>On Thu, 03 Dec 1998 13:24:04 -0800 Paul Henry Rosenberg <rad at gte.net>
writes:
>>After all, Marx supported reforms in his day. Surely there must be
SOME >reforms worth struggling for nearby that have seeds of future
struggle >in them, no?
>Well, here's the thing, Paul: Upon returning from Union Summer this past August, fresh from the front lines of the class struggle (such as it is these days) and full of idealism, I decided to hike on down to the local AFL-CIO Central Labor Council and see if they had any use for me. As it turns out, they did. The AFL, along with kindred Democratic Party interest groups like the NAACP and the APRI, was hard at work getting out
Just as a point, you did not have to let the AFL-CIO be the ultimate guide as to where to donate your time. (Though the union struggles you mentioned sound like a lot better use for your time than supporting demo party hacks.)
Some random possible causes Mumia Abdul Jamal Hurricane Mitch Relief Single Payer Health 10+/HOUR minimum wage/living wage Equalizing per student education expenditures (at least within your state) ============== By the way -- in terms of accusation of racism against Niles -- it seems to be based on past disagreements with Niles rather than contents of post. The particular criticism he made does not seem to be helpful -- but criticism just as strong might be.
Look, the anti-capitalist left has failed miserably (compared to what it hope to achieve).
Reducing the possibilities to two is always dangerously reductionist, but I will do so anyway. Either 1) Historical circumstances are such that we could not have accomplished significantly more than we have (which I do not believe) 2) We on the left have screwed up big time. I tend to believe this, and if so this is good news -- because somebody can figure out where we have screwed up so we can *stop doing it and start doing things right*.
So to tell you the truth I would like to see a lot more criticism as harsh as that Niles made -- but more intelligently directed so as to point towards a better way of doing thing.
"What do we do now?" can be a cheap dismissal of any criticism. But it can also be aimed at trying to find answers that are desperately needed. I would think that among the things people who call themselves intellectuals would be good at are suggesting goals and strategies -- maybe even tactics.
-- Gar W. Lipow 815 Dundee RD NW Olympia, WA 98502 http://www.freetrain.org/