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

Friday, September 16, 2011

On Ideology: From Below and to the Left

Click here to access article by Henry Gales from The Pioneer. 
Liberalism and statism, for centuries, have cast a long shadow over all types of ideology. However, there are growing movements that realize the reality of today’s world. We do not need to take state power, work through political parties, or establish hegemony. Instead, we need to build projects of governments that are inseparable from the people, and in opposition to any form of hegemony.
I essentially agree with this thesis, but I worry about the degree of liberal (capitalist) indoctrination of false ideas and values that has informed the thinking of several generations of ordinary people now living. I agree with the author's rejection of vanguardism, but reject his implied notion that left political parties have little to contribute toward building a genuine working class consciousness and viable working class organizations. (It is possible that he differentiates between formal parties that run in elections and political organizations.) Left political parties (and I include organizations) have preserved the history of working class struggles and there are many lessons that can be derived from this historical experience. Thus, they have much to contribute.
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