I have been exposed to much theoretical hocus-pocus on this list over the course of years now, and I don't see that any of this strenuous obscurantism has done one whit to raise the left from its moribund state. What I consider "deeply conservative" is to indulge in pedantry that stands no chance whatsoever of connecting to or transforming mass politics at any point. Having until recently occupied a perch in the corporate world, I have, one might say, been in the position of an artillery spotter. And let me tell you, LBOers, *none* of the furious salvos of intensely academic commentary fired off here make the slightest difference to, or are even heard by, the business world. Let's be honest, LBOers: You can't claim to be laying the foundations for social transformation when -- month after month, year after year -- listees gripe endlessly about the unremitting "such as it is" state of the left, which continues to dwindle away to nothing.
When you find yourself in a hole, as the cliche goes, the first thing to do is stop digging. I certainly don't want to come across as a Michael Moore, but something must be done -- patterns of scholarly thought, study and expression changed -- so all this leftist intellectual effort breaks out of the academic ghetto and starts enlightening people in general about the structurally cruel, dehumanizing nature of the society in which they live.
This is not meant to be carping criticism. I simply feel a great sense of frustration because I sense that (as I commented to you offlist yesterday, Doug) the tide of history really is beginning to reverse its course of at least the past two decades, and if any real left continued to exist, I am certain it would have significant opportunities for advancement in the near future. As things stand now, however, it doesn't, so it won't.
Carl
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