Doug Henwood wrote:
> Is there a white community? An American community? A community of Detroit? A
> world commuinity? In some ban al sense these things probably exist, but what
> Marxist could ever endorse the use of
> such empty and mystifying phrases? They obscure more than they reveal, either
> unconsciously or consciously (in the hands of propagandists).
Consider "community" as a pronoun: no core meaning but endlessly shifting according to context. A "community" (for me) is some definable group that at a given time under give conditions will listen to me and reply. Such communities continually come into and pass out of existence. Under conditions of political crisis there are 4 or 5 "communities" in Bloomington-Normal Illinois that would listen to (and reply to) me directly, two or three others that would listen (and respond) to individuals who in turn would listen to me.
The BRC defines (objectively, by existing and acting) a black community (not coinciding with the "black" population as defined by the census, etc, but, under given conditions, real). Under some political conditions, that community would virtually disappear. Under some others it might become the core of a developing working class consciousness. And so on.
But I agree with Doug that, in the abstract, community is not a viable political category.
Carrol