How many secular leftists are actually involved in struggle for a higher minimum wage and things like that and how many religious organizations and religious members in secular organizations like unions are involved in struggle for them? "Alliance" suggests a false impression of being on an equal footing, as if there were many secular leftists and secular organizations with no or few religious members, which is not the case.
On 3/25/07, Andy F <andy274 at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 3/25/07, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
> > But what I don't get are these exhortations to imitate religion, or
> > follow its example, or be intimidated by its pervasiveness, or
> > whatever, it's not really clear. I don't see how religion is any kind
> > of transferrable model - it operates in a different realm from
> > politics. Eternal salvation vs. a higher minimum wage? Not much of a
> > contest. Of course, the relgious can, and do, campaign for a higher
> > minimum wage and no secular person doing so would ever scorn the
> > alliance. But I don't get what left politics has to learn from
> > religion, doctrinally or organizationally.
>
> Consider Bitch's observation that a lot of the megachurches provide a
> lot of the day-to-day social services that unions, coops and gummit
> use to provide. Right now it looks like eternal salvation and daycare
> vs. a higher minimum wage and ...?
It's not just megachurches. Almost all religious organizations, even small ones, offer social services of many kinds. What social services secular leftists offer? Nothing, for there is currently no secular leftist organization that can rival even smallish mainline Protestant denomination.
There are trade unions, but trade unions are by nature exclusive, and laws, employers, and unions' own rules make it very difficult for American workers to join one even if they want to do so.
And in an increasing number of areas outside the USA, religious organizations, which provide social services as well as armed self defense, are often the main organizations of resistance to the empire. -- Yoshie