John writes:
> Nevertheless, she goes in for the fashionable anticommunism that
characterizes so many progressive intellectuals in both the Third World
and First (*The God of Small Things* is politically unfair at times); she
has been explicit in saying that the appropriate mode of action for our
time is "resistance," and the act of carving out a space for "the small
things" to survive in a big, hostile world. Taking power and actually
changing the picture -- winning, in other words -- is not on her agenda,
probably because she doesn't think it's possible. Or even desirable.
Do you see a connection between promoting resistance and being anti- communist? And if so, what is it?
I think an alternative legitimate approach is to resist power structures and through resistance, disrupt them. At the same time, you build different systems for power so that there are systems for people to turn to as their current ones are disrupted.
To take power means to take over the system that is currently producing/ channeling it. If there are not alternatives, then those who have taken them over are forced to keep the old systems running.
As an example: one may think generating electricity by burning coal is an environmentally unsafe thing to do, but if you take over the power plant without having prepared an alternative (solar power) and gotten people to accept/desire it, you will just keep burning coal. To exist people need the products of power systems. Just as it is difficult to work on a car's engine while the motor is running, it is hard to reform power systems while relying on them for their output.
I know the masculinist approach (just bite and you get to the center of the tootsie pop) has its champions, but I do not believe it is a successful way to change things over the long term. It relies too much on a quick burst of energy/violence followed by inertia that allows old power systems to survive with fresh coats of paint.
And though I do promote resistance, I am also interested in winning. Urging resistance does not mean a person is indifferent to success.
Brian Dauth Queer Buddhist Resister (who can be intensely
competitive. Just ask my
husband and family)