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#37: White replies to Gill on liberation theology (fwd)
From: steven white <stevelong@spyral.net>
Dear Mark,
Please allow me to comment on two statements in your last post.
(1)"cooperation between individuals and groups is not a characteristic
of the Haitian personality"
This is a generalization. It is a subjective statement, perhaps based
on your personal experience. In my experience with Haitians I have
observed people coming together to do work of a communal nature such as
planting, harvesting, organizing public functions such as funerals,
weddings, home religious sevices (manje lwa), etc. Perhaps because of
the nature of your work you only see people whose communal support
system has fallen apart.
(2)"the methodology that marxism promotes.....is the major reason for
the failure of liberation theology in Nicaragua"
Liberation theology and marxism in Central America have at least one
major goal in common: land reform. Many Marxists believe in liberation
theology, and many of those who espouse liberation theology are
influenced by the philosophy of marxism. The methodology which caused
the failure of both in Nicaragua is that of NSC 68, the statement of
policy of the National Security Council of the United States, which
describes the policy of containment as "one which seeks by all means
short of war to ... block further expansion of Soviet power". These
means in Nicaragua included an embargo, a guerrilla war, and the mining
of the harbors. Whatever contribution, if any, marxism made to the
failure of the Sandinista government must surely be seen as secondary to
the onslaught of the most powerful nation on earth using "all means
short of war" to bring about this failure.
Sincerely, Steve White