[lbo-talk] What's the Matter with New York City?

[Josh Narins]

> Doug Henwood wrote:
> > 
> > 
> > We're Americans too. We don't do mass demos very often.
> 
> It would seem that the only people who always remember that demos do
> make a difference are the French. One of the tasks of leftists in the
> u.s. is to defeat the "back to the drawing board" syndrome amongst
> americans, many of whom seem to believe that if one tries a tactic once
> or twice and it doesn't produce immediate  visible results, it's time to
> look for new tactics. The trouble is, of course, that for mass political
> movements the number of available tactics at various stages are quite
> limited, and that demos are what bind _all_ tactics together over time.
> This hasn't changed for two hundred years. It won't change.

The right of peacabe assembly is protected, but that doesn't mean
politicians ever have to listen.

The only power the citizens have is at the ballot box, and the only way
to have that mean anything is if decent candidates put their reputations
and even lives on the line to stand up for what's right.

The expressiveness of the vote can be measured in how much information
it conveys. The current system, the most primitive imaginable, allows
the least information to pass out of the electorate.

Everyone writing an essay would be nice, but it is currently impractical.