"The hidden hand of the market will never work without a hidden fist. McDonald's cannot flourish without McDonnell Douglas....And the hidden fist that keeps the world safe for Silicon Valley's technologies to flourish is called the U.S. Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps." -- Thomas Friedman, _The Lexus and the Olive Tree_
To oppose the war on Iraq is implicitly to work on economic justice, "anti-globalization," and "anti-capitalist" issues, as it means seeking to stay the hidden fist. There have also been plenty of signs and speeches at anti-war demos that call attention to what you call "economic critique." It's not a good idea for anarchists to underestimate the intelligence of rank-and-file activists. "Economic critique" -- perennially expressed at all anti-war demos -- doesn't necessarily lead to the commitment to work to abolish capitalism and build a socialist or anarchist society, though. Even Democrats like Jesse Jackson and Dennis J. Kucinich have their "economic critique."
Most participants in the "global justice movement" in the USA have not been "anti-capitalists"; only anarchists and socialists among them -- a tiny minority -- were. Hence the retreat of many orgs and individuals after 9.11, backing off from S29 in 2001. The same goes for the anti-war movement. Let's not indulge in any illusion here. We have a long way to go.
At 1:35 AM -0500 12/23/02, Chuck0 wrote:
>I don't think we've done enough to attack the legitimacy of the Bush
>Regime. Where are the calls and signs that read, "WE DEMAND NEW
>ELECTIONS IN 2003!"
The slogan "Regime Change Begins at Home" has been seen on many signs, but it's clear that we don't have the capacity to force it today, despite a widespread desire for it among activists and even a good number of non-activists. If ILWU, etc. went on an illegal political strike calling for "regime change," if the strike were massively supported by the populace in the streets, and if sizable segments of the police, the national guard, etc. refused to come down on the strikers and protesters, it can happen, but that's just a strategy-in-dream now. It can't happen here at this point in history. It's not even happening in France and Italy, where left-wingers do have an organized presence and workers can and do sometimes go on a general strike.
At 1:35 AM -0500 12/23/02, Chuck0 wrote:
>How do you stop a war? Like I said, there are no easy answers, but I
>have a few opinions. We need to start being more honest about our
>history and that includes dispensing with the myths about how
>activists stopped the Vietnam War. We need to understand that the
>state can't be defeated by mass spectacles on the Mall, but does get
>worried when lots of movements break out that it can't understand.
>We have to put a stop to the protest du jour mentality that the Left
>engages in, where it drops all work on one issue to go work on
>another hot one.
<snip>
>Other thoughts? If you read up on your history of the Vietnam War,
>you'll come across stories of GI resistance within the ranks of the
>military. You'll hear about the GI Coffeehouse programs. Anti-war
>and peace activists need to build bridges to military people and
>their families. The families and members of the National Guard are
>the most upset right now, because most NG members only do the NG to
>pick up some extra money each month. National guard families aren't
>going to be too happy about their loved ones and breadwinners being
>taken out of the country for a long period of time during tough
>economic times.
No left-winger thinks or argues that we can stop a war by having "mass spectacles on the Mall." There is no myth that activists holding demonstrations single-handedly stopped the Vietnam War either; that's your and Nathan's straw man. Widespread GI resistance in the military was not born spontaneously, in isolation from those who organized and participated in vigils, demonstrations, and other activities that you hold in contempt. The former would not have happened without the latter. Many works that analyzed GI resistance document various connections, from personal to ideological. You can't build large-scale "bridges to the military people and their families" -- beyond what exists now -- without first creating the milieu in which such large-scale bridges may be built. -- 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.osudivest.org/>