>On Sat, Apr 06, 2002 at 01:28:05PM -0500, Doug Henwood wrote:
> >
> > Just goes to show you can be ignored by the NYT and still develop a
> > mass following.
> >
> > Doug
>
>Doug, I wonder what mass following means. Wall Street was a successful
>book, just like Chomsky's. Would you say that you have a mass following?
>Instead, people like us operate within a limited enclave, which is
>receptive. The people who buy Wall Street/Chomsky/.... tend to be without
>much influence and to feel somewhat isolated from the mainstream.
>
>I heard your interview with Palast. In all of his interviews, he seems to
>express a fervent desire to find an audience outside of the enclave, yet
>so far has not succeeded.
>
>To some extent, Michael Moore has. Is it because of his humor or because
>his politics are not as threatening as those of Chomsky?
>
>I don't have any answers here, just questions.
What published intellectuals write can and often does become tools for organizing -- not directly but through the work of organizers and activists who read but don't write and publish little except flyers (if they publish anything at all) themselves. It's those who read Chomsky, Henwood, etc. that are, for instance, organizing caravans of buses and vans to A19-22 protests in DC (against America's war, Plan Colombia, WB/IMF, Israel, etc.).
That said, in the United States, we have unaffiliated intellectuals, journals, and their followings, plus endless issue- and identity-based groups and shifting "coalitions," instead of political parties with comprehensive political programs and resources (I count neither socialist sects nor the Green & Labor Parties as full-fledged political parties). Under these conditions, political organizing tends to be sporadic. We can organize protests on specific issues, but a constituency for one issue seldom have the time to work on other issues (if they become educated on and interested in them at all -- most often they regard them as unrelated to or, worse yet, competing with their particular concerns for attention). Much energy expended, but few favorable outcomes that could build a left and make it grow in number and power. -- Yoshie
* Calendar of Events in Columbus: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/calendar.html> * Anti-War Activist Resources: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/activist.html> * Student International Forum: <http://www.osu.edu/students/sif/> * Committee for Justice in Palestine: <http://www.osu.edu/students/CJP/>