> On 11/29/2010 8:18 AM, Alan Rudy wrote:
>
> I think that's what we're supposed to ask... as if anyone here thought
>> that
>> the hegemony of capital had been weakened to the point that direct
>> democracy
>> would immediately generate just and sustainable patterns of
>> self-governance...
>>
>
> This thread started with the Swiss referendum on expelling non-citizens
> convicted of crimes, right?
>
> I hate to be a spoil-sport, but where is the evidence that breaking the
> hegemony of capital results in non-citizens being treated better? North
> Korea?
>
> SA
>
> Yup, you couldn't be more right. North Korea is absolutely, without a
doubt, and clearly my fantasy socialist state. How'd you know?! It must
have been from all that pro-dictator, anti-democratic, anti-union,
anti-feminist, anti-environmentalist and utterly vanguardist stuff I've
argued for over the last few years. Because there's no evidence whatsoever
that I'm able to differentiate between the different directions different
varieties of anticapitalism take society... none, nor any reason to read
things folks here write in a manner that gives them the benefit of the
doubt. But, most of all, there's no reason to interpret my words - like
weakening (not even breaking) - as nodding to
social-democracy-headed-for-movement-driven-trajectories-towards-socialism
rather than support for repressive, militarist, fear-mongering and
starvation-indifferent dictators because I've never made any arguments about
the prospects for democratizing the state, the democratizaton and
debalkanization of social movements or anything along those lines.
Should I interpret your argument that the hegemony of capital cannot be weakened and, if it ever were, the only thing that could happen is that everything'll get worse? Along those lines, you must surely be saying that - however contingent or situated they were - the openings to national and local social movements and the (admittedly uneven, weak and often coopting) democratization of various levels of the state across the advanced industrial west from 1945 to 1975 can only be seen as qualitatively similar to the neoconservative and present and that, therefore, there's nothing to see there, just keep moving... Or should I misinterpret your argument as one in support of the Swiss capitalist utopia - which, however bad it is, is the Panglossian best we can expect?
Methinks sometimes it makes sense to type, save, consider and possibly delete before sending sometimes... someone, in the context of (I think it was Dossian overposting) once posted a series of really useful steps to go through before posting here - sadly, I fail to follow those suggestions/directions too often, myself.