Joel Wendland wrote:
>
> >Carrol Cox wrote:
> >
> >>Articles in
> >>the Nation or Against the Current, no matter how beautifully clear or
> >>how wonderful their content, are not going to reach the bulk of the
> >>unemployed.
>
> This is an interesting point. I don't think the Nation bills itself asa
> publication in the thick of working class struggle -- though it is -- as
> Against the Current does. I like ATC alot, but don't always agree with them
> editorially.
>
> At any rate, the statement above, if true, might make the case for
> re-evaluating the marxist concept of parties (is Solidarity a
> party?--again, a group of people Ihave a lot of respect for) bringing
> revolutionary ideas to the people or the class. At least it calls for asking
> who finds their articles beautifully clear and why we don't think they
> appeal to workers.
My remark was not meant to denigrate either the Nation or ATC. I think large numbers of the unemployed, IF THEY KNEW OF THE EXISTENCE of ATC & the Nation would find quite a bit to admire in those publications. My subject is neither the correct content _nor_ the style of writing but a demographic and even geographical point. Before a text, whether a full article or a 10 line ad in the classified section of the newspaper, can influence anyone, that person has (1) to know of the existence of the text and (2) WITHOUT HAVING READ, have reason to read it.
That's why I asked all those questions about the location of state unemployment centers, etc.
Look, way back in 1966 or 67 or 68 two women from your party stayed at our house for a couple days. They down here to leaflet a Caterpillar plant in Peoria. My point is, that in the '60s a large proportion of the u.s. working class still worked in factories. And most of the factories had a public space next to them where someone could physically hand them a leaflet. And so forth.
That is no longer the case. Most u.s. workers do not work in factories. They do not even work in buildings facing on a public sidewalk. They do not go to the downtown area to shop.
The can live their whole life without any agitator being able to get physically close enough to them to hand them a leaflet. And they can live their whole life without ever hearing that there is such a publication as ATC. And I'm not talking just about highschool dropouts here. I'm also talking about college graduates with all Bs and Cs, very literate, in the working class, possibly unemployed, and they've never heard of ATC (or any other actual or hypothetical publication from the left).
I'm talking about the physical problem of letting masses of people know of our existence. Solve that problem and then I'm willing to worry about the message or the style of the writing.
This will have to be mostly solved by local groups in practice which they can then share with others. But even on a maillist where we can only speculate (but perhaps speculate intelligently) we should be able at least to recognize that it is a problem and that it is separate from the problem of what our message should be or how that message should be expressed.
Carrol