AFL-CIO restructuring

rc-am rcollins at netlink.com.au
Thu Oct 7 23:08:37 PDT 1999


Carl wrote:


> >The fact is that trashing "mushy centrism" is like trashing gravity.
>
> I disagree. The more I get on in life, the more I see that being
reasonable
> is not a very effective way to achieve reasonable goals. A certain
amount
> of extremism in the pursuit of worthwhile aims is, if nothing else, a
good
> negotiating stance.

well put. the most effective reformists are those who can point to a palatable threat of ultra-leftist irreconcilability as the likely scenario of refusing reformist demands. which is another way of saying that in the absence of an irreconcilable movement, there is no space for reformism, whether in the micro-politics of negotiations or in the historical possibility of settlements like social democracy. of course, that means that irreconcilability has to be more than simply a negotiating stance.

just think of it like this nathan, reformism needs extremism in a way the latter will never need the former. just look at how effectively the respectable right have made use of the nutter right?

Angela _________



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