[lbo-talk] Dennis Perrin on the ecstasy of the Dems

Simon Ward sedward at btinternet.com
Fri Jan 4 15:30:50 PST 2008



>>It's worrying when people on the left lose sight of the essentials.
>
>
> Isn't racism in support of power one of those essentials? It's not
> worrying that a candidate like
> Obama represents losing sight of that?

In this instance (in the US), Racism is a secondary effect, a result of history and something that Obama won't solve in office (that would require serious material contrition from a white candidate).

My point was that for people on the left to castigate Obama for not living up to their expectations ignores the fact that any candidate from the two main parties is going to be part of the system not apart from it. Black or white, any candidate in such a position isn't going to apologise for reasserting the economic order. Obama may be black, but above all he's a Democrat - a person operating in the established order.

Obama will win votes every time he goes against expectations and talks up the existing order and you can bet his ambition is not to achieve meaningful change but to obtain political power. The two don't usually coincide - especially in the US.

Simon



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list