>
> >Oh, definitely not an equality of not asking questions. Every group
> >has a few questions they don't want to ask, but I agree that some
> >groups do encourage open public discussion while others want to shut
> >it down and spew propoganda. As a journalist, I admit I hate talking
> >to the latter group just for that reason alone. Much like
> >corporations and many people from liberal NGOs, they will just
> >flat-out lie. It's a lot more interesting to write about people who
> >will talk honestly about what's going on. But I also think that
> >practice leads to much better politics and creates organizations
> >people actually want to be part of.
> >
> >Liza
>
> (1) If you wish to improve the work of WW/IAC/ANSWER, motivating its
> organizers to self-examination so as to help it learn a better
> coalition building, you need to get your coalition of choice -- NION
> or United for Peace or both -- to draw a bigger turnout than it has.
> Think like a socialist entrepreneur (not like a journalist), and
> introduce stiff competition in the activist market, without doing
> attack ads a la US electoral politics or holding actions designed to
> split the existing demand (= holding your national action too shortly
> before or after WW/IAC/ANSWER's action) -- that way, products of all
> will improve, at the same time as expanding the activist market.
>
> (2) Alternatively, you can join one or all of the coalitions (nothing
> prevents you from joining all), and try to move it to merge with the
> other two or them to merge with one another, without allowing any of
> the existing coalition to dominate the result of the merger.
>
> (2) probably won't happen without (1) happening first, though.
> --
> Yoshie
>
Hmmmm.
Liza defines herself as a journalist whose job it is to report things, not necessarily to agitate. Why is it her job as opposed to some hypothetical horde of other activists either to motivate WWP / IAC/ ANSWER toward self-examination or to "think like a socialist entrepreneur?"
Honestly, to me there is some point in talking to WWP and Jehovah's Witnesses in the same breath. The latter are quite clear they get their marching or rather non-marching orders from God. Many people might wonder what version of God we're dealing with, but with God on their side, they have instant supermajority and who cares about the actual count of partisans? Plus anyone who spends 3 minutes talking to Jehovah's Witnesses will figure out that, however firmly they hold to their religious views, actually participating in politics is too "worldly" and is rendered unnecessary from their point of view by their theology and would-be coalition builders should not even waste their time.
Is it too long a leap to refer to WWP "theology?" I don't think so, if only because that is a convenient way to cope with the possibility that WWP is probably quite resisitant to the kind of self-examination Yoshie mentions. I admit I don't feel like venturing far enough into sociology to analyze WWP's "democratic centralism" and capacity for shooting some alliances in the foot, but there is another problem that also needs comment:
Why is self-examination among the WWP / IAC / ANSWER necessary to have an anti-war movement? I know probably 98% of everyone on LBO-talk can probably think of several zillion regions an antiwar movement should by all forces of logic and analysis be anti-capitalist, but the rotten truth is, that might not be the case. For better or worse the record of public input affecting the conduct of wars is marginally better than the effects of mobilizations against the ravages of capitalism. And people for some unfathomable ( ;-0!<<<<
) reason manage all the time to agitate against war without either interacting with the most onerous levers of capitalism or interacting at all with people like the WWP who might in some universe be in a position to encourage self-examination about capitalism.
There. enough provocative points for now.
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