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

Tuesday, March 24, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Tuesday, March 24, 2020

A few years ago I wrote a piece for Labor Day suggesting that it become a “do-nothing day.” It was a bit satirical but of course had a serious point as satire does. I had little hope that my recommendation would be adopted. Now that we are suffering from coronavirus panic and people are being told to shelter in their homes, many are no doubt suffering withdrawal symptoms from having to slow down. After all, how many cookies can you bake, television and movies watch, liquor drink, emails and texts send and receive, toilet paper rolls count, etc.?

I am well aware that this enforced idleness has inflicted enormous economic damage on regular working people world-wide, as I believe it is meant to do. The psychological damage is incalculable. The super-rich will no doubt profit mightily from the coronavirus crisis while the poor and middle-classes, small business owners, and the elderly will suffer greatly.
... US health officials seem to be deprioritizing this targeted approach in favour of social-distancing measures, as is the United Kingdom. Such behaviour is a matter of concern for the WHO, which recommends both strategies. “We have not seen an urgent enough escalation in testing, isolation and contact tracing, which is the backbone of the response,” said director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press briefing on 16 March. “We cannot stop this pandemic if we don’t know who is infected,” he said. “You cannot fight a fire blindfolded.”
... the only progressive way out of the coronavirus crisis can come from working-class action, both nationally and internationally. And to bet on it, we need from now on to promote an emergency program that allows the exploited and oppressed not to come out defeated, dispersed, and impoverished by this crisis, but rather as an active force, more organized and conscious of its own strength. At the same time, it is the working class that is most exposed to contagion, in conditions of precarious work, with terrible transport systems, without safety and hygiene conditions in the companies.

In the face of the disaster to which the capitalists have led us, it is necessary to show that it is the workers themselves who can take all the necessary measures: not only from the point of view of guaranteeing work, stopping massive layoffs, and maintaining wages, but also providing food and medical resources for the entire poor population — and not only for a rich minority. This will only be possible if workers’ democratic control from below can be imposed in the workplace in an effort to secure and convert production to meet social priorities.
(Note: If you liked this article, you may also like another post from this source entitled "Workers’ Control Against the Pandemic".)
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