[lbo-talk] Robert Fitch and Derek C. Bok

[Seth Ackerman]

Doug Henwood wrote:

> Well, since most of us are working class (except me, I'm petit 
> bourgeois), any broad progressive movement would have to be domianted 
> by the working class. But I suspect a lot of us have a more race- and 
> gender-integrated cast that still bears a lot of resemblance to the 
> horny-handed sons of toil in the backs of our minds.


Well, the sons (and daughters) of toil these days are a lot less 
horny-handed than they used to be. So obviously the new cast of 
characters would look somewhat different. I guess what you're getting at 
is whether older forms of organization, like unions and sit-down 
strikes, are as useful or natural in the new kinds of workplaces and new 
types of urban layouts.

When you look at the physical layout of a modern suburb, for example, 
it's just hard to picture collective action going on there. Is it 
because the new layouts have rendered old methods literally impossible? 
Or is it just because we lack the historical precedents and therefore 
the ability to imagine it? The Christian right has done impressive 
organizing, using a lot of "old" methods, and they've done it in the 
suburbs. Precinct elections, town hall meetings, door-to-door 
organizing, demos. It comes right out of the People's Party playbook 
circa 1892.

And what makes a Wal-Mart a less promising site for union organizing, in 
principle, than a factory?

Seth