[PEN-L:1957] Re: Something completely different

[dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx (Doug Henwood)]

This is getting very depressing. First we're told that the French strikers
are a bunch of racist, nuclear-armed greedheads; now we're told that
they're corrupt and "over-reaching." That's not the way I read it at all. I
see unions making very broad political demands - against austerity, against
what Daniel Singer calls "the American nightmare" being proposed for the
EU. Since I'm usually the pessimist on most issues, it feels odd to be
taking this position, but the French strikes are good news. Maybe not
perfect, but Jesus, gang, it's been a pretty awful decade, hasn't it?

The public mood in many places around the world is markedly different -
more radical in both actuality and potential - than it was even 2 years
ago. Shouldn't progressive economists, and progressive intellectuals in
general, be celebrating this turn, and figuring out ways to use our
expertise and influence (such as they are) to sharpen the forces already on
the move and help nudge those on the sidelines into action, rather than
obsessing about their shortcomings?

PEN-Lers in the New York area can hear Daniel Singer's report on the strike
on my radio show tonight (Thursday) at 5 PM on WBAI, 99.5 FM. Singer says
that these strikes may be a major political divide, marking the end of the
dominance of neoliberalism characteristic of the last 15 years. Maybe he's
wrong, but I sure hope he's not.

Doug

--

Doug Henwood
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