Date: 08 Nov 96 23:01:04 EST From: jonathan flanders <72763.2240-AT-CompuServe.COM> Subject: M-I: US Elections >> Unless Jon is prepared to argue that there are only 28,227 + 3,601 + 3,271 + 2,275 =? 37,000 class conscious workers in the US, he must agree that the vast majority of class conscious workers did deliberately abstain, not out of apathy but because there was no reason to vote. <<Adam Rose Jon Flanders: I have come to the conclusion that there is a real difference in your assessment of class consciousness and mine. What you call class consciousness I would call Populism, which can have a working-class character and/or be mixed up with what William Greider called the "Rancid Populism" of the right wing, of which Buchanan is a good example. It's just not enough to be suspicious of the politicians and deplore the ravages of the money power. Class consciousness to me means awareness that the workers are a separate social and economic entitity, with a distinct class interest. We are headed in the right direction here in the US, but have a way to go before we can talk about class consciousness in the way that you do, which leads you to the boycott position on the elections. A friend of mine at work made a nice commentary on the Clinton victory. It went like this. Picture a sinking vessel on a stormy sea, with passengers clinging desperately to the mast, fearing the worst. In the distance a warship appears, flying the Union Jack. Relief sweeps through the crowd on the distressed vessel. Cheers go up. The warship closes in. Suddenly the Union Jack drops down, and in its place goes up...The Jolly Roger, the Skull and Bones of the Pirates! We've seen this movie, haven't we? --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
Display software: ArchTracker © Malgosia Askanas, 2000-2005