Socialist Progressives
Related: About this forumJacobin Magazine founder Bhaskar Sunkara on Tavis Smiley
http://video.pbs.org/video/2365295555/Sunkara discusses how his magazine, "Jacobin"dedicated to shaking up the status quohas caught the attention of thought-leaders across the media landscape.
(Ironically, the ads on this show are for Goldman Sach and Walmart. Fighting capitalism with their dollars? lol I don't know how to feel about that.)
TBF
(31,921 posts)I'll be interested to watch this.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)I enjoyed it, and the fact that these ideas are getting out there in more public spaces.
Richard Wolff was on Bill Maher last light too. It was a pretty decent interview for the short amount of time.
TBF
(31,921 posts)My initial impression is that I adore Tavis Smiley - he is the one who actually brings up real issues "when MLK started talking about economics they shot him in the head". Bingo. Talks about the need for militant unions, points out that the "less of two evils" approach is holding us all back. The magazine publisher talks about "we need an economic bill of rights" and in general is pretty liberal sounding. I think he's trying to present socialism in a way that doesn't scare people and in doing so loses his bite. Frankly the owners need to be a little (or a lot) scared or we're not getting anywhere.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)Michael Moore talks about an economic bill of rights too, it was something FDR tried to push through but it didn't make it. I'd like to see worker protections in the constitution, I think that's something labor could unite on.
There are still a lot of union people alive today who vote Republican--I know the national federation seems to cleave to the Democratic party as a matter of course, but they actually do have to make the case every election to their membership to not vote for right-wingers. Sad but true.
I think unions will see a shift to the left as more and more fast-food workers and service people enter the labor movement in the US. It's a younger and much more diverse demographic.
TBF
(31,921 posts)my dad is nearly 70 now and wouldn't have dreamed of voting for a repug. Small town pretty unsophisticated guy all around. He served in the military and worked in a factory. But he's nobody's fool either. When Scott Walker was elected in Wisconsin he rolled his eyes and said "that guy just wants to break the unions". Such clarity.
The Reagan years and the "Conservative Christian" PR movement are to blame for the shift I believe.
Hopefully you are correct that the younger workers will swing that pendulum back. We know they are more liberal on social issues. We'll see how they shake out economically.
Starry Messenger
(32,342 posts)All it is is union-busting. I don't know why we have to fight this same terrain over and over. It sets everything back too.
I was just talking to a guy the other day who said there were still congressional HUAC-like hearings for reds up until around the late 60's and early 70's. I can't remember when the unions stopped expelling socialists, but the stigma led to a lot of right-wing ideas gaining ground in the meantime. So that might be another factor.
Then yeah, it hit its culmination with the shameful win for Reagan. I just read an article a couple of weeks ago that people born in 1970 are still 54% likely to vote right-wing. This baffles me, I don't know how anyone our age came out of the Reagan years thinking those fools had the answers.
49% of 18-29 year olds have a favorable view of socialism, which was a gain of 6% in just under two years. Hopefully the number will keep rising! http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022352136