From:    Jim Monaghan 
To:      marxism-international
Subject: M-I: Leaders and Caudillos of the Left
Date:    Sunday, April 05, 1998 1:22 PM

I am curious about the phenonomen of the leadership cults which infect
Marxist groups of nearly all persuasions.Even the Trotskyists have
their Posadas and Healy . North Korea has sanctified their late leader
with all the pomp and ceremony of any religion. 

Under feudalism only 1% of people could realise anything like their
potential under Capitalism a little bit more, but under these leaders
only an elite few will lead the rest of us sheep to the promised land
Is it  a stages theory of building the party? First the
Leader/Theoretician, then the central committee (which regularly must
be cleansed of heretics) and lastly the rank and file membership to do
the lesser tasks.

After a successful revolution the class enemy would probably suffer at
most a bit of reeducation but the heretics and rivals on the Left would
get short shrift.A taste of this can be got from the polemics, I am not
referring here to robust debate, mind you I cannot see some of the list
members sharing any social pleasantries.

The parties directly associated with both Marx and Engels were fairly
democratic and were in effect broad church with a range of allowable
opinion. Lenin was at most primus inter pares not a god and horrified
at attempts to create a cult in his life time.

I am not saying that at times a Lenin was not an essential component of
the Russian Revolution but the deification  helped create the
conditions and atmosphere of unconditional obedience. As for the lesser
imitators it moves on to farce when leaders of groups of less than 500
members of even 10000 members start calling themselves the heirs true
of course of Lenin. Trotsky Mao or whatever

What does everyone else think is the healthy democratic norms of a
Revolutionary party. Without Democracy in the Party or Parties who will
speak out if things are wrong. I think of an Ibsen play the theme of
which was the coverup of a Spa contaminated with disease. Class society
conditions many to obey and please their masters, a carry over of this
to post revolutionary society is the greatest danger. 

I notice a revival of Anarchism, I think fuelled by a rejection of the
petty dictators of many far left groups. I feel sometimes the sheer
awfulness of Imperialism worldwide makes people either despair of
successful change or drives them mad.

Jim Monaghan


     --- from list marxism-international@lists.village.virginia.edu ---