> The fact of the matter is that today protests cannot have that
> effect because they cannot lead to the exercise of physical
> control of the material means in a way described above.
This is more rational than what you were saying earlier, which was that splits within the elite are all that matter and that mass protest only matters when it is part of some elite coalition. As you know, I am not a fan of ideological "purity," and I agree with your statement that people who don't know how to settle for what they can get are really betraying the movement. So I'm all for utilizing "splits within the ruling class." But saying that that's all that ultimately matters and that mass activity is just for show is one-sided (dare I say "undialectical"?). Without real mass agency, splits among the elite would be meaningless -- there would be no need for differing ideas among them on how to maintain the stability of the social order, because they could rule without fear of contradiction. And the world would be a much worse place for it.
You do make fine points about what is potentially effective and what is not. But you're ignoring the fact that there IS a material obstacle to the Bush regime's realization of its war plans, and that is their ever-increasing inability to find people who are actually willing to fight this war. The real circumstances on the ground in Iraq (read: it's fuckin' dangerous) are chiefly responsible for this, but the mass demonstrations, the counter-recruitment campaigns, and all of the other tactics of the anti-war movement are lending legitimacy to the idea that it is right and correct to refuse to fight in this war, and to ask that the troops be brought home whether or not they "finish their mission" -- since the mission itself is a dead end. Concerns about low morale, indiscipline, and even upheaval within the military -- augmented and encouraged by the mass demonstrations and other actions, which were not at all irrelevant -- were a major factor in the US defeat in Vietnam during the time of the draft, and they are arguably even more threatening to US imperialism now, when the military is all-"volunteer," and reinstitution of the draft is a political impossibility given both the legacy of Vietnam and the mass dissatisfaction with this war.
- - - - - - - - - - John Lacny http://www.johnlacny.com
Tell no lies, claim no easy victories