activism

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

Doug wrote:
>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."

Talks of 'stimulating small business,' etc., I think, are often popular
because they fit _ideologically_ into the neoliberal agenda of tax cuts,
relaxation of regulations, union-busting through subcontracting, etc.,
though activist proponents of such talks are unlikely to be aware of this
fit. (_In reality_, however, small businesses can't possibly survive
without heavy-duty regulations of large firms.)

Many left-liberal activists are unfortunately 'reverse size queens'; they
love the idea of 'small is beautiful,' though there is no reason to think
that small is necessarily more democratic, ecologically sensible, etc.

Also, there is a question of what the term 'small business' means exactly.
The term's populist connotations may be used to mask quite sizable and
profitable business activities that should not be treated any differently
than other firms.

Yoshie