[Marxism] Fwd: Patrick L. Smith: the latest inductee into the Baathist hall of shame | Louis Proyect: The Unrepentant Marxist

[Louis Proyect]

In 2014 I submitted an article titled “Treason of the Intellectuals” to 
Critical Muslim, a journal co-edited by Robin Yassin-Kassab and Ziauddin 
Sardar. It was rejected because of Britain’s strict libel laws. You can 
read it here, however: 
http://louisproyect.org/2014/06/04/i-run-afoul-of-stringent-british-libel-laws/. 
It examined how a number of high-profile scholars and journalists 
including David Bromwich and Seymour Hersh have lent themselves to the 
Baathist cause. After reading Patrick L. Smith’s article in Salon.com 
titled “Putin might be right on Syria: The actual strategy behind his 
Middle East push — and why the New York Times keeps obscuring it”, I 
decided that an addendum was necessary. Smith is both a veteran 
journalist and a scholar, having written for the International Herald 
Tribune and served as a lecturer at the University of Hong Kong. Yale 
University published his latest book “Time No Longer: After the American 
Century” so the fellow is no slouch.

I have learned, however, that such recognition is no guarantee against 
being a bullshit artist. In an interview given to Smith on Salon.com, 
Perry Anderson—one of the most celebrated Marxist authors of the past 
half-century—told Smith that “Stalin remained a communist who firmly 
believed that the ultimate mission of the world’s working class was to 
overthrow capitalism, everywhere.” I guess in his dotage Anderson has 
forgotten everything he ever wrote about Trotsky. No wonder Smith, who 
is a Putinite sufficient enough to embarrass Mike Whitney, would find 
Anderson’s “Marxism” to his tastes.

In another Salon.com interview that has the same character as Charlie 
Rose interviewing Bill Gates or Stephen Spielberg, Smith sat down with 
Stephen F. Cohen. You can imagine the tough questions he posed to the 
professor emeritus whose decline has been as steep as Anderson’s.

full: 
http://louisproyect.org/2015/10/17/patrick-l-smith-the-latest-inductee-into-the-baathist-hall-of-shame/