372
MICHAEL HARRINGTON
there were to
be
a new political majority,
if
tens of millions were
to
have a sense of shaping their own destiny,
if
the economic under–
pinnings of the military-industrial complex were being challenged,
then one could look toward a mass movement for a democratic foreign
policy, and for peace. In other words, domestic change
will
have
to
precede international change. One has to make political alliances
Oil
domestic issues
with forces which one might regard as confused, or
wrong, on the question of Vietnam and the Dominican Republic.
Those who refuse such coalitions in the name of internationalist
principle help to keep their principle the property of a tiny
group.
But to return to the main argument. Your article demonstrated
that one cannot define the program of a "new" radicalism in terms
of generations. The programs you cite were all developed and
popu–
larized by those you would call "former radicals." In theory, you
and
I and the more political of the young radicals can generally agree
on the need for coalition. But when it comes to tactics, you act
as
if
there were a new proletariat, a "politics-by-the-poor" which on its
own can transform society. And you overestimate the degree to which
the poor are a cohesive, conscious and politically dynamic group.
In all of
this,
unfortunately, labels and denunciations have
been
thrown around; programmatic differences between the young and
old radicals have been exaggerated; and tactical divergences have been
blown up into issues of principle and morality.
There is, alas, no new proletariat, no simple way to change
the
most powerful nation in history. But still, I am heartened by
the
young radicals. We share so many ideas in program. And the
disagree–
ments which do exist on style and tactics I am sure will be resolved.
Perhaps the most exciting thing about these new radicals is
their
personal commitment, which has taken them into the slum streets
and the Mississippi Delta. This openness to experience has already
given new life to the American Left and eventually it will give it
new theory as well.
Fraternally,
Mike
