Re: [Marxism] Some things to think about from Stan Goff's latest

[Bob Hopson <bobhpsn@xxxxxxxxx>]

> In particular, I'm increasingly dubious of all the
> "Money for ____, not for
> war"-type slogans. We've got to begin telling people
> the truth, and the
> truth is the imperialist countries' lifestyle is NOT
> SUSTAINABLE. It CANNOT
> be a model for the rest of the world -- there simply
> isn't enough oil -- but
> more importantly, it cannot be sustained except by
> cheating and robbing the
> rest of the world, something that can only be
> maintain by force and
> violence. 
> 
> An end to imperialist aggressions abroad means quite
> simply an end to
> imperialist privilege at home.
> 

I think this is an important point, and I sometimes
wonder if it shouldn't be a point of departure for
another favorite theme of Joaquim's, the pathetic
disconnected state of the U.S. left.

As more and more Americans become saddled with debt to
continue the consumer lifestyle, or become overworked 
to buy all the stuff we don't really need, it seems
that there are some small-scale efforts to break out
of this cycle, such as the Bay Area "the compact",
where people pledge to buy nothing new for a year
(except food, of course).  See:
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/02/the_compact_bay.php

Given the near impossibility of the U.S. left to unite
due to ideological differences or even something as
straightforward as an anti-war protest, I wonder if an
anti-consumer, anti-debt, pro-sustainability practice
of living could serve as a kernel of unity for those
who oppose capitalism and as an example for those who
are less politically sophisticated.

I understand Engel's arguments against the utopian
communities of the 19th century, but I wonder whether
the insanity of runaway consumption represented by
contemporary American life doesn't make a reassessment
of utopianism worth considering.


       
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