> It's not that there is no longer a 'left vs. right' dynamic, but that
> the elements that fit into those categories are not as fixed as they
> used to be - or were perceived to be. So Cockburn is saying that We
> cannot ignore ideological trends like the so-called Third Way, which
> seeks to make neo-liberalism more palatable to left-wingers, with
> impressive results (see James Petras in 'Monthly Review'). Thus the
> categories are not meaningless, just moch more problamatic and
> demanding a more nuanced analysis.
Actually, they always *were* "not as fixed as they used to be," and required a "nuanced analysis." The thing is, practical political activists must necessarily dumb-down and over-simplify their concepts, because political warfare needs blunt, heavy weapons.
Jon Johanning // jjohanning at igc.org __________________________________ "The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do." -- Samuel P. Huntington