On the danger of sacrificing principle for pragmatism ~ George Askaroff ~ When faced with substantial external pressure and uncertainty, principles of liberty are often sacrificed in the name of ‘pragmatism’. But doing so can come at a heavy cost. This is where the tale of my great-grandfather comes in, a Russian anarchist named German
I am a bit conflicted with this article. One one hand I think I understand the intentions behind it, but It seems to me that it confuses opportunistic vanguardism with pragmatism.
Yes, Lenin managed to convince enough people to hijack the February Revolution and concentrate all the power to the party himself. To my understanding, he accomplished that mainly by using the wording of the actual bottom-up revolution. So the problem for me is not a matter of principle(s), but how to be sharp enough as a movement not to be fooled by people using a familiar narrative, while trying to achieve their own goals. Something like that.
Edit: Meaning, “pragmatism” was the bait. Nothing more.
I am a bit conflicted with this article. One one hand I think I understand the intentions behind it, but It seems to me that it confuses opportunistic vanguardism with pragmatism.
Yes, Lenin managed to convince enough people to hijack the February Revolution and concentrate all the power to
the partyhimself. To my understanding, he accomplished that mainly by using the wording of the actual bottom-up revolution. So the problem for me is not a matter of principle(s), but how to be sharp enough as a movement not to be fooled by people using a familiar narrative, while trying to achieve their own goals. Something like that.Edit: Meaning, “pragmatism” was the bait. Nothing more.