Recent events at DailyKos have illustrated in a particularly acute way the idiocy of the Left in America. If you are perplexed and flummoxed at how a country that has experienced a complete failure of Capitalism in 2008 could now be at the threshhold of throwing itself into the arms of supply-side, Chicago, lunatic economics, this is my attempt at explaining why.
Initial disclaimer, etc.: I'm an old, white fuck. I have no money contrary to the currently popular DK stereotype. The very fact that I need to make that disclosure, however, is central to my point.
Once upon a time, the Left was about economic class. There were Capitalists who exploited Workers. It was rather simple. You could argue about methods and means, but the core purpose of the Left was pretty clear: give more power to the workers and take power away from the Capitalists.
Now someone noticed, very legitimately, that this whole class analysis left out certain people from those who were treated unfairly by this society. As this awareness grew, the list of those who had been left out of the movement for fairness in this society--even by the Left--, it became ever more complicated to make sure that everybody was included in the movement towards equality.
The Left had made a big mistake. There was no question about it. African Americans, women, gays and others had all been ignored under a class analysis. And the Left, because it is fundamentally decent, repented. It searched itself for every possible example of non-class-based bias. It did its best to sensitize itself to bias to the point that the Right ridiculed it for "political correctness."
In the meantime, the Left, at least as represented by mainstream politics, lost its sense of class. This was a great victory for the Right that had feared a class-based politics since the 30s. For the last 45 years, "identity group" politics have succeeded in handing over the country to Capitalists in an age when even the most rudimentary concepts of national loyalty, decency and respect for law have become laughable anachronisms, at least insofar as our major business schools are concerned.
We are "blessed" that Capitalism, desperate for profit, is coming to full fruition in our lifetime.
The great, still only potential tragedy, is that as Capitalism fails spectacularly:
1) to be a stable system;
2) to provide opportunities to be productive ( via "jobs);
3) to account for environmental burdens.
that idiotic politicians, including most Democrats, will double down on silly 17th century "Invisible Hand" myths.
What we must do, recognizing both political and economic failure, is not to be distracted by hopeless, status quo "solutions." We must prepare, personally and locally, for human solutions to our immediate problems: food; heat in winter and cool in summer; shelter; health care.
The good news is that this societal collapse is an opportunity to re-assert real democracy. "Representatives" at the local, state and federal level are a joke. They don't "represent" anyone except for the monied interest that pays them in one form or another. If you're still a Democrat, compare the dotage of Bill Clinton to Harry Truman. Harry was quite happy to have a roof over his family's head. The Clintons have made themselves big league powerbrokers because of their access to money.
Our only hope is to demand that our personal, un-"represented" voice be heard at meetings where we have a real vote on what happens. Why, for example, should Arne Duncan have anything to say about educational policy at your school? Shouldn't parents, teachers and taxpayers decide what money is raised and how it's spent and what the goals are?
The IWW has always had the motto:
We are all leaders.
That's the good news. We are all capable, better yet--indispensable--as leaders. The DK crew are some very good candidates to get things going where they live. Find a need. Talk to your neighbors about how to meet it. Use the politicians where they're useful. Tell them to go frack themselves when they inevitably try to get in the front of crowd you helped organize.
We are all "leaders." We are all needed, indeed, indispensable.