Thoughts on production, alienation, and ideology

Month: January 2024

A Tough Winter?

For those of you Iowans (or Midwesterners) out there, how are you doing this winter?

It started easily enough. We had a milder than usual November and December. Even into the first week of January, things moved along without much trouble.

But man have we been hit hard since then! More than 2 feet of snow (cumulatively). Downed trees and power lines. Occasional freezing rain, even after all that stuff cleared out.

When you average it out, it’s probably just a normal winter overall. A milder season gave way to the big pile of ‘yuck’ we’ve had in the last 3 weeks. But it still hits pretty hard.

Let me know how you’ve handled it!

Image Source

Am I An Abolitionist, Too?

I’ve written specifically about prison abolition on this blog. But I haven’t written about modern abolitionism as a movement. Nor have I specified whether I’m an abolitionist. In that previous post, I discussed how disagreements over the concept of ‘prison’ produces misunderstandings. It clouds political debates in ways we can, and should, get past.

Of course, I wrote that first post 4 years ago. These debates took quite a turn in the summer of 2020. A more comprehensive abolitionist movement emerged into the stage of mainstream politics.

How does abolitionism, in its modern form, relate to prison abolition?

Continue reading

The Frustrations of College Town Activism

I turned 40 last year, and I’ve reached a moment where I’m looking back at my activist history and thinking about my activist future. Among other things, that involves looking back at the frustrations of college town activism. And since I’ve spent the last 6 years as a member of Democratic Socialists of America, that means the frustrations of organizing with a socialist group in a progressive college town.

The landscape in our progressive college town features lots and lots of community activist groups. What frustrations could there be here? In a town full of progressive activist groups with goals broadly compatible to those of DSA, especially in the short term?

Oh, a few…

Continue reading