Re: Re: Re: Speaking of What's Left
Ian Murray wrote: > > Here's one for penner's. How do we get Michael Perelman's new book > widely talked about? Maybe he and Doug can do a tag team book tour > when Doug's done with his. Buy lotto tickets for financing > purposes. > one useful thing to do might be to submit reviews on amazon.com and bn.com. --ravi
Re: Re: Speaking of What's Left
- Original Message - From: "Ian Murray" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > Glad you are grabbing the torch of practical-critical activity, Ian. Take it and >run with it ! > > > > Charles > > > = > > Now if I could just figure out a way to get the geniuses on this list on the Oprah >Winfrey and Larry King shows, along > with a steady stream of profiles in People magazine, we'd be on our way. Maybe I >should be realistic and start with > Dennis Miller on HBO.! :-) > > Ian Here's one for penner's. How do we get Michael Perelman's new book widely talked about? Maybe he and Doug can do a tag team book tour when Doug's done with his. Buy lotto tickets for financing purposes. Ian
Re: Speaking of What's Left
- Original Message - From: "Charles Brown" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Speaking of What's Left > by Ian Murray > 02 April 2002 15:44 UTC > > > > === > > Please count the young people for us : > > > Glad you are grabbing the torch of practical-critical activity, Ian. Take it and run >with it ! > > Charles > = Now if I could just figure out a way to get the geniuses on this list on the Oprah Winfrey and Larry King shows, along with a steady stream of profiles in People magazine, we'd be on our way. Maybe I should be realistic and start with Dennis Miller on HBO.! :-) Ian
RE: Speaking of What's Left
I cheated! Googing away...The below was published in Crossroads, a journal that was an attempt from (mostly) ex-Line of March and CofC to dialogue with the broad left. "Market Leftism: Money, Machines and the Left's Decline" Nathan Newman and Anders Schneiderman connect the proliferation of "market leftist" organizations and the decline of progressive politics... In the mid-90's, John Judis in Ther American Prospect wrote a piece saying much the same. This piece is collected in, "Ticking Time Bombs: The New Conservative Assaults on Democracy Robert L. Kuttner, editor; published in conjunction with The American Prospect. The New Press. Mark Dowie has a new book on Foundations from M.I.T. Press. The Nation - Selected Feature Selected Feature Why Do Progressive Foundations Give Too Little To Too Many? By Michael H. Shuman The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy recently reported that between 1992 and 1994, twelve major foundations on the right, often working in concert, pumped more than $200 million ... http://past.thenation.com/issue/980112/0112shum.htm Michael Pugliese >--- Original Message --- >From: Charles Brown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >Date: 4/3/02 6:52:17 AM > > Speaking of What's Left >by Ian Murray >02 April 2002 15:44 UTC > > > >=== > >Please count the young people for us : > >Today, "the left" >is really a professional apparatus of leaders, a fundraising >machine, and mailing lists that no one bothers to mobilize. >Instead of establishing a human relationship, a phone call >or a door-knock or a letter from a progressive group is >almost always just a way to raise money. As a result, more >and more young people are refusing to even answer their >doors or phones when political groups call -- which isn't >often, because young people can't make large contributions >of cash that attract contact by progressive organizations. > Market leftism gives young >activists and the rest of the left the same kind of >"choices" that the "free market" offers us for getting where >we want to go. We can "choose" between several brands of >(used) cars; we just can't choose to build a better system >of mass transit. > The only people who really get to "choose" the >direction the left takes are the big money foundations and >governments. A few years ago, Michael Albert at Z Magazine >estimated that progressive organizations have raised an >impressive $1 billion in the last 25 years. But because the >left is so fragmented, progressives don't really control >this capital. Instead, many progressive organizations are >dependent on foundation and government money. In a sense, >the foundations and governments are the venture capitalists >of the left -- and that venture capital can dry up when >foundation or government elite fads change or when groups >get too radical. > So what should our generation of young activists make >of this undemocratic disaster? We could just blame it on the >power-hungry, graying activists who find it more comfortable >to run their own small bureaucracy than participate in a >broader movement. But that's too easy an answer. The present >mess is a result of the efforts of another generation of >young activists who fought for democracy and youth >participation. We