[lbo-talk] Thoughts on the Tea Party (and why the Left is

[Carrol Cox]

One point about the effect of slump on left activity: the fact that so
many leftists _believe_ (falsely I think) that slumps provide an
opportunity for the left itself has a political impact. The CP itself
grew rapidly in the early days of The Depression, though it was only in
the middle or late thirties that its mass appeal grew! And the present
slump is having, less sharply, a similar effect. So it does present an
opportunity, not for building serious mass struggles but for increasing
the number of cadre involved in various local left groups (anti-war;
living wage; immigrant rights, etc). Ideas may sometimes have a material
force even when they are mistaken.

Carrol