In this lecture Ralph Schoenman gives I think one of the best possible arguments for why 9/11 is not just a distraction from the present and future, but, to the contrary, provides another overwhelming insight into the shadow sides of state and class.
Ralph Schoenman was a comrade of Betrand Russells in the '60s, and apparently even got tortured in Bolivia for trying to submit evidence to acquit french Marxist Regis Dubray from execution. Schoenman must have been quite a powerful character; in this memo, Bertrand Russell describes him as a quick minded and energetic young optimist who is convinced of "his unshakable belief in the penetration and breadth of his understanding". In 1969, Russell tragically distanced himself from Schoenman, since he had a tendency to exploit his proximity to Russell. As Sartre put it in a letter to Schoenman: "You can't both hide behind Russell and put him in your pocket." But much can be said for Schoenman, since he did not sell out like so many people of his generation. To the contrary, he now perplexes online biography writers by adhering to the language of marxists in the '60: "He reads a long, tedious tract, filled with phrases like 'the workers council were the proletarian power in embryo, but these were smashed by the Stalinist reaction.'"
This lecture makes me suspect however, that he is not just a relic from days when radical groups split over discussions on Trotsky and Stalin. It looks like his confidence and radicalism allows him a great amount of insight into the darkest political facts and structures.
His books include 'P.R.' (1967), 'Bertrand Russell: Philosopher of the Century' (1967), and 'The Hidden History of Zionism' (1988).
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