"our goal is not power, but making the powerful fear us"
Was listening to a podcast episode debating the age-old question of whether the Left should try to (1) take over the Democratic Party or (2) create a viable Party of the Left.
One of the hosts argued the focus should be on the best way to take power; the other host said both goals sound hopeless.
Their guest, an author and activist who supports the Green Party in the US, retorted that the goal should not be to take power, because power inevitably corrupts, whoever takes power will become subject to the discipline of capital's corporate media and invisible money in order to retain power. The goal should be to make the powerful fear the Left. If the powerful fear the Left, then they'll have to compete against the ideas of the Left, and the world will become a somewhat less horrible place.
The hosts argued that if you organize an Independent Left that the powerful will simply demonize it. "Look how they demonized Ralph Nader, and Jill Stein."
Guest: "Of course they will demonize those whom they fear. That means it's working." He pointed out how Trump led Republicans to drop their ideas for privatizing Social Security & Medicare, for example.
Look at how even Republicans were afraid to pull the plug on ObamaCare. And both major parties have acquiesced in scaling down the War on Drugs and reforming long-term imprisonment as compared to 20-30 years ago -- the federal inmate population peaked in 2013 and is down nearly 30%. It was Republican Supreme Court Justices who put gay marriage over the top. And Biden pulled us out of Afghanistan.
The Left doesn't need to take power to win. But we need to generate compelling ideas. And we need to tell the difference between compelling ideas and stupid ones.
The entire world rose up in disgust at the murder of George Floyd, but "defunding the police" was not popular and so will not happen, even as police continue to kill three Americans per day.
The rich and powerful will do their best to bottle up any popular ideas of the Left, but that doesn't mean we should shut up, or give up, or pledge to "work within the system".
Keep on generating good ideas and campaining on good ideas, people on the Left. Make both Biden and Trump fear us.
One of the hosts argued the focus should be on the best way to take power; the other host said both goals sound hopeless.
Their guest, an author and activist who supports the Green Party in the US, retorted that the goal should not be to take power, because power inevitably corrupts, whoever takes power will become subject to the discipline of capital's corporate media and invisible money in order to retain power. The goal should be to make the powerful fear the Left. If the powerful fear the Left, then they'll have to compete against the ideas of the Left, and the world will become a somewhat less horrible place.
The hosts argued that if you organize an Independent Left that the powerful will simply demonize it. "Look how they demonized Ralph Nader, and Jill Stein."
Guest: "Of course they will demonize those whom they fear. That means it's working." He pointed out how Trump led Republicans to drop their ideas for privatizing Social Security & Medicare, for example.
Look at how even Republicans were afraid to pull the plug on ObamaCare. And both major parties have acquiesced in scaling down the War on Drugs and reforming long-term imprisonment as compared to 20-30 years ago -- the federal inmate population peaked in 2013 and is down nearly 30%. It was Republican Supreme Court Justices who put gay marriage over the top. And Biden pulled us out of Afghanistan.
The Left doesn't need to take power to win. But we need to generate compelling ideas. And we need to tell the difference between compelling ideas and stupid ones.
The entire world rose up in disgust at the murder of George Floyd, but "defunding the police" was not popular and so will not happen, even as police continue to kill three Americans per day.
The rich and powerful will do their best to bottle up any popular ideas of the Left, but that doesn't mean we should shut up, or give up, or pledge to "work within the system".
Keep on generating good ideas and campaining on good ideas, people on the Left. Make both Biden and Trump fear us.