Thornett by adapting to overpopulation theories further breaks with Marxism!

THORNETT DEEPENS HIS BREAK WITH MARXISM! BY ANTHONY BRAIN


Due to the global Capitalist crisis every contradiction is being dramatically magnified. Thornett’s latest article on Socialist Resistance website where he begins to support overpopulation theories is another slide into Bourgeois politics. He has been on this trajectory since 1989 in supporting German re-unification; calling for Imperialism to try Milosevic; backing UN occupation of East Timor after 1999. During 2002 there was a qualitative degeneration when he called for a vote to Chirac. His adaptation to overpopulation theories represents a qualitative degeneration.


Thornett is totally a-historical and does not situate the rise of overpopulation theories in a context of a worse crisis unfolding today in the history of Capitalism. Ian Angus is totally correct in seeing how overpopulation theories can be used now/later to carry out the barbarism of Capitalism. Only by resolving the crisis of working class leadership will prevent the worse aspects of Capitalism coming to the surface. This can only be done by defeating the ruling class’s ideology among the masses.


It is dialectically ironic considering Thornett’s years of Healyite sectarianism to the Feminist movement that he distorts Feminism to falsely claim overpopulation is a ‘Feminist’ issue. The American SWP always challenged overpopulation theories for being anti-Feminist. I have not read much of their literature on this issue. Those more familiar with that material could bring this history to life, which has great contemporary relevance.