Re: unions vs. the class struggle

[zodiac@xxxxxxxxxxxx (zodiac)]

Just a follow-up comment on one of Neil's comments. Neil writes:

>marxists dont bellow that its just the individual bosses that make capitalism
>exploitative and anti-human  in  the present epoch. Its the institutions of
>capitalism and groups that work  to politically/industrially uphold  capitalist
>social relations that prop up the system. Changing republicans with
democrats is
>the bosses struggle not ours! Changing capitalist owners is the bosses fight,.
>not ours. Changing whether the "left' or the right leaders in the unions
police
>us  and help the
>bosses keep ramming it to us, fore and aft, is  not a struggle we should take
>sides in either.

Neil's last line says it all: "Changing whether the 'left' or the right
leaders in the unions police us and help the bosses keep ramming it to us,
fore and aft, is not a struggle we should take sides in either."

Strip away all the convoluted revolutionary rhetoric from what is really
being said here and you are left with: "Abandon the unions! They are
institutions of capitalism!" -- which translates quickly into "Smash the
unions!"

Let's see... who else have I heard mouthing these exact words... hmmm, I
know I just recently heard someone say it... Was it someone on the Labor
list? No... Or the Marxism list... No... Oh yes, I remember, it was Mike
Harris, the premier of Ontario, the Tory born-again-class-warfare leader of
the capitalist troops who has promised to "turn the clock back" on labor
relations 200 years (he actually said this).

If you think you are advancing anything by talking about killing the unions,
you might as well save yourself some time and get another hobby. Perhaps fly
fishing. The only adherents you will make to your cause are anti-union
malcontents and lumpenproles (oh ya, with lots of capitalist bankrolling, no
doubt).

Ken.



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