>My problem with the culturalist Left is that it lost its sight from that
>prize, and then redefined the goals of the struggle in terms of populist
>symbols and cultural identities. It is like someone fighting a war, in the
>middle of it decided to drop his/her weapon and play a game of chess
>instead. It is essentially the same as soliving one's life problems by
>"finding Jesus," or for that matter, by getting high.
This "culturalist Left" has become a strawperson. People on this list, for example, take seriously the tasks of union organizing and political agitation; is there anyone here who thinks that slipping a Public Enemy CD into the Discman is a revolutionary act in itself? And lots of cult studs are involved in campus anti-sweatshop campaigns, local living wage campaigns, and other very real world concerns. And the "culturalist Left" label is applied recklessly to people other than the practitioners of the politics of gesture or style - to people who take race and sex seriously, for example, as you seem not to. But last time I checked, race and sex were deeply materialist things (and culture itself was embedded in material practices and social relations). So instead of throwing around labels with the intent to insult or disparage, could you provide some example texts, thinkers, or ideas to illustrate your indictment?
Doug