Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> And how was Watergate a contribution to the rout of the left? For a
> few years it aided the left, spreading doubt and hostility to the
> established order. I could swear the left was routed by Volcker and
> Reagan.
And martin wrote:
>
> Isn't that the history of civilization?
Doug, think about Martin's reply to you for awhile, and you may get an inkling at least as to the partial role Watergate played in putting the kibosh on collective action. Jan had recruited a small organizing committee to try to unionize clericals at ISU, and it was very clear that cynical reaction to Watergate was one of the barriers. Others were the failure of ERA, the '74 recession (which individualized workers), the burnout of organizers from the '60s, and probably others, but Watergate (whatever it did temporarily for DP politicos) was certainly an element. It radicalized _no one_ as far as I could see at the time; it fostered cynicism and skepticism, not radicalism. We (and many others around the country with whom I was in contact agreed) 'felt it in our bones' as it were.
Carrol
>
> Martin
>
> On Aug 31, 2004, at 3:43 PM, Doug Henwood wrote:
>
> > It provides a highly simplified way of understanding the world - a
> > small group of omniscient and almighty people run things, and the rest
> > of us are mere pawns.
>
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