Surviving Capitalism (Not) : Working-class Anger Unleashed Against [Mayor] Bloomberg’s Education Policies

We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Working-class Anger Unleashed Against [Mayor] Bloomberg’s Education Policies

from Socialist Alternative re New York public schools. I especially recommend the 2nd section entitled, "Stop All School Closings."

The movement against school closings should become the beginning of a broader fightback against the attacks on the public sector. There needs to be a full mobilization of the unions and working class communities on the streets. In doing this we will inevitably come up against the opposition of the bulk of the political establishment, both Democratic and Republican. It is after all a Democratic governor and legislature that have been implementing these cuts, not just a Republican mayor. As this struggle develops, both here and around the country, other questions will be posed including the need for independent candidates representing the interests of working people to run for higher office.