From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: Today's Quote...
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: daemon@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: ?
Date: Sat, 9 Jan 1993 09:35:15 GMT


"...Politics is thus seen as an extraordinary, and finite, activity
(rather than an ongoing process of participation extending throughout
a lifetime), detached from "normal life" except by the most
de-politicized form of civic responsibility or participation. This
everyday perception, now held by the overwhelming majority in this
society across all racial, class, gender, ethnic or other social
cleavages, represents a great triumph of right-wing ideology.

"Democracy is not possible unless and until the mass of people engage
in the process of attempting to rule themselves, a process which is
inherently political. Indeed, it is as a part of this process that
politics becomes a part of "normal life."

"A second book whose implications deserve fuller thought as to how to
develop democracy is Juliet Schor's _The Overworked American_ [partly
a deliberate program by Business, Schor argues according to a review I
have online -- harelb@math.cornell.edu]. One of the key problems with
furthering citizen involvement in the management of local factories,
or even in sustaining a local union, is the extensive amount of time
that is needed for these activities. As Schor indicates, that time is
being increasingly taken up by work. The implication for those of us
who want an expanded civil society are only briefly adverted to, but
obviously are deeply troubling. At the initial level, there is less
time available for political activities.  In addition, all of us know
that political activity involves a certain tedium of meetings and what
may be described as activist scut work.  The lack of time puts too
great a premium on efficiency and tends inexorably toward autocratic
and hierarchical practices.

"There is no obvious solution to the problems of a depoliticized
culture  and over-pressured work life. These critical problems must be
acknowledged in attempting to develop a more progressive social
agenda."

[...]

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From _HELP Campaign in New Jersey_ (Hazard Elimination Local
Participation) by David Tykulsker(*) in Z magazine, December 1992
issue. Write for a sample issue for $3 at the address below; please
mention you heard of them online ("UseNet",
"misc.activism.progressive" or whatever).

(*)SUBHEADINGS: The Failure of Regulation; The Right to Know As
Background (ending in "...Hence was born a determination to do
something with the Right to Know, what we came to call a `Right to
Act'"); Conceptualizing Community Participation ; Conceptualizing
Worker Participation; Reality and Defeat; and Problems of Organizing
for Democracy (side-bar "Preemption" on GATT-NAFTA))

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"Z is an independent, progressive monthly magazine of critical thinking 
on political, cultural, social, and economic life in the United 
States.  It sees the racial, sexual, class, and political dimensions 
of personal life as fundamental to understanding and improving 
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attain a better future."
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