez) have control ...Remember that Venezuela (and Chavez) have control of a huge amount of petroleum, a commodity for which the imperialists are willing to pay a political as well as a monetary price. To the exent<BR/>that we suceed in using less oil, the Venezuelan movement will have less advfantage. Texas -- Houston <BR/>-- faced with the prospect of delining local oil supplies, began a new chemical industry and Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post-41800426391287338522008-06-14T22:23:00.000-04:002008-06-14T22:23:00.000-04:00In Latin America today, most right and center-righ...In Latin America today, most right and center-right governments are fairly weak and exist without the broad support of the masses. This suggests that socialist and communist movements can be successful in organizing the masses and eventually coming to power without the use of armed struggle.<BR/><BR/>At this point in history, dialectical materialism tells us, in most cases, that armed revolutionKrumbled Kookiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10191781837942962249noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8327639392070628793.post-9106720243440053812008-06-14T17:32:00.000-04:002008-06-14T17:32:00.000-04:00These are interesting observations. I think I'm pr...These are interesting observations. I think I'm pretty much in agreement. I can think of only one successful armed struggle in recent times (if by successful we mean leading towards democracy): Nepal. The situation there is not comparable in many regards to the situation in South America. Nepal was a highly-undemocratic monarchy, which probably made armed struggle a more necessary tactic than in Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com