[lbo-talk] Crisis or New Normal

[michael yates]

Carrol offered some remarks on helping to foment radical change. His critics say that we must be able to connect what we say to actual problems faced by people and not just say the problem is capitalism. Now nowhere has Carrol ever said that the problem is capitalism without also discussing something specific. He said some time ago that we should abolish the prison system. There was a lot of hooting from the peanut gallery about this. Yet millions of men, women, and children are locked up or in the parole and probation systems, and these people have mothers, fathers, children, etc. Most are poor. So this is a very big problem for millions of people. I can't think of a single reason why, in agitating around the prison system, or any other problem, why we can't talk about capitalism. It seems stupid not to. And more stupid now than ever.