>>> Tom Condit said:
I first went to work out of high school in 1955, tried going to college but couldn't handle it financially and joined the Marine Corps. When I got out of there, I went back to work in a wide variety of blue and white collar jobs, mostly in small to medium-sized shops and offices. (By "shops" I mean machine repair, printing, etc., not retail.) Until about 15 years ago I never worked in a single shop, nor was I in a single unit in the Marines, where there wasn't at least one other socialist. My guess is that about 10% of the U.S. working class considered themselves socialists of one sort or another (mostly very mild social democrats) up until this last generation. I don't think that's true anymore. The historic continuity has been just about totally broken, and we have to start over from scratch. There's no point in blaming Michael Moore for it.>>>
I am interested in Tom's reference to loss of historical continuity. I think the left needs a theory of historical continuity in part formulated in concepts of "generations" "generational consciousness" and generational consciousness gaps and losses. In other words, the ruling class gets a fresh start of a sort with the passing of each generation of the working class, especially when the ruling class succeeds in destroying the most class conscious and "memory preserving" sections of the working class, its parties, intellectuals etc. Since the working class of a given generation comes to class and socialist consciousness mainly by experience in class struggle and not by reading books and discussion, if it does not reach a critical "mass" of consciousness and make the revolution while alive, there is a start from scratch to an extent with each generation. The U.S. mind control system has as an essential feature instilling anti-historical thinking or "disposable memory" ( "existential consciousness")in the population exactly so it cannot accumulate experience and reach a critical level of consciousness.
If anything, Micheal Moore's work helps to counter this critical amnesia of the many, and in the main mass media.
Charles Brown