...after many years on this very active list I have not heard anything that sounds like a political program that can be undetsood by, let alone appeal to the so-called "middle class." Plenty of good critique of the staus quo, some good literary criticism, some venting, some clowning, a good deal of moralizing, guilt tripping and excuse manufacturing, good book tips - but not having any alternatives to the status quo.
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Well of course, a thorough analysis of the status quo is necessary to begin engineering alternatives. For example, to intelligently confront the Wal Mart business model (and not just the specific case of Wal mart) it's vital to understand how that model functions lest your critique be little more than bloviation.
At this point, I think it's useful to focus on our individual areas of expertise and coalesce around these apparently disparate but, beneath the surface, linked streams rather than attempting to present competing master plans for world re-organization (or soap box statements about system perfidies).
Some of us know a great deal about the financial and technical details of power utilities, others are experts in medicine or academics or the software industry or...and so on and so forth.
The complex modern world is composed of innumerable moving parts simultaneously operating at multiple, yet interdependent, levels. At each tier and in every nook and cranny there are subject experts who can shed light into a sub system's inner workings.
One of the things I've always admired about Doug's radio show is his presentation of expertise from a variety of areas (from feminism to econ to technology servitude...). While listening to Ursula Huws a year or so ago I remember thinking how marvelous it was to hear (and later read) such a clear headed analysis of technology's role in our lives from a person who has made it her business to profoundly study the topic. Moralizing I can get anywhere but actual dissection is rare and lovely and incredibly useful.
For me, the way forward lies in bringing the serious and the deeply knowledgeable together to deconstruct the toxic and dead ended present so well crafted alternatives can be fashioned.
.d.