Date: Tue, 3 Mar 1998 19:34:06 -0500
From: Yoshie Furuhashi <Furuhashi.1-AT-osu.edu>
Subject: Re: M-TH: Fall of the English Empire


Look, Dennis, I am sure your class is a good mix of fun & enlightenment,
but words are not deeds, and individual deeds are not collective actions,
and not all collective actions are revolutionary in nature. By the end of
each quarter, my students are more "aware," so to speak. So are your
students. The same with Michael's, Carrol's (before his retirement), Rob's,
etc. But the fact of the matter is that we still live under capitalism &
imperialism, and that's what I was trying to say.

Weak unions are better than no union, I agree. But even if all college
teachers get unionized (and they would, if I had my wish), that alone does
not abolish class relations, does it?

The uses and limits of educational and other reforms under capitalism
should be kept in mind while we struggle for what needs to be done at this
moment.

Lastly, even at the level of cultural hegemony (not to mention military
hegemony), the American-English Empire has yet to fall. For instance, what
language are we using to discuss the hoped-for fall of this empire? Your
Pacific Rim studies had better include this fact.

Yoshie





     --- from list marxism-thaxis-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---