population and praxis

Alan-

Ah, I see -- your position is the old "it's got to get worse before it
gets better" line.  In Germany it was the KPD's "first the fascists, and
then us."  This didn't turn out so well, you may recall.

I'm glad there are plenty of sincere, hard-working people in the world who
AREN'T doctrinaire marxists, who are actually making a contribution to the
problem of overpopulation.

I'm all for popular power in the periphery.  It doesn't seem to be in the
cards at the moment, but that will change.

As I said recently, if you're going to launch the global uprising, I'm
there.  But until then, my view is, I want the healthiest, most diverse
world left intact, including people, other species, and ecosystems, in
which to build global socialism.  If this means engaging in projects that
look "reformist" in the short to medium term, that involve working with
and learning from various people and groups not all of which are
anti-capitalist, so be it -- it's not out of naivete, it's based on
principle informed by a hard-headed materialist assessment of reality,
rather than a doctrinaire position.

We need to develop the capacity for counterhegemonic struggle, which
involves building networks and coalitions.  This list is like the old joke
about the Democratic Party -- surrounded in a shoot-out, they face in
instead of out.  The tendency toward ideological purity at all cost is a
non-starter in the real world.

Richard