> The assumption here is that everything to understand about the
> social world can be put in terms that "workers in St. P" can
> relate to. This isn't true of physics; why should it be true
> of society? A scientific understanding of X requires a great
> deal of training, creativity, innovation, and outright
> rejection of common sense.
>
> Why do you think understanding
> society is so easy that people can do it by relying on
> everyday concepts and knowledge? That's like saying
> somebody can understand the structure of the solar
> by applying common-sense words like "sunrise" and
> "sunset".
Why do you think that successful radical political activity depends on a "scientific understanding" of society comparable to contemporary physics?
I would flatly say (although I know it will cause a rain of protests to fall on my head) that the scientific content of Lenin's Marxism was next to nil, and yet he managed to lead a revolution. He didn't do it by snowing the Russian workers and peasants with his impressive scientific understanding of Russian society; he did it by means of his eloquence in urging them to keep demanding "land, bread, and peace" (as well as with his great talent for organizational manipulation in getting the Bolsheviks into power, of course).
Also, pace the Marxist true believers, neither they nor anyone else currently has a scientific understanding of human society that is anywhere near as advanced as physics is. Scientific sociology just is not needed for political action; what's needed is the ability to organize a powerful enough army for change that you can defeat the reactionary camp. And to do that, you have to be able to communicate with the masses, which is a talent that few academics have, sad to say.
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org __________________________________ A gentleman haranguing on the perfection of our law, and that it was equally open to the poor and the rich, was answered by another, 'So is the London Tavern.' -- "Tom Paine's Jests..." (1794); also attr. to John Horne Tooke (1736-1812) by Hazlitt