On Fri, Aug 30, 2024 at 02:35 PM, Duane Filan wrote: > > Of course, there were many complex reasons why worker militancy went into > retreat from the 1970s onwards, but the notion that this was due to all > those selfish, feminist and gays preoccupied with their identitarian > agenda is ridiculous.
No kidding. Who said otherwise? The decline in worker militancy reflected the decline in union density, anti-labour legislation, the shifting composition of the labour force in a service economy, the disappearance of mass socialist parties, and other objective factors. The appearance of feminist, gay, and other movements, as I wrote, was positive in that it “gave members of oppressed groups a liberating sense of empowerment and of belonging to a larger community.” But I also described it as a “complex phenomenon” which has not been without its negative features. The identitarian movements have largely been driven by educated professionals and have not meaningfully changed the material conditions of working women, gays, and blacks nearly as much as they have advanaced democratic rights. Moreover, the reactionary right has also been able to win the support of the more politically backward sectors of the white working class by exploiting the race- and gender-based character of affirmative action programs. I have no doubt the Trumpists would have had less success if these programs were aimed at "all disadvantaged members of the working class in which doubly oppressed blacks and women are disproportionately represented.” You and others don’t happen to agree with the above. So be it, but don't misrepresent my position. -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. View/Reply Online (#31901): https://groups.io/g/marxmail/message/31901 Mute This Topic: https://groups.io/mt/107980589/21656 -=-=- POSTING RULES & NOTES #1 YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message. #2 This mail-list, like most, is publicly & permanently archived. #3 Subscribe and post under an alias if #2 is a concern. #4 Do not exceed five posts a day. -=-=- Group Owner: [email protected] Unsubscribe: https://groups.io/g/marxmail/leave/8674936/21656/1316126222/xyzzy [[email protected]] -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
