[lbo-talk] Philadelphia School District announces its dissolution

Carrol Cox cbcox at ilstu.edu
Thu Apr 26 11:23:01 PDT 2012


Ravi writes: " Seriously though, I know lots of people who call themselves anarchists, I have read various theories of anarchism (including Chomsky), and never heard one of them suggest that public education needs to be defunded because it is a tool of state indoctrination."

As with Marxism and other varieties of anti-capitalism, anarchism has many mansions, and it is simply not acceptable for anyone who wants to be considered part of the struggle to dismiss anarchism or anarchists with a smart-alec phrase. It is grosslyl divisive. (And I say this knowing how grossly divisive some anarchist positions are.) It is not going to be easy at all to achieve some sort of coherence amongst the various left currents, organizations, and struggles that are emerging in the World Wisconsin Gave Us. Some currents will prove intractable and isolate themselves, but empty criticism (i.e., criticism not offered within particular concrete situations) remains empty and destructive.

At least two or three of the local analysts take this seriously mistaken attitude towards public schools; other local anarchists we can work with, have worked with. The situation is still quite fluid, and the time has not come for open polemics. It is not even appropriate in many localities to engage in open polemics with the loal Move On people or with left liberals still attached to the DP.

Carrol

Carrol



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list