[lbo-talk] Dispiriting Suburbs?

chuck at mutualaid.org chuck at mutualaid.org
Wed Oct 18 14:17:45 PDT 2006



> James Heartfield:
>
> What I find depressing in the LBO discussion is that
> the radicals have turned their faces against working
> class aspirations, leaving right-wingers like Joel
> Kotkin to champion their ambitions for
> self-betterment. No wonder suburbanites vote
> Republican, if they have to put up with the blanket
> condemnation of their lifestyles from radicals here.

In my last e-mail I was harsh about suburbia, but that's my gut, political take on the suburbs. But being a middle age anarchist who has returned to the burbs where I grew up, I've come to understand that the situation here isn't all black and white. The suburbs really do encourage conservatism, at least when it comes to protecting home values, raising children and other stuff that aren't really tired to a political party. At the same time, there is more diversity here than 20 years ago. Political viewpoints are more diverse. Republicans here kvetch about the liberal Republicans who represent JOCO. I can find radical books at the corporate bookstores and organic food at numerous grocery stores. The burbs also have their share of grassroots activism--I know of three grassroots campaigns that are happening right now in southern KC.

But there is so much to criticize about suburbia. I've done plenty of that over the years, so I want to point out here that my recent experiences with the burbs have given me more to think about.

I think that we radicals are too often stuck in outmoded thinking about social issues. Most people want to have their own home and most Americans associate that with a single-family house. Why would you want to live in a cramped apartment if a house was cheaper? Even in urban Kansas City, you can find decent houses that are pretty cheap compared to living in apartments.

What is the radical alternative to this?

Chuck



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