Base and Superstructure

Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

Category: Activism (Page 19 of 31)

These are posts on activism from the blog Base and Superstructure. This takes many forms. The focus here is on political activism, above all on activist organizing and base-building. One concern is how to build effective movements. There’s also a need to create solidarity with fellow members and build coalitions with other groups. The main aim of good movements is to work together to advance material interests. This section also includes critiques of electoral work, and discussion of how and when to use elections to advance activist goals. Navigating the balance between grassroots work and electoral work is difficult for everyone.

great resignation striketober

The Great Resignation and Striketober

November 8, 2021 /

From time to time, I sort employees into three categories: those who suffer from angst, those who suffer from ennui, and those who suffer from neither. As readers might expect, I’m suspicious of that latter group. But this time, I’ll do something a bit different with the topic. I’ll say a bit about how all this relates to the ‘Great Resignation.’

For anyone living under a rock, lots of people quit their jobs this year. More than any other year on record! Are they bored? Did a collective brush with mortality last year push them to make a change? Or are workers simply getting tired of low wages and inadequate benefits?

So, what’s going on with the workforce? What spurred the Great Resignation? And does Striketober represent a reaction to the forces of the Great Resignation?

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A Socialist Stance on Reparations?

November 1, 2021 /

reparations

Lots of leftists – and people within racial justice spaces – discuss reparations. I’ve had some thoughts on it for awhile. And I revisited a solid article in Jacobin by Brian Jones. It’s called “The Socialist Case for Reparations.”

Jones gets one big thing right. He points out that as socialists we don’t need to adopt an either/or approach to issues of race and class. We don’t need to argue for either a broad social democratic vision that excludes race or a vision for reparations that caters to the black professional classes, ignores the role race plays in capitalism, and precludes a multiracial working–class coalition.

I’ll say a few things here about what I consider the best socialist case for reparations. In doing so, I’ll mostly leave open what, exactly, ‘reparations’ means. In the end, I think that adds up to the best socialist stance on the topic.

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Sacred Texts Marx

The Sacred Texts!

October 28, 2021 /

This is going to be a pretty light Thursday, everyone. Perhaps in recognition of Halloween? Anyway, the left has a complicated relationship with its ‘sacred texts.’ Marx for just about all of us. But also people like Lenin or Mao for some. Or even more recent figures like Angela Davis for others.

Some leftists want to throw the sacred texts out, while others want to revere them. I don’t find either approach especially helpful. So, read the sacred texts. Don’t ignore them. Don’t revere them, either. Learn, apply, and criticize them.

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About That October 15 Fake Strike

October 11, 2021 /

fake strike general strike picard

I’m sure some readers know about the planned ‘general strike’ on October 15. Or is it a fake strike? At least, many know that a group claims it’s planning one. Is it really planning one? Maybe. Probably not. Will there be a general strike on October 15?

No.

And that’s my topic for today. In fact, the October 15 event looks like a fake strike. I want to talk for a bit about the ‘fake strike‘: why it keeps happening, what it means, and what it says about the left.

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slacktivists

Social Media and Slacktivists

October 7, 2021 /

It’s an older term, but it checks out. ‘Slacktivists.’ Those of us who used the Internet in the 1990s know it as a term for the kids who signed online petitions and then…did nothing. That’s it. They didn’t follow up or take part in any other political actions.

And then along came social media. Maybe slacktivists still sign online petitions. I can’t tell. At least we know they went all-in on the Facebook likes and shares.

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