Some time in 1978 or 1979 I wrote a little essay on current events in Iran. Not very sophisticated, it ended, "maybe there will be a military coup."
I was reminded of that today, when a leftist Friend on Facebook criticised the "all or nothing" approach of offering unconditional* support to the Syrian revolution. If socialists had said thirty years ago that maybe negotiations with the Shah's régime were better than the prospect of Islamists coming out on top after a bloodbath, they'd never have earned the right to criticise when it came to resisting that very eventuality.
Hopefully the Syrian revolution will complete its initial task soon. Anyone who wants to be heard when it comes to suggesting ways to build a society free from foreign domination in which all share the wealth would be advised to show more sophistication than I did when I was ten.
I was reminded of that today, when a leftist Friend on Facebook criticised the "all or nothing" approach of offering unconditional* support to the Syrian revolution. If socialists had said thirty years ago that maybe negotiations with the Shah's régime were better than the prospect of Islamists coming out on top after a bloodbath, they'd never have earned the right to criticise when it came to resisting that very eventuality.
Hopefully the Syrian revolution will complete its initial task soon. Anyone who wants to be heard when it comes to suggesting ways to build a society free from foreign domination in which all share the wealth would be advised to show more sophistication than I did when I was ten.
* "But critical", in Lenin's phrase.
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