Introduction
Anyone familiar with the
socialist movement in the industrialized countries today must be struck
by the huge gap between what’s needed — mass socialist parties with deep
roots in the working class — and the reality — small groups of
socialists with little influence. The following exchange contains a
searching discussion of these issues between the noted Marxist scholar
Paul Le Blanc and John Riddell.
The exchange opens with an article by Le Blanc and continues with an
exchange between Riddell and Le Blanc. The discussion was first published in Socialist Voice
in June 2008 and later appeared on John Riddell's website (with more comments).
About the authors
Paul Le Blanc, a former member of the U.S. Socialist
Workers Party, has been a long-time anti-war, anti-racist, activist in
Pittsburgh. He teaches History at La Roche College. He is author of
Marx, Lenin, and the Revolutionary Experience (Routledge 2006).