Protester Shot in Head, Run Over in Genoa

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Mon Jul 23 11:06:39 PDT 2001


At 12:54 PM 7/23/01 -0400, Todd A. wrote, inter alia:
>not sarcasm)? I personally doubt the effectiveness of protest of any vein,
>especially without good politics to back it up, as Yoshie mentioned. I

Yep. I cannot think of a single historical instance of a government, let alone an economic system, being abolished by a protest / revolution from below. Governments are toppled by other governments, while protesters /revolutionaries, like hyenas, move in only after the lions did the killing. Only in romantic mythologies a la Star Wars, the Trots, or the militias - a bunch of hicks with sticks and guns can defeat the Evil Empire.

I also think that you are right on the target when you say that what average folk really want is a peaceful life without being harassed by anyone else.

That leads to a logical conclusion that a real political change is possible only through the existing political instituions (such as social democrats in Europe or democratic party in the US for the lack of a better alternative) - with one important exception: at strategic junctures, radical protesters serve as a stick making the social democrats a more attractive partner for the powers that be.

wojtek



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