Date: Mon, 24 Jul 2000 19:27:26 -0700 (PDT)
From: commie zero zero <commie00-AT-yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: AUT: Me and my interests


> Most of the issues around which protest has emerged
> in the last decade or 
> so have been about things which effect people
> pretty-much-regardless of 
> class. I'm thinking of GM-crops, Reclaim the Streets
> (in a narrow sense), 
> anti-bypass campaigns and so forth. In fact lets
> make that two decades 
> and include Save the Whale and CND. I guess this
> kind of proves your 
> point rather than mine so far.
> However none of these issues are particularly
> *revolutionary*. None of 
> them are very resistant in fact, in the fullness of
> time, of being taken 
> advantage of by populist politicians of the kind I'm
> sure we all despise.
> Despite that, I think there *are* revolutionary
> possibilities opened up 
> by these cross-class protests and in fact believe
> that the way forward is 
> to promote policies with merit in the eyes of the
> majority.

in my estimation, most of these struggles basically
fail because they do not necessarily express a class
antagonism... i.e. are not organized on a consciously
class basis, and directed at the class enemy and its
state. thus they are easily recuperated back into
capitalism via the "populist politicians" because they
in no way really challenge the system. 

to me what you are calling "cross class" is not at all
"cross class" in any real sense, and more represents a
growing recognition of similar intertests... meaning:
that "white collar" types (including your acountant)
are as working class as anyone. social power does play
a part in class composition, methinks... but the
social power of your acountant is on par with the
social power of a teacher... 

i think this is where the concept of reproduction
comes into play: part of our class' job these days is
to reproduce itself in order to continue
(re-)producing capitalism. 

this is where a lot of work has been done in recent
years... understanding that class is not just defined
by one's relation to the means of production, but also
distribution, reproduction, etc., as well as one's
relation to social/political power. on top of all of
this is the analysis of the ways in which capitalism
has colonized everyday life, obscuring class divides
(your producer/parasite thing) while at the same time
increasing proletarianization and the polarization of
classes (the slow but seemingly steady realization
that the majority of people have a great deal in
common, and against capitalism / a common class
enemy). 

this does not seem an oversimplification to me, but a
means to opening up a new, complex and real
understanding of class relations.

hmmm... i'm too sleepy to be doing this... i hope i'm
making sense.



====commie00

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