The ultras are pure but ineffective, what Kierkegaard called beautiful souls. Capitalism isn't going away for the foreseeable future, so what the left does is fight to preserve or if possible entend reforms like AA. That implicates us in defending elements of the system that sustain it. Sorry. The alternative is irrelevance.
Higher wages can be criticized as a goal too -- Mike Ballard wilkl remind us we want to abolish the wage system, not win better payment for the slave (that old emigre again). Sure. In the meantime, we fight for higher wages.
Frank and other ultras can call that affirming thesystem if they like, I don't really care. I just want to use the time remaining me to make a small difference that actually helps people rather than fastidiously maintaining positions that are correct from a maximalist pov. The issue is not one to debate, since the ultras will not be persuaded and neither will I.
--- frank scott <frank at marin.cc.ca.us> wrote:
> >
> >
> >"...Anti-aff action is
> >inherently a bad position in a racist society.
> There is _nothing_ good to be said in favor of
> opposing AA..."
> >
> if one unquestionably accepts lesser evil arguments,
> for sure...the same
> would be true of anti-kerry, anti-democratic party
> and other such
> arguments...
>
> but there is a helluva lot of crit to be made of aa
> from an
> anti-capitalist perspective, or even from a simple
> pro-change
> perspective of the system, without clarity about its
> roots...
>
> aa helps many people and we'd be even uglier without
> it, but it's no
> secret why corporate america is its biggest
> supporter, as are other
> mainstream institutions...pretense as to its
> "radical" nature is just that
>
> when aa begins helping the overwhelming majority of
> folks who are not
> middle class or higher, it will be quite something
> else than what it is
> and has been: a system enhancing program...
>
> you affirm the system, you get action... period.
>
> there's plenty to criticize in that, at least for
> some of us...
>
> fs
>
> ___________________________________
>
http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
__________________________________ Discover Yahoo! Use Yahoo! to plan a weekend, have fun online and more. Check it out! http://discover.yahoo.com/