On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 9:06 PM, Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> wrote:
> Some history could be written on the question Robert raises. "Chauvinism"
> was not infrequently used for a while in the '60s, and many groups spent
> some time arguing over whether it was an acceptable term. The history would
> have to come from documents, not direct memory. When I try to remember some
> of these debates I can't confidently differentiate what I believed then from
> what I came to believe since then. Some groups in the '60s did, I think,
> insist on using the phrase "male chauvinism"; that phrase covered up or
> avoided what (I just discovered yesterday) is still a problem. I was reading
> an account of a recent meeting in Chicago among with people from a number
> of different socialist groups as well as independent radicals attending. I
> quote one sentence from that report: " The facilitator was a woman, and two
> of the presenters were women. However, during their presentation, side
> conversations in the back of the room escalated." That's a complaint that
> was made thunderously (often to deaf ears) in the '60s. I think "chauvinism"
> would interfere with efforts to stop that 'practice.' Perhaps shag has a
> comment.
>
> So I can't really answer your question, but I suspect "chauvinism" does and
> _did_ have an individualist slant.
>
> All terms that refer to "attitudes" can be used for unprincipled attacks in
> internal debate.
>
> Carrol
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org [mailto:lbo-talk-bounces at lbo-talk.org]
> On Behalf Of robert wood
> Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2014 7:17 PM
> To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
> Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] Check your privilege: Rise of the Post-New Left
> political vocabulary
>
> Carrol, I'd be curious where you see the difference between the language of
> privilege and the concept of chauvinism that was a significant framework for
> the CP in the 1930's. I have some ideas, but I'm curious about your take on
> the question. Thanks, Robert Wood
>
>
> On Tue, Feb 4, 2014 at 5:13 PM, Michael Smith <mjs at smithbowen.net> wrote:
>
>> >
>> > On Feb 4, 2014, at 5:35 PM, Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> wrote:
>> >
>> >> This is babbling nonsense. "Check your privilege" is simple bullshit.
>> Or it
>> >> could be a deliberate attempt to sabotage political discussion.
>>
>> I'm strongly with Carrol on this one. 'Privilege' is the stinkiest red
>> herring ever dragged across the trail.
>>
>>
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