[Marxism] Betancourt's halo [SIC] under spotlight

[Jscotlive at aol.com]

Ruthless:
 
This is vulgar, reductive materialism. Material conditions do
constrain  the field of choices, but they are never "deterministic" in
the sense you  think they are, as if humans were zombies without any
agency, dancing to the  puppet strings pulled by "material forces".

Reply:
 
I don't recognise the thing you describe as 'reductive materialism'. It  
sounds to me about as relevant as describing the missionary position as  reductive 
sex.  
 
Perhaps my offering of a materialist analysis can be explained by the fact  
that I am a materialist. Agency is largely  - not solely - but largely  
determined by material conditions. If this makes me vulgar, sue me.
 
Ruthless:
 
Using your logic, every poor strategic choice that leftists make,
could  be retrospectively explained away as somehow inevitable and
materially  "determined". This is verily the "materialism of fools".

Reply:
 
This crap presupposes that I think the FARC are making mistakes. On the  
contrary, I think their resistance to the Colombian oligarchs and their death  
squads over the past 30 years has been nothing short of heroic.
 
What I do think IS determined is that oppression breeds resistance. You  
obviously do not. In fact, in every nuance of your posts on both this and Hamas,  
is your chauvinistic distaste for the victims of oppression.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Using your logic, every poor strategic choice that leftists make,
could  be retrospectively explained away as somehow inevitable and
materially  "determined". This is verily the "materialism of  fools".