need to understand their struggles to >understand what we need to go today. > The Sixties youth rejected the centralized, >bureaucratic democratic decision-making of the unions, >parties, and the established civil rights organizations (the >legacy of another generation of young activists). Instead, >organizations like Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) >and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) >believed in the ideal of engaged "participatory democracy. " >They believed this was more likely to occur in smaller, more >decentralized organizations where everyone could "do their >own thing." These smaller groups would also allow young >people to overcome the racism, sexism, imperialism, and >other shortcomings of the older, top-down organizations who >refused to respond to growing demands from the grassroots. > In the 1970s, the attitudes of SDS/SNCC, the women's >movement, and the new environmental ethic of "small is >beautiful" converged with the lawyer/lobbyist-driven >Naderite activism and the community organizing gospel of >Saul Alinsky. These ideas would spawn an explosion of >organizations, by some estimates leading to a total of as >many as two million citizen groups encompassing 15 million >people by the 1980s. Since many organizations were too small
Speaking of What's Left
Speaking of What's Left by Ian Murray 02 April 2002 15:44 UTC === Please count the young people for us : Today, "the left" is really a professional apparatus of leaders, a fundraising machine, and mailing lists that no one bothers to mobilize. Instead of establishing a human relationship, a phone call or a door-knock or a letter from a progressive group is almost always just a way to raise money. As a result, more and more young people are refusing to even answer their doors or phones when political groups call -- which isn't often, because young people can't make large contributions of cash that attract contact by progressive organizations. ... Market leftism gives young activists and the rest of the left the same kind of "choices" that the "free market" offers us for getting where we want to go. We can "choose" between several brands of (used) cars; we just can't choose to build a better system of mass transit. The only people who really get to "choose" the direction the left takes are the big money foundations and governments. A few years ago, Michael Albert at Z Magazine estimated that progressive organizations have raised an impressive $1 billion in the last 25 years. But because the left is so fragmented, progressives don't really control this capital. Instead, many progressive organizations are dependent on foundation and government money. In a sense, the foundations and governments are the venture capitalists of the left -- and that venture capital can dry up when foundation or government elite fads change or when groups get too radical. So what should our generation of young activists make of this undemocratic disaster? We could just blame it on the power-hungry, graying activists who find it more comfortable to run their own small bureaucracy than participate in a broader movement. But that's too easy an answer. The present mess is a result of the efforts of another generation of young activists who fought for democracy and youth participation. We need to understand their struggles to understand what we need to go today. The Sixties youth rejected the centralized, bureaucratic democratic decision-making of the unions, parties, and the established civil rights organizations (the legacy of another generation of young activists). Instead, organizations like Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) believed in the ideal of engaged "participatory democracy. " They believed this was more likely to occur in smaller, more decentralized organizations where everyone could "do their own thing." These smaller groups would also allow young people to overcome the racism, sexism, imperialism, and other shortcomings of the older, top-down organizations who refused to respond to growing demands from the grassroots. In the 1970s, the attitudes of SDS/SNCC, the women's movement, and the new environmental ethic of "small is beautiful" converged with the lawyer/lobbyist-driven Naderite activism and the community organizing gospel of Saul Alinsky. These ideas would spawn an explosion of organizations, by some estimates leading to a total of as many as two million citizen groups encompassing 15 million people by the 1980s. Since many organizations were too small to support themselves through their members, they relied on assistance from the government and foundations. They gradually became professionalized, and the goal of democratic participation went by the wayside. In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected -- in no small part because decentralized progressive groups could not unite to effectively oppose him. Under Reagan and Bush, the federal government "defunded the left" and many