[WS:] Exactly. Which brings us to the conclusion that the debate of third party vs. inside the party amounts to rearranging chairs on the deck of the Titanic, attenuation of the shadow cast on this society by big business if you will. The real issue is what Gramsci called the "civil society" - the network of institutions that while nominally separate from the power structures are nonetheless enmeshed with them.
Consequently, a change at the "civil society" level is necessary for a change at the power structure level. However, I am at loss to envision how that change at the civil society level can take, given the nearly total hegemony of corporate media and other conservative institutions over the "civil society" sphere, at least in this country.
This realization is pretty depressing, but I honestly do not see a way out. I lack the faith and the moral certitude of anarchists to seriously believe that their vision of just society will spread by contagion. The only thing beside the relationship with my wife that keeps me from total despair is anecdote of a certain Jew who after the Nazi invasion of Poland went into hiding. The only contact with the outside world was the radio that he kept so he listened to the BBC for the news from the front. By 1942, these news were overwhelmingly bad. The Nazi conquered Western Europe and were rapidly advancing toward Moscow. So the guy decided that there was no way out and hanged himself in despair, shortly before the news of Stalingrad broke out.
In any case, I really enjoyed yours, and Gar's, very thoughtful comments on this.
Wojtek