John E. Norem <jnorem at cox.net> wrote:
> Has the left blown its big chance of success?
>
> The collapse of unfettered capitalism should have been a golden opportunity
> for the left. So where did it all go wrong?
>
I dont get it either. The left should be all over the current crisis of capitalism. Evil bankers. Rampant exploitation. An elite few gorging themselves while others lose homes and jobs.
But scan websites of the left and they barely seem aware of it except for the obligatory 'capitalism is bad' piece.
>From the Guardian article "The left just gave up on economics," says the
economist Paul Ormerod, who retains sympathy for the cause. "Marx and Keynes
cast such long shadows. There was too much of the left saying, 'It's all
there in the old masters.'"
I think that's part of it. Another part is the left too often assumes its core issues are the important ones and ignores the issues the working / middle class care about. So, they lead with Palestine and Iran. Sorry, but most people in that huge working class don't much care about Palestine, especially when they're losing homes, jobs, and pensions. The BNP in Britain isn't making that mistake. They are talking about jobs.
Much of the current attack on High Frequency Trading, Goldman's influence, etc. seems to have started on libertarian blogs like Zero Hedge. They appear genuinely pissed that their supposed and beloved free and open marketplace is clearly anything but that. And they've helped to force the issues into the mainstream financial press and even Congress. Flash trading is ending. Zero Hedge played a substantial role is getting the issue out there.
So where is the Left? Absent, far as I can tell. I'm not trying to start a flame war. I genuinely don't understand why a left that put hundreds of thousands in the streets in Iraq war protests has done little during this crisis, one which seems custom-made for it and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
There's still lots of time. What can we do? What should we do? Done in the right way, I think the broad populace could become seriously interested in socialism. But it needs to be done right. And that's not happening now.