foundations followed suit. As a result, the 1980s would demonstrate the limits of participation without mass democracy. With little ability to coordinate comprehensive campaigns, each group had to retreat more and more to single issues to maintain its funding ability. Vibrant democratic community organizations might continue to exist at the local level, but the dreams of a national upswell of "participatory democracy" had given way to an alphabet soup of competing non-profits and an alientated membership. TOWARD GRASSROOTS MOBILIZATION So what are we to do? Our generation needs to bring together the ideals of two previous generations: the 1930s ideals of solidarity in one movement -- "the One Big Union" -- and the Sixties ideal of full participation by everyone in "the movement." We live in a world where police brutality, the lack of jobs, the collapse of the educational system, racism, sexism, homelessness, attacks on immigrants, and international economic blackmail are too closely intertwined to split into five contribution checks each month or 20 disconnec
Re: Speaking of What's Left
Wow, Howard Dean! And Jon Corzine! We're on our way to Reclaiming America --- AND building a coalition that can win. Yes, I feel the excitement. OK, some of the names are tired re-treads, but give me Howard Dean and I'm excited. Gene Coyle Max Sawicky wrote: > Feel the excitement. > > > SEATS ARE FILLING UP QUICKLY! > >REGISTER FOR CONFERENCE AND DINNER ONLINE AT > > http://www.ourfuture.org. > > > > Campaign for America's Future > >and > > Institute for America's Future > >invite you to join us for > > > > RECLAIMING AMERICA > > A Conference on Progressive Strategies for > > the New Era > > April 10, 11, 12 > > Washington, DC > > > >ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT! Go to > > http://www.ourfuture.org and register online today! > > > > *** Wednesday, April 10th *** > > 7:00 pm GALA AWARDS DINNER > > Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill > > 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW > > > > MC Molly Ivins- Columnist, Author > > Rep. Nancy Pelosi- House Minority Whip > > Warren Beatty*- Actor, Political Activist > > Gerald McEntee- President, AFSCME > > Sen. Jon Corzine- D-NJ > > > > *** Thursday, April 11 *** > > 8:00 am-5:00 pm > > POLICY CONFERENCE > > National Press Club > > 529 14th Street, NW > > > > 9:00 am UNITING AMERICA--Rejecting the > > Enron Future: Press Conference > > Robert Borosage- Campaign for America's Future > > Stan Greenberg- Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research > > John Sweeney- President, AFL-CIO > > Rep. Maxine Waters*- D-CA > > Rep. Jan Schakowsky- D-IL > > > > 10:00 am GOVERNOR HOWARD DEAN - Vermont > > > > 10:20 am A PROGRAM FOR A STRONG HOMELAND > > Robert Kuttner- founder and co-editor, American Prospect > > Marian Wright Edelman*- Children's Defense Fund > > Rep. Rosa DeLauro- D-CN > > Chellie Pingree- Candidate for US Senate in Maine > > John Podesta*- former White House Chief of Staff, environmentalist > > > > 11:45 am HOUSE MINORITY LEADER RICHARD GEPHARDT- > > D-MO > > > > 1:00 pm Lunch Session > > Sen. John Edwards- D-NC > > > > 2:00 pm Breakout Workshops > > > > CONFRONTING ENRONOMICS > > RETIREMENT SECURITY > > HEALTH CARE > > GLOBAL CRISIS > > POVERTY AND FAMILY SUPPORT > > EXPANDING DEMOCRACY > > > > 3:30 pm BUILDING A COALITION THAT CAN WIN IN 2002 > > Rev. Jesse Jackson- President, Rainbow-Push Coalition > > Kim Gandy- President, National Organization for Women > > Eliseo Medina*- Executive Vice President, SEIU > > Deb Callahan- President, League of Conservation Voters > > Sen. Paul Wellstone- D-MN > > > > *** Friday, April 12 *** > > 8:00 am-3:00 pM > > TRAINING AND STRATEGY SESSIONS > > National Education Association > > 1201 16th Street, NW > > > > 9:00 am PANEL OF POLLSTERS > > Celinda Lake- President, Lake Snell Perry and Associates > > Rodolfo de la Garza- Professor, Columbia University > > Ron Lester- President, Lester and Associates > > Gloria Totten- Executive Director, Progressive Majority PAC > > > > 10:15 am Workshop Strategy Sessions > > > > SOCIAL SECURITY > > HEALTH CARE > > ENRON > > NATIOANL CAMPAIGN FOR JOBS AND INCOME SUPPORT > > LIVING WAGE > > STATE PROGRESSIVE ACTIVISM CONFRONTS STATE FISCAL > > CRISIS > > NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND CAMPAIGN > > MOBILIZING YOUNG VOTERS > > INTERNET ACTIVISM > > > > 11:45 am PAUL BEGALA: Political activist; co-host, CNN Crossfire; > > Author, with James Carville of the new book, Buck Up, Suck Up... > > and > > Come Back When You Foul Up. > > > > 12:45 Lunch Session > > Ben Cohen*- founder, Ben and Jerry's and organizer of Contract With > > > > the Planet, a project of the Priorities Campaign > > Jim Hightower- populist political agistator, media commentator, > > organizer for Rolling Thunder Down Home Democracy Tour > > > > *=invited > > > > FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER ONLINE, > > GO TO http://www.ourfuture.org.
