Back In My Day, All the Kids Were Revolutionaries!

[KoKo]

by: Chris Bowers
Mon Sep 28, 2009 at 16:37
In an article where I agree with nearly everything he writes, Les Leopold becomes the latest progressive to ask "what's wrong with all the non-revolutionary kids these days?" From the article:

One major difference between the Great Depression and the Great Recession is the death of a visionary progressive movement. Yes, the Republicans and the media like to call liberal Democrats "Left," but that just means they are slightly more moderate than Attila the Hun.

Many in the 1930s believed that capitalism needed a major overhaul.

It is pretty remarkable how many progressives lament that the current incarnation of progressivism is just do damned un-progressive and ineffectual compared to the grand progressive movements of the past. After all:

* Longing for the good ol' days of progressivism is kind of, well, conservative.
* Past incarnations of progressivism did not achieve any victories in terms of civil or economic rights beyond what we did today. Social spending as a percentage of GDP has not receded. While real income has not increased much at all for the bottom 90% of the country, it hasn't receded, either. In terms of civil rights, acceptance, and improved socioeconomic status for women, ethnic minorities, and the LGBT populations, there have been demonstrable gains.

While it is fair to say that over the last thirty years progressives have not kicked the can down the road relatively as far as our predecessors, the can has still been kicked further down the road in absolute terms. All of which makes the longing for progressive movements of the past, ala the 1930's or 1960s, a little strange coming from other progressives. In absolute terms, it isn't like those movement did any better than our own.

The exact causes for the relative inelasticity in social policy are difficult to explain. I am sure, as a few comemnters here suggest, it has something to do with bloggers like me and email organizations like MoveOn not demanding single-payer 24/7. Still, while I am sure that my incompetence has something to do with it, at best I am probably a minor factor. For one thing, it is hard to imagine that the stagnation of public spending as a percentage of GDP throughout all of the original (that is, pre-1975) OECD countries since as far back 1982 is somehow caused by a lack of properly articulated policy visions by current progressive organizations. Frankly, I also doubt that it is connected to a lack of strategy or organization, either. Something deeper is at play in the political stagnation of the world's wealthy democracies. While I don't know what it is, or exactly how to change it, I doubt that being cranky about how the kids these days aren't revolutionary like they were back in the '30s or '60s is going to change it much.

http://www.openleft.com/

[flamingdem]

1. Just curious why you think youth may have lost the drive

to transform things..

[sasquatch]

2. That's because of corporate held media and also I'd like to point out

that most activism takes place on the internet.

[Demeter]

3. It's Coming, Never Fear

the only alternative is death.