Does anyone on this list really have any illusions about the Democratic Party? The question about supporting Democrats or Greens is a tactical question. We have debated Nader versus Gore, Nader versus Kerry, etc. To what end? Armchair debates over electoral tactics are meaningless without specific strategies on the ground. Can we demand serious organization of the grassroots merely by typing on our keyboards? What a list like this can and should contribute would be sharing of information and educating one another. Shouting cannot make either happen more effectively. Most of us are socialists. As socialists, we want to create a cooperative society. If David Shemano wanted to convince his fellow conservatives that cooperative socialism cannot work, he could just forward some of our repetitions and vituperations. I appreciate the changed tone on the list since the weekend. Now I would like to see us move in a more cooperative and collective direction. For example, I believe six states have elections tomorrow on the minimum wage. Doesn't the fact that elections are required to get people decent wages say something about the defects of capitalism and the need for socialism? This kind of measure has some potential to engage disaffected people. Could we have contributed ideas and information that could have supported such an agenda?
-- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University Chico, CA 95929 Tel. 530-898-5321 E-Mail michael at ecst.csuchico.edu michaelperelman.wordpress.com
