Greetings Economists, Hmmmm, On Jun 24, 2006, at 2:24 PM, Michael Perelman wrote:
Central to what I was thinking about was that the winning issues seem to be emotional and unrelated to factual analysis.
Doyle; At one point the left was quite capable in that way. The point being one can't just be factual to win. Solidarity doesn't come from just factual understanding. Many a worker knows something is wrong, but are afraid to act for various good reasons. Invariably there is some sort of comment that reason must prevail when we are building the left. Reason can only be one part of the process. Without a definite means to form solidarity with others in 'struggle' one can't say the 'truth' and gain support. Nobody on the shop floor will quit their job when someone just fired says I was wronged. I don't think you are arguing for a factual analysis without solidarity. But let me bring up Leigh Meyers quotes on Neurobiology here; Leigh quotes an article Energy Bulletin: The Neurobiology of Mass Delusion Published on 10 Jan 2005 http://energybulletin.net/3948.html By Jason Bradford The conscious brain is not a simple dupe however...So when wondering why so many people just "don't get it," (oil depletion, overshoot etc.) whether they are your local politician or great aunt, realize there is a physiological mechanism that may preclude having a rational discussion on certain topics. ...I fear that the world has neither enough shrinks... Doyle; The point of the article is to highlight the lack of support for issues that demand attention but are ignored because human cognition is not solely reason. It's my view that a national left organization has to have both a factual arm and a solidarity arm to building a movement. The neglect of emotion work by a national scale entity is why things in my view degenerate into isolation. Emotion work more than reason is about 'connection' and therefore solidarity. One might from looking at Leigh's quotes say that yes we aren't doing something to ignite a movement. What is the something? Worker solidarity used to resonate from the concept of 'commitment'. Meaning the individual finds a place where they don't have to know everything, be willing to sacrifice for the greater good and so on. That is a literal emotion based structure that has to accompany a renewed left. thanks, Doyle Saylor
