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Name/date: Major work: Keywords: Key figures: Aphorism: Political aspect: Associations: |
C.L.R
James (1901-1989) John
Forest tendency of 4th International??? – Broke with Trotskyites
in the 1940s |
Must find out more about this
West Indian émigré, most often cited by American socialists. Atm I’ve just
looked at Notes on dialectics, 1948.
The above is one of the most
resolutely Hegelian socialist political tract I have yet come across. In a
highly idiosyncratic manner James expounds the course of the dialectic of
Hegel’s logic, in parallel with polemics against aspects of the labour movement
and trotskyist tendencies. This leads to some curious conclusions. Take for
instance the designation of Stalinism as a determinate negation and
continuation of Leninism that has captured the living substance of the subject
(the proletariat). This latter is the object of James’s discourse and a
political programme that advocates the abolition between the division between
proletariat as object and as consciousness. Fundamental to this bizarre tract
is the emphasis upon Hegel’s insight that ultimately truth must not be
perceived only as substance but object too.
Also present is an assertion of the historical specificity of changing categories. Bernstein’s revisionism is due to objective factors within proletarian movement, as is the Stalin episode, as is Lenin’s perception of the em-bourgeoisification of sections of the working class. For all above see (57-58) of Notes on Dialectics.
Spent last years of his life
in Brixton
Concerned with theorising politics
from below, thus strongly critical of role of vanguard party. However an
orthodox reading of Lenin put forward the notion that oppressive regimes, such
as Stalinists and Nazi’s were response to the insurgency of working class –
hence Pier Paolo Frassinelli links him to the politics of Negri
“The state power is an ever
presentself-perpetuating body over and above society. It transforms the human
personality intoi a mass of economic needs to be satisfied by decimal points of
economic progress. It robs everyone of initiative and clogs the free
development of society. This state power, by whatever name it is called, one
party state or welfare state, destroys all pretence of government by the
people, of the people. All that remains is government for the people. Against
this monster people all over the world, and particularly ordinary working
people in factories, mines, fields and offices, are rebelling everyday in ways
of their own invention.” (From facing reality)
In the 40’s James argued
against the attempt to unify the Negro struggle with the labourist movement,
calling for its autonomy, a view that was to gain predominance in the civil
rights movements in the 1960s.
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Bibliography |
Notes
on Dialectics (written 1948) 1980, Allison & Busby, London. Dialectical
Materialism and the fate of humanity State
capitalism and World Revolution Facing
Reality Black
Jacobins |
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