It is not a comfortable place to be at times, I grant you. But for those who wish to take responsibility for the future of the planet and its human species, it is the only place to be. Our next great challenge is to prove that we can grow organizationally and intellectually. Organizational growth, of course, means the recruitment of individual and group membership. It means financial commitment and stability.
Intellectual growth is perhaps more difficult and more important.
We need to take up the challenge of proving that there are specific paths to the creation of a sustainable economy-one that renews the resources of life in all its complexities, that preserves the planet while growing the economy. These challenges face those of us in the industrial labor movement during a particularly difficult time. And as a result our labor unions are being transformed from institutions of social moderation to schools of social criticism. The difficulty of our circumstances is forcing us to return to the protest movements that we originated from. And while this is exciting to many of our members, it is threatening to many others.