![]() ![]() Unlike World War II, whose vast scale demanded a mobilization of all social strata, Vietnam was more limited, and the military was determined to channel bourgeois and even middle-class youth away from combat. This stems from both the working class’s numerical predominance in capitalist society and the ruling class’s penchant for having those less fortunate do its dirty and dangerous work.īut Appy demonstrates how this rule was particularly acute in Vietnam. armed forces-particularly the enlisted men following orders, doing the fighting and suffering the casualties-were overwhelmingly and disproportionately from the working class.īy itself, this is nothing new: recruits for modern imperialist armies in general have come from the proletariat. The book doesn’t pretend to be a comprehensive analysis of the Vietnam War. But he fails to draw the revolutionary conclusions that flow from this material. He combines this personal touch with facts, figures and information. He provides a human and realistic account, using personal interviews and rap sessions with scores of veterans. He details the lives of American soldiers in Vietnam: their class backgrounds, military training, war experiences (both as victims and victimizers), as well as the post-combat attempts of survivors to deal with what they lived through. participation in the war through the lens of class structure and class conflict. ![]() In part an effort to counter right-wing notions that Vietnam was a just war that “the left” wouldn’t let America win, the book also raises questions that liberals and even leftists avoid.Īppy is successful in achieving these goals because he examines the U.S. ![]() imperialism’s carnage and defeat in Vietnam. Appy published this year, is the most piercing and informative work yet on U.S. Working-Class War: American Combat Soldiers and Vietnam, a book by Christian G. The following article was first published in Proletarian Revolution No. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |