One reason the discourse around class has become so muddled is the language around divisions within classes. If we simply use the Marxian distinction concerning ownership of the means of production things appear pretty straightforward. But reality in the 21st century doesn't conform to the simple formula. Instead we have such categorical disparities as "white, blue and pink collars" which (supposedly) denote the level of mental versus physical labor a worker performs. One might as well judge the callouses on peoples hands.
At some level we are supposed to then correlate these "collars" with upper, middle, lower and working class as objective distinctions, in this case generally based on income. So if these distinctions aren't murky enough, consider a woman wearing a blue collared shirt doing manufacturing, but she runs a complex piece of machinery and has a college degree. Now layer on the fact she owns several rental properties (as well as her own home) and owns stock in the firm she works for. Hardly a classic member of the proletariat, right?
Marxian dogma would have us believe that members of this "working class" would literally starve without the ability to sell their wage labor and that this source of their exploitation, their sheer desperation, is also the force that unites them in class belonging ( a "class-for itself") and eventually struggle. How does the terminology of "rank and file worker" sound to a young member of the gig economy who considers himself an associate, a team member highly valued ( both in status and monetary compensation) for his creativity and drive? At the level of subjectivity, this new worker can fully identify culturally with those in any any income bracket, can purchase luxury items and live well, even if on credit. It was Laclau and Mouffe's belief that
" the fullness of class identities of classical Marxism has to be replaced by hegemonic identities constituted through non-dialectical mediations.”
None of this is to suggest that class as a category has disappeared. But the issue of "fullness" is real and has to be considered. Jacobin Magazine tries to make the divide simple by equating capitalists with "the boss" but this is its own obfuscation. It ignores the hegemonic dimension of ideology and identificationor subject formation. When it comes to our social movements, so often focused on "centering the working class" in the leadership, it is going to be difficult to not look at shirt collars or pay stubs or cultural markers. Especially true in the climate movement, a persons level of exploitation or oppression may be less relevant to their level of engagement than other, less material factors.
A worker can have inherited wealth, can collect rent, and can own capital which she invests as well as collecting a wage. We can elide this truth by inventing new categories ie "professional- managerial class", "ruling class", "contradictory class" and we can call people traitors or "cultural lieutenants of the capitalist class" but the contradictions won't disappear.
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Friday, March 22, 2019
Critically Support the Green New Deal
This was written by BC scholar Brad Hornick:
Brad Hornick
For many decades, scientists have warned that the window for the kind of widespread economic, political, and policy reforms required to avert ecological catastrophe is rapidly closing. Warnings from the scientific community concerning the threat of ecological collapse are universally built around the concepts of “thresholds” and “tipping points” which explicitly refer to threats to the physical preconditions that permit life in the entire biosphere.
These warnings posit a window of opportunity that if not responded to in a dramatic and urgent manner, will be surpassed. The stakes mark a divide between the remaining potential for the exercise of purposeful human action versus the extinguishment of that potential, after which an adequate collective response to ecological crisis becomes perfectly irrelevant as more extreme changes to the climate system become self-generating, locked-in, and irreversible.
So far, authoritative scientific evidence has done nothing to move the world away from a “business-as-usual” socio-economic model that is inherently destructive. “Faster-than-expected” impacts from global warming such as extreme heat and cold, drought, floods, fire, etc. have been met with promises of technological innovation and narrow policy instruments disciplined by neo-liberal capitalism – rather than more profound political engagement and proactive emergency planning.
Today’s political and moral calculus could not be more clear. We can either “give-in” to the ruling class that guarantees a world firmly on course for imminent, intractable and catastrophic ecological and social crisis, or we can begin to recognize our predicament, mobilize, constructively critique, support, and protect the vision for an unprecedented collective response commensurable to the threat.
The challenge is an immense one. Emergency response to a crisis means there is no longer any time for gradual, incremental or “non-disruptive” reductions in emissions. Meeting the obligations that many scientists now say are critical, getting to “net zero carbon” virtually instantaneously, requires more than an immediate shut-down the planet’s fossil fuel industries.
It also implies a radical retrenchment or collapse of the dominant industries and infrastructure based upon fossil fuel production, including automobiles, aircraft, shipping, petrochemical, synthetic fabrics, construction, agribusiness, industrial agriculture, packaging, plastic production (disposables economy), and the war industries.
