Thoughts on production, alienation, and ideology
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.
I’m sure many readers know I live in Iowa City. And I’m sure many people in Iowa City know landlords here run a swindle each August and September. OK, so landlords run at least a few swindles. But I’m talking about the Great Annual Security Deposit Theft.
It’s a source of much wailing and gnashing of teeth among tenants in this college town. Anger over it stood out as a key reason for our local chapter of Democratic Socialists of America to start a tenants union.
After Bernie Sanders lost to Joe Biden, think pieces rolled off the assembly line. Whence did the Bernie Bros come, and where shall they go hence? Is there a movement bigger than Bernie?
In fact, that’s not quite true. The think pieces didn’t roll off the assembly line. COVID-19 washed most of them from the headlines along with everything else. And so, the U.S. press largely spared us from endless speculation on the future of the Bernie Sanders movement. But COVID also held us back. Leftists should think about this a bit. Where does the Bernie movement go from here? Even this question might assume too much. Is there still a Bernie movement? Or did it die in the couple of weeks after Super Tuesday?
Most electoral campaigns fall apart quickly. I’ve written about some of them: Cathy Glasson in Iowa and Elizabeth Warren nationally. That’s how most campaigns end. Remember the ‘Pete Buttigieg Movement’? Of course you don’t. Neither do I.
Is ‘Sandersism’ any different?
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) takes more criticism than almost any group on the U.S. left. People likewise criticize those who join the DSA.
They criticize the DSA for good and bad reasons. It’s had several prominent sexual harassment and assault scandals, including coverups from Los Angeles to Lawrence. Progress against harassment remains uneven, but the DSA did pass a new policy and grievance process. Misogyny remains an issue. Others criticize the DSA for its lack of diversity. My impression is that the DSA doesn’t have enough black members and members without a college degree. But it fares much better among Asian, Latinx, LGBTQ, and non-binary people. I also suspect the DSA has very few middle income people – for better or for worse. It seems to draw its members from extremes – low income, precariat workers and wealthier people.
I’m afraid criticism of the DSA quickly goes downhill from there. Plenty of Twitter-based leftists hate the group. They’re likely worried they might have to organize rather than grandstand if they join the DSA. It simply doesn’t fit their vision of ‘politics by voguing.’ Others find the DSA at odds with their brand of leftist politics. And the DSA is also enmeshed within a broader dispute over the role of identity politics and identitarianism. These remain difficult issues, and sometimes DSA people shove their foot in their mouth on it.
But back to the main topic: why you should join the DSA. Most of you should. Not all of you. Some of you can’t get past its problems. And that’s fine. But for most of you, the benefits greatly outweigh the problems.
In On Writing Well – his classic guide to writing nonfiction – William Zinsser quoted Abraham Lincoln on politics and morality. In his Second Inaugural Address, Lincoln said:
It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their break from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we not be judged.
Zinsser approved of the quote. I suppose I can’t argue with Zinsser. He didn’t just write the book on writing, he also wrote the book on spring training.
But quotes like this make people nervous. Especially activists who center their politics on issues of identity. Many think that to separate politics from morality is to excuse the worst behavior. Their political dial holds no setting between moral politics and libertarian permissiveness, moral relativism, or apologism.
Robert Boyers – Skidmore College academic and veteran professor – wrote The Tyranny of Virtue to collect his thoughts on social justice movements among college students. I can imagine many of you rolling your eyes. Your worry is clear enough. Is Boyers just an old white man who can’t change with the times, comfortable at his privileged liberal arts college and reluctant to embrace the change that’s reached even his ivory tower?
Maybe.
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