Base and Superstructure

Thoughts on production, alienation, and ideology

Month: April 2024

An image of strip mining near Cumberland Gap to represent a model of power and powerlessness.

Power and Powerlessness

April 29, 2024 /

I recently read a classic in political sociology – Power and Powerlessness by John Gaventa. It’s an insightful attempt to apply the Steven Lukes analysis of power – laid out in a book by that title – to the situation of coal miners in central Appalachia.

Gaventa seeks to explain why oppressed Appalachian miners refuse to rise up in revolt against their oppressors. While he argues for the intuitive view that the power of the mining companies prevents them from doing so, he gets there via an interesting and compelling route. Ultimately, he argues that the power of the mining companies consists, in part, in their ability to change the desires and aims of miners. Rebellion comes only when we alter those underlying power relationships.

I think we can learn a lot from Gaventa about power and powerlessness.

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An artistic image depicting Soviet managerialism, with red and yellow rays and a man and woman staring at the screen.

Managerialism and Socialism

April 22, 2024 /

Ronald Purser’s recent article in Current Affairs, “Against Managerialism,” brought to mind for me a common motivation for socialism. It’s one we easily forget, even more so when we dive into the weeds of talking politics or running a socialist org.

I’m talking about economic democracy – the idea that regular, everyday workers are the most qualified to run their workplace. When I think about socialism – really reflect on it – I see economic democracy at the heart of it. And to create a real economic democracy requires us to rid the world – and ourselves – of managerialism.

Let’s say a bit more.

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A photo of a lone wolf howling. Intended to represent lone wolf activists

Why Lone Wolf Activism Fails

April 15, 2024 /

Here’s a common scenario for lone wolf activism. Imagine you’re attending a city council meeting. You probably don’t make it a habit to go to these things. Because, well, who really wants to do that? The meetings take too long. They’re uninteresting. And they cram the agenda full of inside baseball for local politicos.

As John Gaventa would put it (e.g., Power and Powerlessness), governments set up the agenda and the rules of the game to favor insiders. And to exclude people like you and I.

But there’s something you care about on the agenda this time. So, you show up and argue forcefully for your opinion on that issue. Maybe you get a little passionate. Maybe even indignant, landing a zinger at the expense of your opponents.

Or, like some people, maybe you attend every city council meeting and do this. Whichever.

The point is that, in the moment, it feels good. It feels satisfying. But then you watch the council vote the other way. They shoot down your side of the argument by a comfortable majority. You lose.

What happened here?

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Achieving Socialism vs. Being a Socialist

April 8, 2024 /

In her essay collection Dirtbag, Amber A’Lee Frost usefully distinguishes between achieving socialism and being a socialist. I find this quite useful. In fact, Frost helps me get at some of my own issues with frustration on activist movements.

As Frost puts it, she does activism because she wants “socialism, and socialism for me is simply a chore that needs to be done.” She wishes it were “already done.” As she puts it, the goal of activism “isn’t to ‘be a socialist’ (whatever that means). The goal is to change the world so that we can live under socialism.”

I have to admit the notion resonates with me. Lately, I feel more than a little discouraged about certain issues in the world, like the Israel-Gaza war. On those issues, I see little I could do to achieve positive results. But I can easily ‘be a socialist’ by demonstrating my disapproval of the Israeli invasion. It just takes a few social media posts.

And, furthermore, much of the activism I see on the issue achieves the latter more than the former.

That said, I don’t resonate fully with Frost’s line on this. In fact, I think we can find joy in the process of achieving socialism. It’s not just a chore. We can come together and create fun and culture as a supplement to our activism.

But it feels like a chore at times. And worrying too much about ‘being a socialist’ takes our eye off the prize.

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