Such massive structural changes in our industrial base will only be productively managed if society develops the resiliency and flexibility to withstand the challenges of social transformation. Most importantly, this requires an active participation of organized labor and environmentalists to ensure all people continue to have work, food, shelter and other basic needs met.
Political organizing around the Green New Deal represents a potential breakthrough for many – a recognition of the magnitude and urgency of the social and political changes that are required for civilizational survival. Inevitably, this call to action will require popular mobilization to compensate for the power of intransigent vested corporate and political interests.
The GND stakes new ground and proposes new battle-lines for the climate justice movement to authentically challenge the priorities of capitalism over people and the planet. It will be denounced as “radical,” “idealistic,” and even “socialist” by those intent on ratcheting-up the ideological battle. Supporters and constructive critics of the GND should prepare themselves to unapologetically lead the charge.
Brad Hornick
For many decades, scientists have warned that the window for the kind of widespread economic, political, and policy reforms required to avert ecological catastrophe is rapidly closing. Warnings from the scientific community concerning the threat of ecological collapse are universally built around the concepts of “thresholds” and “tipping points” which explicitly refer to threats to the physical preconditions that permit life in the entire biosphere.
These warnings posit a window of opportunity that if not responded to in a dramatic and urgent manner, will be surpassed. The stakes mark a divide between the remaining potential for the exercise of purposeful human action versus the extinguishment of that potential, after which an adequate collective response to ecological crisis becomes perfectly irrelevant as more extreme changes to the climate system become self-generating, locked-in, and irreversible.
So far, authoritative scientific evidence has done nothing to move the world away from a “business-as-usual” socio-economic model that is inherently destructive. “Faster-than-expected” impacts from global warming such as extreme heat and cold, drought, floods, fire, etc. have been met with promises of technological innovation and narrow policy instruments disciplined by neo-liberal capitalism – rather than more profound political engagement and proactive emergency planning.
Today’s political and moral calculus could not be more clear. We can either “give-in” to the ruling class that guarantees a world firmly on course for imminent, intractable and catastrophic ecological and social crisis, or we can begin to recognize our predicament, mobilize, constructively critique, support, and protect the vision for an unprecedented collective response commensurable to the threat.
The challenge is an immense one. Emergency response to a crisis means there is no longer any time for gradual, incremental or “non-disruptive” reductions in emissions. Meeting the obligations that many scientists now say are critical, getting to “net zero carbon” virtually instantaneously, requires more than an immediate shut-down the planet’s fossil fuel industries.
It also implies a radical retrenchment or collapse of the dominant industries and infrastructure based upon fossil fuel production, including automobiles, aircraft, shipping, petrochemical, synthetic fabrics, construction, agribusiness, industrial agriculture, packaging, plastic production (disposables economy), and the war industries.
Such massive structural changes in our industrial base will only be productively managed if society develops the resiliency and flexibility to withstand the challenges of social transformation. Most importantly, this requires an active participation of organized labor and environmentalists to ensure all people continue to have work, food, shelter and other basic needs met.
Political organizing around the Green New Deal represents a potential breakthrough for many – a recognition of the magnitude and urgency of the social and political changes that are required for civilizational survival. Inevitably, this call to action will require popular mobilization to compensate for the power of intransigent vested corporate and political interests.
The GND stakes new ground and proposes new battle-lines for the climate justice movement to authentically challenge the priorities of capitalism over people and the planet. It will be denounced as “radical,” “idealistic,” and even “socialist” by those intent on ratcheting-up the ideological battle. Supporters and constructive critics of the GND should prepare themselves to unapologetically lead the charge.
Sunday, March 10, 2019
Taboo and Discipline
Nancy Pelosi says Ilhan Omar "may not have had a full awareness" of what her words about AIPAC might signify. In other words, she broke a taboo and had to be disciplined, personally, made an example of. But the "awareness" had to be reiterated to the whole society as well; we do not broach the subject of Zionism. In any form. There are ways you can speak of Israel but if you even infer Zionism you will be condemned for antisemitism. The gatekeepers have enormous influence, not just monetary (which is considerable), but culturally, thanks to a perpetual identity of horrifically wronged victim. The reparations demanded for the historical wrong is silence about their State and the ways that State is maintained.
This reiteration occurs every few years. Some person will mention Palestine, or the nature of a Jewish State, and they will be made an example of by the AIPAC crew, dozens of pro-Israel groups which include Christians or atheists who just want "support" from the lobby. Or someone like Larry Summers will pipe in as he did as Pres. of Harvard in 2005:
"Serious and thoughtful people are advocating and taking actions that are anti-Semitic in effect if not their intent." This was over folks calling for divestment. Judith Butler destroyed his argument in her great essay The Charge of Anti-Semitism: Jews, Israel and the Risks of Public Critique.
All this is old news, a thing we all know but most Americans disavow. The paradox is that the trope itself- associating Jews with money and influence, or with dual loyalty- is maintained by Zionists to be used specifically in these instances. They are the ones who weaponize it, as much as real anti-semites, and therefore perpetuate it.
Think of the way Trump goes on and on about Europe not paying their way for security. Try saying that about Israel.What if you said somebody famous loved both America and Mexico, the country where they were born. Would you have a powerful lobby come down on you demanding an apology for exploiting a dual loyalty "trope"?
Here is what Netanyahu, quoted in today's NYTImes: "Israel is a Jewish state" where Arabs have rights. Like the Pakistan is a Muslim state. Where everyone is equal but some are more equal than others.
This reiteration occurs every few years. Some person will mention Palestine, or the nature of a Jewish State, and they will be made an example of by the AIPAC crew, dozens of pro-Israel groups which include Christians or atheists who just want "support" from the lobby. Or someone like Larry Summers will pipe in as he did as Pres. of Harvard in 2005:
"Serious and thoughtful people are advocating and taking actions that are anti-Semitic in effect if not their intent." This was over folks calling for divestment. Judith Butler destroyed his argument in her great essay The Charge of Anti-Semitism: Jews, Israel and the Risks of Public Critique.
All this is old news, a thing we all know but most Americans disavow. The paradox is that the trope itself- associating Jews with money and influence, or with dual loyalty- is maintained by Zionists to be used specifically in these instances. They are the ones who weaponize it, as much as real anti-semites, and therefore perpetuate it.
Think of the way Trump goes on and on about Europe not paying their way for security. Try saying that about Israel.What if you said somebody famous loved both America and Mexico, the country where they were born. Would you have a powerful lobby come down on you demanding an apology for exploiting a dual loyalty "trope"?
Here is what Netanyahu, quoted in today's NYTImes: "Israel is a Jewish state" where Arabs have rights. Like the Pakistan is a Muslim state. Where everyone is equal but some are more equal than others.
Friday, March 8, 2019
Creeping Exposure
Capitalism is a herd beast, easily stampeded because everybody is following everybody else. And if it looks like they are headed to the exits, look out. Right now there are lots of sideways glances by those industries who have exposure to climate related risk. Many coal investors have pulled the plug in the last six months but of course those with a higher risk threshold see that as a window to extract even greater profit.
If you read the Business Press right now (the Economist, Forbes,Fortune, etc) you will see articles about new climate risk assessment companies starting up. They offer high-priced consulting on "preparedness" and when to make a move. Of course, nobody wants to incur the "first-mover disadvantage" in a market but neither do you want to be left holding the bag (stranded assets) when poop hits fan. Think especially of the insurance business and those biggies who insure the insurers.
Of course, government is getting equally nervous so they are setting up such instruments as the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority (Europe) and a Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosure, supposedly to protect shareholders and private investors. Since no one wants to hear the truth (that the whole system is racing towards a precipice) they instead engage in abstract "Climate Stress Tests for the Financial System" and other esoteric exercises to gauge liability and "exposure". Then there are the big credit rating agencies, the Moodys and S&P Global Ratings and such that give grades to countries
If you read the Business Press right now (the Economist, Forbes,Fortune, etc) you will see articles about new climate risk assessment companies starting up. They offer high-priced consulting on "preparedness" and when to make a move. Of course, nobody wants to incur the "first-mover disadvantage" in a market but neither do you want to be left holding the bag (stranded assets) when poop hits fan. Think especially of the insurance business and those biggies who insure the insurers.
Of course, government is getting equally nervous so they are setting up such instruments as the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority (Europe) and a Taskforce on Climate Related Financial Disclosure, supposedly to protect shareholders and private investors. Since no one wants to hear the truth (that the whole system is racing towards a precipice) they instead engage in abstract "Climate Stress Tests for the Financial System" and other esoteric exercises to gauge liability and "exposure". Then there are the big credit rating agencies, the Moodys and S&P Global Ratings and such that give grades to countries
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