My interest in Trotskyist politics dates from my membership in the Young Socialist Alliance (YSA) and Socialist Workers Party (SWP) from 1969 until about 1977. My politics have since changed. In 1976 I voted for the SWP presidential ticket (Peter Camejo & Willie Mae Reid). In 1980 I voted for Jesse Jackson, then running as a 3rd party candidate. And in 1984 I cast the best vote I ever cast--I voted for Ronald Reagan. And I've never looked back since.
Well, I guess I have looked back. I've always followed the SWP's newspaper, The Militant. and in the mid 90s I hosted a blog (then called an "e-zine") called The Anti-Militant. That was posted at the long since defunct site, Geocities, and was on-line for maybe a couple of years. Unfortunately, I don't believe I have an archive of those articles, some of which were actually pretty good. I briefly resurrected the Anti-Militant, but nothing really came of it. It wasn't strictly about Trotskyism.
So now comes the third try. While this blog will be exclusively about Trotskyism, my interest is now broader than just the SWP, whose paper has gotten rather boring. More interesting are split-offs from the SWP, Socialist Action, Socialist Viewpoint, and Solidarity. Many of the people in these latter organizations were my comrades back in the 70s. I will also try to cover the Worker's World group, arguably the most successful Trotskyist organization in the US. But they split from the SWP before I joined, so I have no personal contact with them.
Anyway, as much as I oppose Marxism, I enjoy Marxist polemics and conversation. That's really what this is all about. None of these organizations will have any impact on America's future, so this effort is all just for fun. Nothing important here.
Here are some ground rules:
- These people were my comrades and friends back in the 1970s. I like them. I wish them no personal ill and I don't want them mistreated. Thus ad hominem or insulting remarks are off-limits. On the other hand, vanguard party grouplets frequently descend into hilarious self-parody, so you'll have to excuse occasional ridicule.
- Some words are not helpful and no longer mean anything. They cannot be used in this blog without very good reason. Such words include Hitler, Nazi, Fascism, KKK, lynching, racist, etc. Normally I'd include Communist on this list, but since comrades claim themselves to be communists, we have to use that term.
- Most posts are 1200 words or less, and none will ever be longer than 2000 words. Brevity is clarity.
I hope to post something once every week or so. You can reach me at dan (at) dankingbooks {dot} com.
Intrigued by your adulation of Reagan, an animus towards which figure has become personal for some of us as a former member of the DC SWP, a Salvadoran student, was kidnapped and murdered by the death squads in 1981 after he returned to his homeland.
ReplyDeleteI like Reagan because he believed in free markets and a free people. He defeated the Soviet Union without firing a shot. Blaming Reagan personally for death squads in El Salvador is rather like blaming Obama for the current situation in Mali, or blaming Clinton for the genocide in Rwanda. Not even a US President has the power to stop all evil everywhere in the world.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment. You're the first one, and I appreciate the attention. Chinese restaurants hang their first earned dollar on the wall behind the cash register. I'll do the same with your comment.
Good luck with your blog. I look forward to reading it.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
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