[WS:] Machismo? But that would be "blaming the people" which "blaming the unions" conveniently avoids.
T: There are multiole levels at which critique can be pitched. In South Africa's case, for example, it would include a government that doesn't provide enough resources of all sorts of kinds, from books to buildings and that generally impoverishes the populace, who then can't afford the things that lead to cultural capital ('trivial' issues like that). The whole point about Cox's stupid post and your equally obtuse response to me is that there is no other important issue than the pay that teachers get. If that is the only issue of any importance you can close the schools and still pay them. Why not? Give them something else to do.
But even more ridiculous was all the crap about revolutionary postulates. Increasing wages is revolutionary? This argument has been dealt with many times over. You can increase wages all you like and there will be some way of reducing their worth, by inflation, by taxes or whatever. The reason some of us still insist on talking about communism is that there is NO other way of countering capitalism than by rejecting it root and branch and that rejection is called communism. Unions are a piece of crap part of capitalism that 'bargain' with bosses over wages, endlessly as part of capitalism's safety valve. It is only as part of a communist critique that one rejects this notion of a bargain out of hand.
You talk about 'populism' and accuse me of it? Oh really? You can't even see the populism of these unions and the way that they lock workers into an endless series of bargains with bosses on the basis of populist rhetoric that promises and can never deliver. In South Africa's case many of the union bosses ostensibly make up for this accommodation by belonging to the SACP. But the CP is as capitalist and as corrupt as the ANC and has no programme or intent for revolutionary (or even 'progressive') change. As a result we now have youth leaders, like the brash Julius Malema, who now step into the breach and raise the rhetoric to a new level, thereby gaining a following amongst the unemployed and unemployable youth, while enriching themselves to the hilt.
On the question of my accuracy of the portrayal of the teaching profession, that is an empirical matter, which you are obviously very far from being informed about. You simply trust you prejudices and then cry bullshit about things you don't understand. I got a response from someone off-list who told me that the situation in India is very similar to what I described for South Africa. Obviously you live in a world where countries like South Africa and India don't even exist. You know diddley squat, prick, and don't ever try to stop me from raising South African issues on an international list, because you only reveal yourself for what you are, a brat with very little political experience and the narrowest world view.
Tahir
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