Re: RE: Re: Speaking of What's Left
- Original Message - From: "Max Sawicky" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > [Guess the author...] > > > I agree with the first sentence of that essay. > > I don't know the author, but whoever it is, he or > she is confused. The smorgasbord of groups > and the implied atomization of program and > politics is the fruit of democracy. People vote > with their feet. Participation is nice, and so is > unity, but one doesn't necessarily promote the > other. > > The description of SDS/SNCC is all wet, but there > isn't much point in unpacking all that. > > Instead of counting young people, I should probably > count the Palm Pilots. > > mbs * - Original Message - From: "Devine, James" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > of course, such decentralized groups as the SDS "did their own thing" one > time [1969] in the form of the "days of rage," in which a bunch of well-fed > white suburbanites went crazy in the streets of Chicago, in hopes that the > Black Youth would Rise Up and join them, overthrowing the System. > > I like this statement's emphasis on from-the-bottom organizing, but > decentralization isn't always what it's advertised to be. > JD > == And the writer is.Nathan Newman!
Re: Re: Speaking of What's Left
Ian Murray wrote: > > > The Sixties youth rejected the centralized, > bureaucratic democratic decision-making of the unions, > parties, and the established civil rights organizations (the > legacy of another generation of young activists). Instead, > organizations like Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) And the result was (for the most part) that the political structure of SDS both at the local and national level was that of an ensemble of high-school social cliques. The difference from a bureaucratic organization was that it is easier to hold a bureaucracy responsible than it is to hold a (partly invisible) clique responsible. Almost all real decisions in SDS (nationally and locally) were made behind closed doors in informal conversation among non-responsible leaders -- most but not all of whom did not even themselves know that that was what they were doing. Open Bureaucracy vs Bureacracy behind a Screen of Participatory democracy. Carrol
RE: RE: RE: Speaking of What's Left
Horrors! how could I confuse the Larouchites with the PLP? suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's, Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine > -Original Message- > From: Max Sawicky [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 8:21 AM > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subject: [PEN-L:24581] RE: RE: Speaking of What's Left > > > N.B. You are sectually confused. > > Challenge is Progressive Labor Party. > > mbs > > > > speaking of excitement, Max has an article in the issue of > CHALLENGE that > > came today, something about "fighting recession," even though all > > Those Who > > Know are sure that the recession is dead and gone. (I have > to check to see > > whether this is the CHALLENGE that is published by M.E. > Sharpe or it's the > > one published by the Larouchite U.S. Labor Party. I'll be > back to you on > > this.) > > Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine >
RE: RE: Speaking of What's Left
N.B. You are sectually confused. Challenge is Progressive Labor Party. mbs > speaking of excitement, Max has an article in the issue of CHALLENGE that > came today, something about "fighting recession," even though all > Those Who > Know are sure that the recession is dead and gone. (I have to check to see > whether this is the CHALLENGE that is published by M.E. Sharpe or it's the > one published by the Larouchite U.S. Labor Party. I'll be back to you on > this.) > Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine
RE: Re: Speaking of What's Left
> > >REGISTER FOR CONFERENCE AND DINNER ONLINE AT > > >http://www.ourfuture.org. > > Please count the young people for us Max: . . . > grassroots empowerment. Ultimately, it is up to our > generation to restore "one person, one vote" and get "the > movement" back on the track of true democracy. > > [Guess the author...] I agree with the first sentence of that essay. I don't know the author, but whoever it is, he or she is confused. The smorgasbord of groups and the implied atomization of program and politics is the fruit of democracy. People vote with their feet. Participation is nice, and so is unity, but one doesn't necessarily promote the other. The description of SDS/SNCC is all wet, but there isn't much point in unpacking all that. Instead of counting young people, I should probably count the Palm Pilots. mbs
