Being a left-wing middle-class white male, I have of course tortured myself to sleep plenty of times with these things.
I reject utterly that is is my fault that I live in the situation I do (the flip side of would be that its the fault of slum dwellers where they live) and I do not feel guilty for being born with what I have. I do, however, feel incredibly lucky and a sense that my politics mean that I must first acknowledge the tragedy of the roulette wheel of wealth and in some way do soemthing about it.
Acknowledging the problem is the first step, and its what delineates even talk-shop do-nothing lefties from fine-thanks conservatives. The fact that we care is in no way whatsoever enough, but it is something and something is much more than the nothing which conservatives and 'the rich' are perfectly comfortable with. The first and in my opinion most important step we in the left can take is winning hearts and minds over to acknowledging the problem in a much more substantive way than 'world visionism'.
10 Anarchists in a squat are not going to save a single life. a noisy minority of the population who are concerned about an issue will save some. Activism is pointless when it preaches to the clergy and the choir (which is what, for the most part, it does). Like it or not, we are dealing with a comfortable and prosperous population and yelling at them through their double-glazed, tinted McMansion windows is going to do precisely nothing. So what the left should be doing, is not spending all its time trying to tear down the system. If confronted by a mountain, one does not smash it to bits in order to climb it, one finds a way to do what one can and reach the top. We should be using the mass-media, we should employ marketing and PR-consultants, we should sell fashionable products that in their own way contribute to undermining consumerism.
In my opinion to not do so is the great crime. You cannot ignore that this consumerist capitalist system exists and you cannot make a substantive difference by quietly living a virtuous life. You should change your own life to make a positive impact (Sky is right about that and has convinced me, I would change everything if I wasn't lazy/felt that I could do it in a non-painful way). But that's easy for a student without a mortgage or 2 kids. Its easy for people who have the flexibility (something the aspirational working class does not have) to live life by their principles. But even if everyone in this privellaged situation did this, it would still be a tiny tiny minority. You cannot tell people the truth and hope they believe it, you have to persuade and convince. They are also usually pretty unhappy with the 'false consciousness' tag.
I don't have answers. But I do know that activism the way it is right now is not enough. I know this because I am a committed socialist and I am alienated by most activists! Do not forget the 60s. There was a mood for change and there were people prepared to fight for it. And then all of those people just smoked pot, fucked and became stock brokers. And the student movements started bombing people. And the workers went home in Paris in 68. I just don't think you can succeed with anything unless you can convince a broad base of people that that thing is worthwhile. And I think a lot of activists forget that. All of the frequently excellent practical things they do must continue but it just isn't enough.
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ninetydegrees
no subject
on 2006-06-02 06:26 am (UTC)I reject utterly that is is my fault that I live in the situation I do (the flip side of would be that its the fault of slum dwellers where they live) and I do not feel guilty for being born with what I have. I do, however, feel incredibly lucky and a sense that my politics mean that I must first acknowledge the tragedy of the roulette wheel of wealth and in some way do soemthing about it.
Acknowledging the problem is the first step, and its what delineates even talk-shop do-nothing lefties from fine-thanks conservatives. The fact that we care is in no way whatsoever enough, but it is something and something is much more than the nothing which conservatives and 'the rich' are perfectly comfortable with. The first and in my opinion most important step we in the left can take is winning hearts and minds over to acknowledging the problem in a much more substantive way than 'world visionism'.
10 Anarchists in a squat are not going to save a single life. a noisy minority of the population who are concerned about an issue will save some. Activism is pointless when it preaches to the clergy and the choir (which is what, for the most part, it does). Like it or not, we are dealing with a comfortable and prosperous population and yelling at them through their double-glazed, tinted McMansion windows is going to do precisely nothing. So what the left should be doing, is not spending all its time trying to tear down the system. If confronted by a mountain, one does not smash it to bits in order to climb it, one finds a way to do what one can and reach the top. We should be using the mass-media, we should employ marketing and PR-consultants, we should sell fashionable products that in their own way contribute to undermining consumerism.
In my opinion to not do so is the great crime. You cannot ignore that this consumerist capitalist system exists and you cannot make a substantive difference by quietly living a virtuous life. You should change your own life to make a positive impact (Sky is right about that and has convinced me, I would change everything if I wasn't lazy/felt that I could do it in a non-painful way). But that's easy for a student without a mortgage or 2 kids. Its easy for people who have the flexibility (something the aspirational working class does not have) to live life by their principles. But even if everyone in this privellaged situation did this, it would still be a tiny tiny minority. You cannot tell people the truth and hope they believe it, you have to persuade and convince. They are also usually pretty unhappy with the 'false consciousness' tag.
I don't have answers. But I do know that activism the way it is right now is not enough. I know this because I am a committed socialist and I am alienated by most activists! Do not forget the 60s. There was a mood for change and there were people prepared to fight for it. And then all of those people just smoked pot, fucked and became stock brokers. And the student movements started bombing people. And the workers went home in Paris in 68. I just don't think you can succeed with anything unless you can convince a broad base of people that that thing is worthwhile. And I think a lot of activists forget that. All of the frequently excellent practical things they do must continue but it just isn't enough.
I hope this makes sense, I'm tired and at work.