> > Left wingers' fear and contempt for suburbanites, for the white
> > working classes, the chavs, 'mouth-breathers', is a refrain that is
> > sadly not that original. And - lo and behold! - radical ideas are
> > not that popular. Could there be a connection?
>
> >No.
>
>Why not? Why would they listen to people who disparage them?
Who's disparaging? I'm going to post this from Michael Yates again because, like the credits in Bride of Frankenstein say, it bears repeating:
http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/pipermail/lbo-talk/Week-of-Mon-20100201/001593.html
When the Maoists in Nepal felt strong enough to begin to take action, they first made a detailed political economic geography
of the country, and they used this as a guide to help them develop strategy and tactics. So too here in the US, it would seem necessary
to have the lay of the land and use the knowledge to develop our own strategy and tactics. I have always tried to do this. So when I say that
the soil here in the US for radical change is pretty rocky, this isn't said in any condescending or simply bitching way, nor does it imply anything
about what is happening elsewhere in the world. Rather it helps me to think about what might be done. I have a pretty good grasp of how people
live here. I use this to guide my teaching of workers and my writing. Thinking and acting, rethinking based on new experiences, and so forth.
Engage the people. Act with them when you can. Write for them and as one of them, not about them.