On Jul 19, 2006, at 9:10 AM, Wojtek Sokolowski wrote:
> [WS:] Right on the target! The problem with the counter-
> culturalist, guilt tripping cults in the US is that they think that
> most of the population is like them – wallowing in guilt and
> misery. In reality, most people dream of happiness and bright
> future, and will go to great lengths to maintain those dreams (or
> delusions). The traditional Marxist left understood that trait of
> the human nature and catered to it by creating a distinct Marxist
> eschatology – or a vision of the bright and happy socialist future
> that was about to emerge from the capitalist nightmare of today.
>
> …
>
> This is precisely why the politics of grievances, peddled since the
> 1960s by disgruntled counter-culturalist intellectuals, have zero
> chance of political success. Unfortunately, no one on the left
> offers any alternatives that would rival the appeal of the
> traditional Marxist ideology and provide effective counterweight to
> the lure of the neo-liberal ideology of free market or, for that
> matter, religious cults that infest this country. I think
> Europeans are doing a little bit better in this respect by
> advancing the vision of socially responsible and environmentally
> sustainable social economy – but in the US, free market and
> religion are the only shows in town. Neither the Democrats nor the
> pitifully microscopic left are able to offer an alternative.
> Instead, Democrats chase the tail of Republicans in their race
> toward the center, while the left wallows in the cult of kvetching.
>
I've been a paid-up member of the cult of kvetching for many years,
and I don't think I'll resign anytime soon, but I agree that
kvetching is no strategic option. I've been trying to convince
comrades for the past couple of years, with little success, that the
strategic arena now is health care, because of:
(1) Massive market failure
(2) Readily available non-market alternatives - even close to home
(Medicare & VA)
(3) Potential expansion of a militant union model (CNA)
(4) Contradictions within the capitalist class (very roughly,
industry vs. FIRE)
(5) Size of the target - about 1/6 of the economy
(6) Lack of plausible capitalist solutions
Not that this will necessarily work - it just looks to me like our best shot at the moment.
Michael McIntyre mcintyremichael at mac.com
http://morbidsymptoms.blogspot.com
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