[lbo-talk] Iraq war (was: stupidity is most dangerous in people with high IQ)

[Wojtek S]

Marv: "Today's lower level of political consciousness of urban workers and
their allies in the universities, professions, and elsewhere is a product
of the changed economic and political environment described above. My
argument has been that the liberal bourgeois politicians in the US and
Europe are a reflection rather than the cause of the diminished
consciousness and combativity of the working class."

[WS:]  It is a good argument, but it pertains mainly to blue collar
occupations.  The expanding white and pink collar occupations did not
develop labor identity and militancy that goes with it, but rather
identified itself with the bourgeoisie or perhaps petite bourgeoisie.  The
question is why?

I think that structural conditions that you refer to (welfare state,
atomization, etc.) can only partially explain this lack of labor identity.

 Case in point - some white/pink collar occupations remain unionized (e.g.
teachers).  I think that a big part of the explanation lies in what
Bourdieu calls "cultural capital" - which cuts across class lines and
divides working class into class fractions.  By cultural capital he means
life style considerations, such as forms of entertainment and leisure
activities, aesthetic preferences, food choices etc.

If this analysis is correct it implies that the labor movement missed the
boat - it got stuck in blue collar identity and its machismo that had
little appeal to not only to female workers that entered the labor force en
masse, but also to many white collar males.

-- 
Wojtek

"An anarchist is a neoliberal without money."