Re: [OPE] winning the battle of democracy

Hi Gerry,

Yes, and not only Wisconsin but Michigan, Indiana and Ohio as well. And I
agree with you that the union movement faces a turning point. It has been
terrific to see people standing up for workers rights in widespread mass
public demonstrations!

Still none of this renders the call for winning ironic. First of all, the
battle flag to be raised is on this side of the barricades. The call for
democracy on the other side has been hollowed out and soiled to illegibility
by hypocrisy -- e.g. "the Middle East is just not ready for democracy." No.
The West is just not ready for the peoples of the Middle East to exercise
democracy. So it is a matter of claiming for our own in our own voice and
language what we mean when we get behind that flag. Second this is an
enduring struggle for economic and social democracy extending to the
activity of production at the point of production and setbacks are to be
expected. Nothing ironic about that at all.

But again, I join with your underlying point -- it's only hypocritical
rhetoric that will call the Wisconsin legislatures action democratic by any
measure.

howard

----- Original Message -----
From: "GERALD LEVY" <gerald_a_levy@msn.com>
To: "Outline on Political Economy mailing list" <ope@lists.csuchico.edu>
Sent: Thursday, March 10, 2011 8:58 AM
Subject: Re: [OPE] winning the battle of democracy

>
>> Also, for those of you attending the Left Forum, March 18 to 20 in NYC, I
>> will be presenting together with Paul Gomberg and Shakoor Aljuwani a
>> panel
>> entitled "Winning the Battle of Democracy" which takes its title from the
>> last chapter of the book which takes its title from the Communist
>> Manifesto.
>
>
> Hi Howard:
>
> I find the title of the title of the panel to be unintentionally ironic
> given
> what happened in Wisconsin last night.
>
> In solidarity, Jerry
> _______________________________________________
> ope mailing list
> ope@lists.csuchico.edu
> https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/ope

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Received on Thu Mar 10 21:21:22 2011