|
Are neoconservatives “Trotskyites”?
As any reader of this site knows, I strongly oppose global democratism, and the neoconservatives who push it. But this business of calling neoconservatives “Trotskyites” is ridiculous and stupid and must stop. Trotskyism is simply a type of Communism, and no one believes that neoconservatives are Communists. The anti-neocons get around this problem by resorting to the obscure term “Trotskyite”; even they realize how idiotic and prejudicial they would sound if they said, “Neocons are Communists.” Neocons, of course, are not Communists; they are anti-Communists. The fact that Communists believe in spreading Communism to every country, and the neocons believe in spreading democracy to every country, does not make the neocons Communists, any more than it makes them Muslims, who believe in spreading Islam to every country. Patrick Buchanan carries the “neocons are Trotskyites” lie as far as anyone in an article at antiwar.com in which he labels the neoconservative establishment the “neo-Commintern.” Which, by the way, sounds like a nasty pun on Commentary. A reader told me the Buchanan article is anti-Semitic. I disagree. I think it is very offensive, but that’s not the same as saying that it’s anti-Semitic. In my view, anti-Semitism must involve an attack on Jews as Jews, or an invocation of hostility against Jews as Jews. Buchanan, as I’ve said before, is self-evidently an anti-Israel bigot. He always puts Israel and Israeli self-defense in the worst light, wants to see Israel destroyed, and takes the side of terrorists. His motives for this may well be an animosity against Jews; I personally believe that he probably does have such an animosity and such a motive. But the thing is, we don’t know that to be true, because he has never attacked Jews as Jews. Therefore, in order to avoid smearing people unfairly and cheapening the charge of anti-Semitism, I think the charge of anti-Semitism or bigotry against Jews should only be made when it is clearly true. So I call Buchanan a bigot against Israel, I don’t call him a bigot against Jews.
I recognize that this distinction will seem silly to many people. To me it makes sense and is important. Email entry |