Subject: LL9806001 Ben Seattle: 
         The "D of P" and the internet in the modern world
Date:    Sunday, May 31, 1998 9:55 PM


Andrew wrote:
====================
>> These ladies and gentlemen often argue too, that key elements
>> of Marxist politics especially the theory of the state and the
>> dictatorship of  the proletariat are absurd.

Klo replied:
====================
>The only thing absurd is the assertion that the dictatorship of
>the proletariat is no longer needed.  It's needed now as much
>as ever, especially in light of the fact that wealth differentials
>have never been greater.  It is going to require a dictatorship
>to overcome the dictatorship of incredible wealth.

Andrew also said:
====================
>> IMO, what gives Marxism is revolutionary significance is its
>> evolving character and its dynamic relationship to social
>> change. Unfortunately even those who describe themselves
>> as Marxist have tended to lose sight of this.  Too often, they
>> have ignored the vital task of developing Marx's theory in
>> line with changing social conditions. ...
>> .... Thus orthodoxy and revisionism in different ways express
>> the same problem - the failure to develop Marxist theory.

Ben Seattle replies:
====================
OK folks, this is all well and good.  I agree with all of the above.
But at some point we have to actually do this.

I have raised on several occasions the need to consider the attitude of
the dictatorship of the proletariat towards the internet.  So far--no
one has been willing to touch this topic with a ten foot pole.

If _we_ are not willing to discuss how the system of workers' rule will
function under modern conditions--then is it right to blame _others_ for
not wanting to think about it?

All the "Trotsky-hunting" that has been going on is a waste of my
bandwidth.  I am confident that I am not alone in feeling this way.
Anyone who has any theoretical ability should focus on the issues that
are decisive.  The theory of the dictatorship of the proletariat is the
_center_ of communist theory--and represents the decisive question of
our time.  Anyone who refuses to discuss how the dictatorship of the
proletariat will function under modern conditions (ie: with a modern
communications infrastructure) is not really strengthening the concept
of the dictatorship of the proletariat.  Instead they are just
generating hot air.

We can do better than that.

Ben Seattle ----//-//
Will the "Dictatorship of the Proletariat" censor the internet?
-- Find out at: www.Leninism.org