On Fri, 26 Nov 2004, Gregory Geboski wrote:
> I think the left, however defined, should avoid like the plague tying
> tactics and strategies, and certainly larger social visions, to the
> family. Although the family is the pre-rational default position for
> people when they imagine political entities, it is (probably for that
> reason) a clear and consistent strategy of the right--possibly its
> fundamental strategy--and its invocation will only serve to weaken us
> over time.
In any analogy, there are points of linkage between the two concepts and discrepancies (if the two entities are completely congruent with one another, it's not an analogy, it's a tautology: X is X). G. is assuming that the use of the family trope requires acceptance of every aspect of the family as an analogue of all social relations.
I guess I need to be more explicit about what links up and what doesn't in my "family" metaphor. I am not implying that older people should boss the younger ones around, without democratic accountability, nor am I suggesting that the family structure is the model for every organization. I'm just arguing that family relations provide an excellent rebuttal to the conservative argument that people only look out for number 1. Just as we look out for and help one another in families, socialists argue that we can work for our mutual benefit in a variety of social contexts.
--That's as far as the analogy extends.
Miles