Mary King: I'm reading BIG TROUBLE by J. Anthony Lukas, about the trial of
Big Bill Hayward and other leaders of the Western Federation of Miners for
conspiracy to murder -- early in this century in Idaho. It has a lot of
violence, in a very long and detailed book.
One instance. The miners had politically controlled an area of
Colorado near Cripple Creek, and had elected the sheriff and other local
politicians. The sheriff protected the miners from the capitalists. The
local merchant and mine owner class, with the backing of the state, took
the sheriff into a room at gun point, dangled a noose before him and forced
him to sign a letter of resignation. With the way cleared to install their
own sheriff, the merchants and mine owners went on a violent attack on the
miners. There was, of course, violence on both sides of what was class
war.
Lukas says in the preface that after writing a book about race
(centered in Boston "Common Ground") he realized that he needed to write
about Class. He looked at this trial as a way of illuminating the class
struggle.
As I said, a very detailed book, tedious at times in its detail,
but it finally hooked me completely, taking all free time. You might take
a look at it. But it might leave you depressed, if not in despair, as you
read about the State and Federal courts, including the Supreme Court, and
the President of the US, carrying out their roles in the class struggle as
well as expressing thoughts of the usefulness of violence.
Gene Coyle
>I don't think that this came through--my apologies if it's queued somewhere
>and this is clutter!
>
>*********************************************************************
>
>Hello all!
>
>I'm just beginning to put together a paper on the role that violence has
>played in the economic history of women, people of color and workers in
>this country. I've been bugged for a long time, as a kind of side issue,
>as to how to economically analyze violence against women, the incredible
>violence against all of the different communities of color in US history,
>and our bloody labor history. The consequences of this violence have to be
>at least comparable in magnitude with the issue of human capital
>acquisition that we focus tons of energy on.
>
>I've been inspired by an article by Donohue & Levitt (in the most recent
>AER conference proceedings issue) saying that violence is used when
>property rights are not legally enforceable.
>
>Maybe this is it: violence is and has been used to enforce property rights
>in male, white and class privilege. Now admittedly many of these
>privileges were also legally enforced, sanctioned with state violence, but
>there is a whole vast arena of action that laws have not prohibited that
>violence by individuals and groups has policed.
>
>I'm wondering if anyone knows of any writing on the economic meaning of
>violence in this context that I'm ignorant of, or if anyone has a reaction
>to this formulation of violence as the protection of socially allocated
>property rights in white supremacy, male supremacy and class privilege.
>
>Thanks!
>
>Mary King
>
>
>[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>Mary King
>Associate Professor
>Economics Department
>Portland State University
>P.O. Box 751
>Portland OR 97207
>
>Office: (503) 725-3940
>FAX: (503) 725-3945
