pseudo-populism from j. o'connor

[cns at cats.ucsc.edu]

The only people who can give you an empirical/experiential proof of the
production of surplus value in capitalism -- which Marx called (along with 
the materialist conception of history) his greatest discovery -- are wage
workers. Intellectuals offer only tautological proofs. Of course all of us
know things that we aren't aware we know, and it's the job of the intellectual
agitator/educator/organizer to help people become aware of what they already
know. Two of my own best pieces of work were a/ a class in Soledad prison
and b/ an adult education class where most students were chicano workers.
Jim O'Connor