i think people are concerned about practical proposals because they have to deal with folks day in and day out who aren't leftists. you've assumed ppl are interested in influencing government policy. i think that's wrong.
i see it as about the everyday worlds we swim in, because if we participate in the world at all, we'll inevitably have to say what we think -- or smile and lie. when we get into casual or political conversations with others, we need to be able to say something to them, without looking like utter morons.
do you tell the guy waiting in line with you at the store that he should stop talking about the war or worrying about anthrax and get involved to help build an incipient left movement?
i didn't think so.
i don't know, i just happen to talk to all sorts of people and i happen to think that when i do so i'm, in part, representing the left to them. i'd like to give them an alternative to the horseshit that spews from their screen. i'd like to be able to provoke them to think differently.
why? because that's how i got here: the examples of others. the casual comment about something i'd said. the willingness to engage me and push me to think more. it all added up eventually.
no, i'm not saying i change the world this way. but i do know that the above kinds of practices worked on me and there will be at least one person i interact with who will be pushed in a leftward direction because of something i say and, with any luck, they will encounter others.