Letters
Maack, Thomas
The Thirtieth Anniversary Essay by Roger Burbach ["Socialism is Dead, Long Live Socialism," Nov/Dec 1997] presents some provocative arguments, and is a welcome opening of debate on the...
...This key omission becomes the basis Readers are invited to address letters to The Editors, NACLA Report on the Americas, 475 Riverside Drive, Suite 454, New York, NY 10115...
...Burbach's solution for the reconstruction of socialist movements in Latin America is utopian in its vision, and most likely very cruel in its consequences...
...Thus, "Long Live Socialism...
...According to Burbach, "postmodern socialisms" encompass local and regional struggles of groups that live off the leftovers of the globalization feast (street vendors, garbage scavengers), as well as current peasant struggles, like those in Chiapas and Brazil...
...The Thirtieth Anniversary Essay by Roger Burbach ["Socialism is Dead, Long Live Socialism," Nov/Dec 1997] presents some provocative arguments, and is a welcome opening of debate on the future of socialist movements in Latin America...
...While the article considers several causes for the failure of "socialism as we knew it" in Cuba, Chile and Nicaragua, it never mentions the fundamental one, namely, that it occurred in the context of underdevelopment...
...Contrary to Burbach's proposal, which limits the range of socialist goals to the crumbs left over by the globalization process, reconstruction of the socialist movements in Latin America necessitates broadening their scope to include the struggle for the universalization of the rights to work, education, nutrition, health care, social security, access to modern technology and communication, a clean environment, democracy and racial and gender equality...
...Letters can be sent by e-mail to: editor@nacla...
...It is not news that it is impossible to build a successful socialist regime in an underdeveloped country while capitalism remains fully entrenched in the developed world...
...I strongly disagree, however, with the fundamentals of Burbach's analysis and conclusions...
...Burbach mentions, but then fails to analyze, one possibility for the reconstruction of socialism in Latin America...
...For the first time, globalization objectively favors cooperation among workers of different countries, including cooperation between workers in underdeveloped and developed countries...
...of Burbach's proposed utopian solution-"postmodern socialisms...
...Even if it were possible to infuse these survival strategies with a socialist orientation-a doubtful propositionlocal and regional "socialisms" would be doomed to failure...
...Burbach's analysis elevates some of the most desperate struggles for survival, which arise from the profound underdevelopment of Latin America, to paradigmatic building blocks of future "socialisms...
...Not only would it be extremely difficult to convince people to forgo the benefits of modern technology, but external actors-governments as well as transnational entities-would do everything possible to defeat such "socialist experiments...
...In these countries, socialism was destined to fail, as it was in the Soviet Union when the revolution did not expand to Germany in 1919...
...Ultimately, only socialism can accomplish these goals...
...This cooperation, moreover, may also bring important civil rights, child labor, gender equality and environmental issues to the forefront of transnational struggles...
Vol. 31 • March 1998 • No. 5
