by Gouda » Thu Jun 01, 2006 7:20 am
Yes, the essential question is not "how long will it take?" but "how will it happen?" And I must add, how do we want it to look after we make it happen? <br><br>I agree with Alice, and I have often quoted the example of the Zapatistas/EZLN re: means vs. ends on this board (maybe too often for some, as I realize that a hard-to-pin-down indigenous movement outside the US may not be very interesting, and it is not exactly productive to randomly quote from a movement wherein many do not know the background, history, goals, approach etc., or see a direct relevance to the situation in the USA.) Nevertheless, <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--><em>apropos</em><!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> the words of Alice, here I go again. <br><br>Subcommandante Marcos has spoken eloquently about the approach of the Zapatistas in their struggle to change the way politics and society are done, made & organized in Mexico - and I think many would be surprised to learn they are not some kind of Leninist "vanguard" movement. They are radical (radical times, radical solutions), horizontal, inclusive, and they listen rather than tell. It has not been easy, but they are patient, dedicated, and ready to give their lives. <br><br>Marcos on means and ends: <br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>You cannot reconstruct the world or society, nor rebuild national states now in ruins, on the basis of a quarrel over who will impose their hegemony on society...We do not believe that the end justifies the means. <!--EZCODE BOLD START--><strong>Ultimately, we believe that the means are the end. We define our goal by the way we choose the means of struggling for it.</strong><!--EZCODE BOLD END--><hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://www.newleftreview.org/NLR24304.shtml">www.newleftreview.org/NLR24304.shtml</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--><br><br><!--EZCODE QUOTE START--><blockquote><strong><em>Quote:</em></strong><hr>It is not our arms which make us radical; it is the new political practice which we propose and in which we are immersed with thousands of men and women in Mexico and the world: the construction of a political practice which does not seek the taking of power but the organization of society. Intellectuals and political leadership, of all sizes, of the ultraright, of the right, the center, of the left and the ultraleft, national and international criticize our proposal. We are so radical that we do not fit in the parameters of "modern political science". We are not bragging … we are pointing out the facts. Is there anything more radical than to propose to change the world? You know this because you share this dream with us, and because, though the truth be repeated, we dream it together." <hr></blockquote><!--EZCODE QUOTE END--> <!--EZCODE AUTOLINK START--><a href="http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/mexico/comment/andrew_diff_feb01.html">flag.blackened.net/revolt...feb01.html</a><!--EZCODE AUTOLINK END--> <p></p><i></i>