Jason Funke linked: > http://artofmentalwarfare.com/pog/
Videos are powerful agitational devices. However, before an agitational campaign is launched, one needs -- as they used to say -- a tactical plan and a strategy to underpin it. In Mexico, today, a broad group of left-wing intellectuals and political activists grouped in a lose front called "Paz con Democracia" published a 10-age document in La Jornada, "A Call to the Mexican Nation": IMO a commendable attempt to unite the myriad of local and topical popular opposition struggles currently staged in Mexico into a single political stream. The signatories seem to be aiming for a movement that unites López Obrador's "legitimate government" movement with the Zapatista struggle, etc. -- against the current government. One might phrase things differently, but it is persuasively argued, in terms broad enough to invite unity, etc. So, overall, a good effort to isolate the government and push harder against it. The document has 5 parts: (1) a summary of the historical juncture; (2) the relevant facts in the area of international relations (submission to the 'collective imperialism' led by the U.S.); (3) the relevant facts in the economic, labor, and environmental areas (disaster); (4) the relevant facts in the legal area (advanced attempts to subvert the constitution piecemeal); and (5) a brief summary of the broad range of the struggle for the nation, which ends with calls for unity and redoubling the fight. Here's the document (in Spanish): http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/11/16/index.php?section=politica&article=024n2pol They say we should learn from the experiences of others. So, I wonder whether PEN-L or LBO-Talk could spearhead an attempt of this sort for the U.S. -- "mutatis" all the "mutandis" that need mutation. Take that as a direct exhortation. I think there's a huge ferment in the collective consciousness of this country. So far, this is a huge amount of diffuse political energy. The opportunity to harness this energy will not last very long. It's clear to me that the two springs in this shift int he collective consciousness could be put under two rubrics: (1) foreign-policy reform (anti-imperialism) and (2) economic security (universal health care, reduction in inequality, public investment in infrastructure, education, the greening of the country, etc.). Wait for Hillary or whoever to get elected and see what happens. Framing a vision for the country that appeals to the working people of the country (broadly understood) around these two axes would be a worthwhile effort. This, I believe, won't be done (if at all) by the Huffington Post or Daily Kos or the Democrats or the propagandistic left. I has to be an honest, plain-English effort to put all these into words trying to tie into a single array the struggles aimed to expand the power of the working class (or classes) over our living and working conditions. As pitiful as this may seem, I can only think of a few (non-leftist) intellectuals who are making a big-picture effort in this department. Paul Krugman is one of them (and here I'm referring to his new book and his NY Times column). Who else? Please, if you feel tempted to prove to me that this is useless or irrelevant or impossible, don't. Abstain. Instead, try to answer the question: How could we help to harness the current discontent felt among broad sections of the U.S. public into a more coherent (and therefore effective) movement that expands the power of workers over their living and working conditions?
