--- Tayssir John Gabbour <tayssir.john at googlemail.com> wrote:
"I don't think people interested in anarchism's ideas want to be anarchists, or support it like a political party. After all, people who find math useful don't usually become mathematicians."
I've been thinking the same thing. While anarchist activists are young and disaffected, anarchist "thinkers" come from the intellectual and professional classes. In this sense, anarchism is a kind of elite avocation, like buddhism, or belief in Platonic forms -- individual self-expression, not a social movement.
BobW
> On 8/5/07, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
> > There's almost no popular support in the U.S. for
> anarchism. It's
> > immeasurably small. How do you win friends and
> influence people?
> >
> > And what appeal does Nader have? He got 2.7% of
> the pop vote in
> > 2000, and 0.4% in 2004.
>
> I don't think people interested in anarchism's ideas
> want to be
> anarchists, or support it like a political party.
> After all, people
> who find math useful don't usually become
> mathematicians.
>
> Also, if there's no use to learning anarchist ideas,
> because the idea
> of a seriously democratic workplace sounds
> hopelessly utopian, what's
> the point? It'll just bum you out. The people around
> me certainly
> don't like to be bossed around, but it makes no
> sense for me to
> constantly rub the lemon in the wound.
>
> Many effective people explicitly reference anarchist
> ideas, but aren't
> themselves anarchists. Not even talking about Zinn
> and Chomsky. In my
> world, there's Brazilian CEO Ricardo Semler, well
> known for democratic
> workplaces. And Moglen and Stallman, high-profile
> figures in the tech
> world.
>
> Anarchism's influence doesn't necessarily show up in
> mainstream polls,
> like GDP often obscures much important economic
> activity.
>
>
> Tayssir
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