RE: Re: Speaking of What's Left
Anonymous wrote:>... organizations like Students for a Democratic Society (SDS)and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)believed in the ideal of engaged "participatory democracy." They believed this was more likely to occur in smaller, more decentralized organizations where everyone could "do their own thing." These smaller groups would also allow young people to overcome the racism, sexism, imperialism, and other shortcomings of the older, top-down organizations who refused to respond to growing demands from the grassroots.< of course, such decentralized groups as the SDS "did their own thing" one time [1969] in the form of the "days of rage," in which a bunch of well-fed white suburbanites went crazy in the streets of Chicago, in hopes that the Black Youth would Rise Up and join them, overthrowing the System. I like this statement's emphasis on from-the-bottom organizing, but decentralization isn't always what it's advertised to be. JD
RE: Speaking of What's Left
speaking of excitement, Max has an article in the issue of CHALLENGE that came today, something about "fighting recession," even though all Those Who Know are sure that the recession is dead and gone. (I have to check to see whether this is the CHALLENGE that is published by M.E. Sharpe or it's the one published by the Larouchite U.S. Labor Party. I'll be back to you on this.) Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://bellarmine.lmu.edu/~jdevine > -Original Message- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] > Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 7:19 AM > To: PEN-L > Subject: [PEN-L:24570] Speaking of What's Left > > > Feel the excitement. > > > > SEATS ARE FILLING UP QUICKLY! > >REGISTER FOR CONFERENCE AND DINNER ONLINE AT > >http://www.ourfuture.org. > > > > Campaign for America's Future > >and > > Institute for America's Future > >invite you to join us for > > > > RECLAIMING AMERICA > > A Conference on Progressive Strategies for > > the New Era > > April 10, 11, 12 > > Washington, DC > > > >ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT! Go to > > http://www.ourfuture.org and register online today! > > > > *** Wednesday, April 10th *** > > 7:00 pm GALA AWARDS DINNER > > Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill > > 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW > > > > MC Molly Ivins- Columnist, Author > > Rep. Nancy Pelosi- House Minority Whip > > Warren Beatty*- Actor, Political Activist > > Gerald McEntee- President, AFSCME > > Sen. Jon Corzine- D-NJ > > > > *** Thursday, April 11 *** > > 8:00 am-5:00 pm > > POLICY CONFERENCE > > National Press Club > > 529 14th Street, NW > > > > 9:00 am UNITING AMERICA--Rejecting the > > Enron Future: Press Conference > > Robert Borosage- Campaign for America's Future > > Stan Greenberg- Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research > > John Sweeney- President, AFL-CIO > > Rep. Maxine Waters*- D-CA > > Rep. Jan Schakowsky- D-IL > > > > 10:00 am GOVERNOR HOWARD DEAN - Vermont > > > > 10:20 am A PROGRAM FOR A STRONG HOMELAND > > Robert Kuttner- founder and co-editor, American Prospect > > Marian Wright Edelman*- Children's Defense Fund > > Rep. Rosa DeLauro- D-CN > > Chellie Pingree- Candidate for US Senate in Maine > > John Podesta*- former White House Chief of Staff, > environmentalist > > > > 11:45 am HOUSE MINORITY LEADER RICHARD GEPHARDT- > > D-MO > > > > 1:00 pm Lunch Session > > Sen. John Edwards- D-NC > > > > 2:00 pm Breakout Workshops > > > > CONFRONTING ENRONOMICS > > RETIREMENT SECURITY > > HEALTH CARE > > GLOBAL CRISIS > > POVERTY AND FAMILY SUPPORT > > EXPANDING DEMOCRACY > > > > 3:30 pm BUILDING A COALITION THAT CAN WIN IN 2002 > > Rev. Jesse Jackson- President, Rainbow-Push Coalition > > Kim Gandy- President, National Organization for Women > > Eliseo Medina*- Executive Vice President, SEIU > > Deb Callahan- President, League of Conservation Voters > > Sen. Paul Wellstone- D-MN > > > > *** Friday, April 12 *** > > 8:00 am-3:00 pM > > TRAINING AND STRATEGY SESSIONS > > National Education Association > > 1201 16th Street, NW > > > > 9:00 am PANEL OF POLLSTERS > > Celinda Lake- President, Lake Snell Perry and Associates > > Rodolfo de la Garza- Professor, Columbia University > > Ron Lester- President, Lester and Associates > > Gloria Totten- Executive Director, Progressive Majority PAC > > > > 10:15 am Workshop Strategy Sessions > > > > SOCIAL SECURITY > > HEALTH CARE > > ENRON > > NATIOANL CAMPAIGN FOR JOBS AND INCOME SUPPORT > > LIVING WAGE > > STATE PROGRESSIVE ACTIVISM CONFRONTS STATE FISCAL > > CRISIS > > NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND CAMPAIGN > > MOBILIZING YOUNG VOTERS > > INTERNET ACTIVISM > > > > 11:45 am PAUL BEGALA: Political activist; co-host, CNN > Crossfire; > > Author, with James Carville of the new book, Buck Up, > Suck Up... > > and > > Come Back When You Foul Up. > > > > 12:45 Lunch Session > > Ben Cohen*- founder, Ben and Jerry's and organizer of > Contract With > > > > the Planet, a project of the Priorities Campaign > > Jim Hightower- populist political agistator, media commentator, > > organizer for Rolling Thunder Down Home Democracy Tour > > > > *=invited > > > > FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER ONLINE, > > GO TO http://www.ourfuture.org. >
Re: Speaking of What's Left
- Original Message - From: "Max Sawicky" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "PEN-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Tuesday, April 02, 2002 7:18 AM Subject: [PEN-L:24570] Speaking of What's Left > Feel the excitement. > > > > SEATS ARE FILLING UP QUICKLY! > >REGISTER FOR CONFERENCE AND DINNER ONLINE AT > >http://www.ourfuture.org. > > > > Campaign for America's Future > >and === Please count the young people for us Max: Today, "the left" is really a professional apparatus of leaders, a fundraising machine, and mailing lists that no one bothers to mobilize. Instead of establishing a human relationship, a phone call or a door-knock or a letter from a progressive group is almost always just a way to raise money. As a result, more and more young people are refusing to even answer their doors or phones when political groups call -- which isn't often, because young people can't make large contributions of cash that attract contact by progressive organizations. ... Market leftism gives young activists and the rest of the left the same kind of "choices" that the "free market" offers us for getting where we want to go. We can "choose" between several brands of (used) cars; we just can't choose to build a better system of mass transit. The only people who really get to "choose" the direction the left takes are the big money foundations and governments. A few years ago, Michael Albert at Z Magazine estimated that progressive organizations have raised an impressive $1 billion in the last 25 years. But because the left is so fragmented, progressives don't really control this capital. Instead, many progressive organizations are dependent on foundation and government money. In a sense, the foundations and governments are the venture capitalists of the left -- and that venture capital can dry up when foundation or government elite fads change or when groups get too radical. So what should our generation of young activists make of this undemocratic disaster? We could just blame it on the power-hungry, graying activists who find it more comfortable to run their own small bureaucracy than participate in a broader movement. But that's too easy an answer. The present mess is a result of the efforts of another generation of young activists who fought for democracy and youth participation. We need to understand their struggles to understand what we need to go today. The Sixties youth rejected the centralized, bureaucratic democratic decision-making of the unions, parties, and the established civil rights organizations (the legacy of another generation of young activists). Instead, organizations like Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) believed in the ideal of engaged "participatory democracy. " They believed this was more likely to occur in smaller, more decentralized organizations where everyone could "do their own thing." These smaller groups would also allow young people to overcome the racism, sexism, imperialism, and other shortcomings of the older, top-down organizations who refused to respond to growing demands from the grassroots. In the 1970s, the attitudes of SDS/SNCC, the women's movement, and the new environmental ethic of "small is beautiful" converged with the lawyer/lobbyist-driven Naderite activism and the community organizing gospel of Saul Alinsky. These ideas would spawn an explosion of organizations, by some estimates leading to a total of as many as two million