>For present purposes, the questions we must ask are: 1) are there positive
>functions (with respect to certain classes or class segments and/or
>with respect
>to the system as a whole) of the so-called Black "underclass"? 2) if yes, are
>there functional alternatives, i.e. antiracist antipoverty policies that would
>eliminate such systemic necessities of the Black "underclass"?
>In addressing these questions, it is crucial that we distinguish between
>irrational by-products and functional requirements of white supremacist
>capitalism and (and I hope it is clear that we can and must bring
>patriarchy and
>heterosexism into this analysis as well).
It is impossible to eliminate the reserve army of labor under capitalism, but (A) stopping the war on drugs & crimes while (B) making social programs universal, well-funded, & attractive (as opposed to means-tested, inadequately funded, & burdened with red tape) should go a long way toward a relatively more anti-racist & pro-working-class outcome than what we have now in the USA. (A) alone would be a great leap forward!
In short, make unemployment as free from pain & stigma as possible. Let's make unemployment look like a well-deserved vacation that everyone wants to take once in a while, which will push capitalism into a crisis from the direction of ripening secondary contradictions in the conditions of its reproduction!
Yoshie