[lbo-talk] privilege

[Michael Dawson]

I agree with Lacny on this one.  I also think it's too narrow to frame the
issue of imperialism as one of "standard of living," if that simply means
trying to guess how much it has inflated our GDP.  While its certainly
preferable to be the average US worker compared with the average Bolivian, I
strongly question how much the world economy benefits ordinary Americans.
Take away cars and replace them with modern socialist transportation modes
(bikes and trains), and the GDP drops by a third, but people would be better
off.  What about medical spending?  That's another huge chunk of GDP, but we
all know its partly a sign of avoidable forms of unhealthy, and is also much
more beneficial to the rich than the poor.  And what about the threats of
war and eco-collapse?  Is our GDP a benefit, if it triggers those two lovely
things?


> -----Original Message-----
> From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
> On Behalf Of John Lacny
> Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 3:20 PM
> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Subject: [lbo-talk] privilege
> 
> Kelly:
> 
> > You can say that men benefit, as a group: privilege, higher
> > wages, etc. etc. But that's too narrow, because it doesn't
> > consider the ways men suffer under the current system:
> > shorter life spans, higher stress levels, etc. etc.
> 
> True, but you don't even have to go there. The reality is that most men
> are
> actually hurt by sexism not only because of its culturally/psychologically
> warping effects, but "materially" because it serves as a linchpin of a
> system that oppresses most men, too.
> 
> By the same token, take racism. It's simply not correct to say that whites
> "benefit" from racism; most whites are, in fact, harmed by racism. Unions
> are much rarer in the US South than elsewhere in the country, and as a
> result wages and living conditions generally for most Southern whites are
> worse than for whites elsewhere in the country. It doesn't take a genius
> to
> figure out that this is because of the especially racist history of the
> South. Saying that whites do not "benefit" from racism is, however, NOT to
> say that whites don't have "privileges" AS whites. Racism is not just
> something that "divides the working class" in some way that would make
> everyone equally culpable; for while racism indeed harms most whites, it
> harms people of color a great deal more.
> 
> You can make similar points about gender, etc.
> 
> 
> - - - - - - - - - -
> John Lacny
> http://www.johnlacny.com
> 
> Tell no lies, claim no easy victories
> 
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk