[Marxism] The US workingclass etc.

["DHE" <cuibono@xxxxxxxx>]

Looking through some old journals the other day, (on a quest for Marxist 
analyses of Zionism) I came across something I think might interest Melvin and 
other discussants: an article entitled "The Labor Aristocracy: The Material 
Basis for Opportunism in the Labor Movement". Published in three issues (#11, 
July/Aug, & #12, Sept/Oct, of 1982, & # 13/14 (dbl issue),March/April '83) of 
"Line of March", then the "theoretical journal" of the now-defunct Frontline 
trend, the parts are entitled:

I. The Theory of the Labor Aristocracy; 
II. The US Labor Movement Since WWII;
III. The Polemic Within the Communist Movement

Of course this is long out of print & not likely to be available commercially, 
except maybe from a "rare publications" outfit, of which there are a number 
online. I'd check the periodical indexes; I'm sure some Bay Area & probably 
some NYC libraries will have this somewhere.

Or you might want to check with Max Elbaum, who wrote a good deal of it. He's 
now a senior editor of War Times, an indy publication out of the Bay Area 
(www.war-times.org).

Of course I had many differences with Irwin Silber & the Frontline folks; even 
made one honchito-manque so mad he tried to set me up for a trashing session;) 
Silber was a brilliant guy in many ways, but had trouble handling the present 
indicative ("what 'is' is"), hence kept conflating things. Kept mistaking Baron 
Ulanov's brilliant tactical improvisations for Eternal Laws of the Universe.

But I always found Elbaum's work solid; I still do, regardless of my 
differences with WT managing ed Bob Wing over U4P&J's continued inclusion of 
Rabbi Lerner et al on their Endorser List.

An interesting exercise would be to compare this Frontline approach with that 
of Eric Olin Wright, (after first getting a handle on Poulantzas, a 
prerequisite for grasping EOW). Which could provide the basis for an update, 
taking into account recent developments such as changes in the demographic 
profiles of union memberships, "Globalization the Highest Stage of 
Imperialism", technological "advances", post-911 conditions, etc.  

Here's a short excerpt chosen at random, from approx. the middle of the 50 
pp-plus Part II, on p.97, (quoting):

"B. Profile of the Labor Aristocracy

    Who exactly makes up the expanded US labor aristocracy of the last 3 
decades?
    All too often, communist attempts to to answer this question have focussed 
on occupational categories such as craft workers or skilled workers or  union 
official, thus giving rise to a determinist view of politics which sees an 
automatic connection between certain trades and opportunism.
    Such a sociological approach misses the essential political point. The 
labor aristocracy is an objective social grouping whose existence is called to 
our attention by by the opportunist politics which it supports. It becomes more 
precisely identified by the correspondence of its opportunist politics to its 
condition of relative privilege vis-a-vis the rest of the working class, a 
condition it enjoys as the main benificiary of monopoly bribery. That condition 
of privilege produces a sectoral interest of the labor aristocracy which is 
distinct from the rest of the working class, and which is expressed in its 
defense of and concern for the reformist concessions it can obtain for itself." 
(end quote)

Dan E
Sactomato


---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.701 / Virus Database: 458 - Release Date: 6/7/04
_______________________________________________
Marxism mailing list
Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxism