patrice
patrice's JournalAgreed. period. AND I have been wondering if anyone would like to consider that Third -whatever in
an alternative light.
I understand that "the Third Way" is associated with the DLC and their main PR go tos, the Clintons, but the precept of a Third -whatever is something that I think we would benefit from giving more careful consideration, especially as regards differences amongst ourselves even as we try to be "one" in opposition to oppressors of all kinds.
The raison d'etre of a "third" anything is SYNTHESIS. One OR MORE , syntheses, between two elements, can happen in practically in-numerable ways, especially in highly complex situations, and the character of any given synthesis depends upon whom, precisely, is doing the synthesizing. This is why we associate too much corporate compliance and war support with the Third Way engendered by the DLC. Those involved in that deal-making, and how, therefore, the deals precisely were made, are the PRODUCT of the milieu in which they manifested themselves, so the Clintons/DLC are who they are and, to me, the real questions are about how the Left becomes enough of a force to affect synthesis(es) in a specifically Leftish way, how to discover what that Left-synthesis(es) could be and how, process-wise, to take a stand on that, especially since corporations, and hence corporate personhood, AFFECT LABOR, which could result in some deals that could reiterate the oppressors on better terms for some but not others.
Please understand that I'm NOT talking against Labor, just trying to point out their very special position in ALL of this and trying to be honest about various prejudices that are common, regardless of party labels; one of which prejudices is against socialism. I have it on relatively good academic authority (from a friend whose master's research on propaganda lead her to this conclusions) that co-incidental to this phase of the decline of Labor triggered by Nixon, courting and then double-crossing the big powerful rich unions, was an internal purge, inspired by Joe McCarthy, of anyone who had even a whiff of the Red Scare about them, which resulted in their abandonment of less powerful unions which unions included folks like the UMW, who were in turmoil at that time, and also Farm Workers who included amongst their ranks not only non-white ETHNIC groups and women claiming economic justice for less well-paid workers.
My point in bringing this up is that from the first of this latest schism here at DU, I have been worried about losing Labor's opportunity for the right to organize, the EFCA 2.0. I guess I'd have to say that I'd give up a LOT to see a Constitutional affirmation of the rights of ALL workers to organize, not just those with enough economic clout to do it and get away with it. To get there, to get to something like EFCA 2.0 and, thus, to call on unions about their own prejudices (of all kinds) we MUST synthesize something that is more functional for the Left than just "Let it all crash and burn and then we'll start over and presto-change-o authentic revolution will produce all of the solutions we need" (in god knows how many decades).
I'm saying that I think it is necessary to recognize the authentic NEED for a "third" something, a synthesis or syntheses, and then to take strategic measures to be an essential part of that definition in a way that actually works well enough that next-steps toward social and economic justice can manifest out of that relatively new set of relationships. Part of the problem in talking about this stuff is that tooooo often everyone wants to tell you that you are "unprincipled" when, in fact, in the throes of such a process the most real principles become stronger and draw people together. It's a MORE principled way of engaging the struggle than just balkanizing until the last man is left standing in the carnage talking about "starting over".
Perhaps too often our attention, when we say "Democratic Party", is focused TOO high up.
You have heard of the "inverted pyramid"?
To me, the revolution consists of one at a time relationships in which the people bring the message of freedom and integrity to one another. THAT kind of behavior is the real revolution.
So much, practically exclusive, focus on the tip of the power-structure is truly and profoundly just another iteration of the same mechanism that enslaved us in the first place.
I'm not saying to ignore the high up power positions, just that nothing is going to change until the people change themselves and live an active ongoing non-violent STRONG revolution together, all day, every day, amongst ourselves, let's not wait!, and fuck the "big hats", someday they will wake up and find themselves re-defined by us.
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