activism

[Doug Henwood]

Gar Lipow nominates activism as the antidote to all those disabling
oppositions. Yes, but the whole idea of activism as an antidote to
theoretical isolation reproduces the division it aims to undermine. A few
years ago, I was on a panel about economic development in NYC, and most of
my colleagues were hot on stimulating small business. I piped up to say
that for the most part, small business jobs pay less, offer few benefits
and less training, are typically more dangerous and more volatile. For
saying this, I was denounced by an activist for exhibiting the "paralysis
of analysis."

Doug