Ed Notes Extended

Sunday, November 25, 2018

Mike Davis - "The Lesser Evil - The Left - The Democrats and 1984?

In this essay, first published over 30 years ago, Mike Davis warns us about the pitfalls of electoralism, and the passive clientelism that tends to replace popular politics under the bureaucratic guidance of the Democratic Party. 
I viewed myself as just to the left of the Democratic Party. Just when I thought it safe to get into the weeds of the reform movement in the Democratic Party, Sean Ahern sends me this interesting piece. It hasn't deterred me but it is a warning to go into this with eyes wide open. A long read but it touches on so many issues relevant to today. There is so much meat in this.

Davis deals with the moves of the New Deal Democrats into the New Politics and the neo-liberalization of the Democratic Party -- neo-liberals are fundamentally free-market, including education, and fundamentally anti-union which is why the Democratic Party basically abandoned the unions despite their slavish devotion.

Note also the mention of the Dem Party's work with the Business Rountable, which fired the first shot in 1983 in the coming ed deform wars to undermine public education and teacher unions. For fans of Al Shanker -- he jumped on board this so fast which began our decline.

He also hits at Shanker's Social Democrats USA right wing splitoff of the Socialist Party.

And with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) becoming such a big deal with some newly elected openly declaring themselves DSAs as does Bernie Sanders -- he covers its foundations.

If you are a junkie like me, you won't be hungry after eating all this meat.


https://www.versobooks.com/blogs/4109-the-lesser-evil-the-left-the-democrats-and-1984?utm_source=Master+List&utm_campaign=df13267832-US+Direct+-+Financial+Crisis&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1f96ba5fab-df13267832-410280505&mc_cid=df13267832&mc_eid=64b918a85f


The Lesser Evil? The Left, the Democrats and 1984

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