citizen groups encompassing 15 million people by the 1980s. Since many organizations were too small to support themselves through their members, they relied on assistance from the government and foundations. They gradually became professionalized, and the goal of democratic participation went by the wayside. In 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected -- in no small part because decentralized progressive groups could not unite to effectively oppose him. Under Reagan and Bush, the federal government "defunded the left" and many foundations followed suit. As a result, the 1980s would demonstrate the limits of participation without mass democracy. With little ability to coordinate comprehensive campaigns, each group had to retreat more and more to single issues to maintain its funding ability. Vibrant democratic community organizations might continue to exist at the local level, but the dreams of a national upswell of "participatory democracy" had given way to an alphabet soup of competing non-profits and an alientated membership. TOWARD GRASSROOTS MOBILIZATION So what are we to do? Our generation needs to bring together th
Speaking of What's Left
Feel the excitement. > SEATS ARE FILLING UP QUICKLY! >REGISTER FOR CONFERENCE AND DINNER ONLINE AT >http://www.ourfuture.org. > > Campaign for America's Future >and > Institute for America's Future >invite you to join us for > > RECLAIMING AMERICA > A Conference on Progressive Strategies for > the New Era > April 10, 11, 12 > Washington, DC > >ONLY TWO WEEKS LEFT! Go to > http://www.ourfuture.org and register online today! > > *** Wednesday, April 10th *** > 7:00 pm GALA AWARDS DINNER > Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill > 400 New Jersey Avenue, NW > > MC Molly Ivins- Columnist, Author > Rep. Nancy Pelosi- House Minority Whip > Warren Beatty*- Actor, Political Activist > Gerald McEntee- President, AFSCME > Sen. Jon Corzine- D-NJ > > *** Thursday, April 11 *** > 8:00 am-5:00 pm > POLICY CONFERENCE > National Press Club > 529 14th Street, NW > > 9:00 am UNITING AMERICA--Rejecting the > Enron Future: Press Conference > Robert Borosage- Campaign for America's Future > Stan Greenberg- Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research > John Sweeney- President, AFL-CIO > Rep. Maxine Waters*- D-CA > Rep. Jan Schakowsky- D-IL > > 10:00 am GOVERNOR HOWARD DEAN - Vermont > > 10:20 am A PROGRAM FOR A STRONG HOMELAND > Robert Kuttner- founder and co-editor, American Prospect > Marian Wright Edelman*- Children's Defense Fund > Rep. Rosa DeLauro- D-CN > Chellie Pingree- Candidate for US Senate in Maine > John Podesta*- former White House Chief of Staff, environmentalist > > 11:45 am HOUSE MINORITY LEADER RICHARD GEPHARDT- > D-MO > > 1:00 pm Lunch Session > Sen. John Edwards- D-NC > > 2:00 pm Breakout Workshops > > CONFRONTING ENRONOMICS > RETIREMENT SECURITY > HEALTH CARE > GLOBAL CRISIS > POVERTY AND FAMILY SUPPORT > EXPANDING DEMOCRACY > > 3:30 pm BUILDING A COALITION THAT CAN WIN IN 2002 > Rev. Jesse Jackson- President, Rainbow-Push Coalition > Kim Gandy- President, National Organization for Women > Eliseo Medina*- Executive Vice President, SEIU > Deb Callahan- President, League of Conservation Voters > Sen. Paul Wellstone- D-MN > > *** Friday, April 12 *** > 8:00 am-3:00 pM > TRAINING AND STRATEGY SESSIONS > National Education Association > 1201 16th Street, NW > > 9:00 am PANEL OF POLLSTERS > Celinda Lake- President, Lake Snell Perry and Associates > Rodolfo de la Garza- Professor, Columbia University > Ron Lester- President, Lester and Associates > Gloria Totten- Executive Director, Progressive Majority PAC > > 10:15 am Workshop Strategy Sessions > > SOCIAL SECURITY > HEALTH CARE > ENRON > NATIOANL CAMPAIGN FOR JOBS AND INCOME SUPPORT > LIVING WAGE > STATE PROGRESSIVE ACTIVISM CONFRONTS STATE FISCAL > CRISIS > NATIONAL HOUSING TRUST FUND CAMPAIGN > MOBILIZING YOUNG VOTERS > INTERNET ACTIVISM > > 11:45 am PAUL BEGALA: Political activist; co-host, CNN Crossfire; > Author, with James Carville of the new book, Buck Up, Suck Up... > and > Come Back When You Foul Up. > > 12:45 Lunch Session > Ben Cohen*- founder, Ben and Jerry's and organizer of Contract With > > the Planet, a project of the Priorities Campaign > Jim Hightower- populist political agistator, media commentator, > organizer for Rolling Thunder Down Home Democracy Tour > > *=invited > > FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO REGISTER ONLINE, > GO TO http://www.ourfuture.org.
