Labor and the Solidarity Economic perspective
Stephen Lerner is a creative strategist and organizer for the Labor movement. He wrote an important piece in the New Labor Forum just before the Occupy Movement took off, A New Insurgency Can Only Arise Outside the Progressive and Labor Establishment . He followed this up with an interview with Sara Jaffe on Truthout. Anyone committed or even interested in the Solidarity Economic movement in the US would gain a lot from reading them.
Lerner gives us two things in this article and the interview following it:
- an excellent and realistic vision on how labor can partner with Occupy and social justice advocates in building a broad-based movement,
- an understanding of the reality constraints on Labor in such a project, how it has to re-think its traditional strategies, and
- how those of us outside Labor need to tailor our expectations to the context Labor has to work from.
However he misses a big, big piece: there isn’t going to be any kind of substantial change unless we reweave politics with economics. Like so many on the Left Lerner thinks within this Progressive frame which Gar Alperovitz aptly summarized:
At the center of the traditional progressive theory is the hope that the political and economic power of the large corporation can be contained economically and politically through political mobilization, aided, abetted and bolstered by the organizational and financial power of labor unions.” [1]
Since the late 19th century the core strategy of the '1%' was to drum a major narrative into the American culture: economics is a thing unto itself and politics should stay in its own corral. The hegemonic focus of the Left throughout the 20th century has been on political mobilization for jobs,rights, and justice, hardly ever on changing the given economic system from the ground up.
This 20th century strategy has failed. That is why we can now talk about there being a ‘99%’ and that can resonate with many, many people. We need to move out of the traditional Progressive framework. We now have to challenge our imaginations with the kinds of questions Maria Armoudian and Gar have raised but Lerner has not:
- What would happen if the so-called 99 percent ignored the 1 percent and began to build a new economic model from the ground floor up?
- What if masses of people stopped trying to reform an increasingly unworkable system and instead focused on constructing an economy of shared institutions that were fundamentally fair, just, respectful and sustainable? [2]
The Solidarity Economic perspective is very clear regarding these questions: We have to change the game, not simply the rules of the game.
[1] From his Introduction to the 2nd edition of America Beyond Capitalism
[2] See her Truthout review of Gar’s book.
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Comments
Thoughts
Occupy is reactive and learning. If it is a movement, it will continue to evolve and refine its focus. If it is only a demonstration from which other movements are spawned, they will carry out the evolution and refinements. We can only hope that people, in general, are beginning to understand the challenges our Autocratic and Financialized society pose for the 99%.
Organized Labor, the creation of organizations to further Labor's cause(s) were an outgrowth of the Populist and Socialist movements of the early twentieth century. They were rooted in philosophic and economic views quite different than those held by the 99% today. Back then, there was a pervasive belief that Socialism (Marxism) showed a path forward from the Gilded Age and the control of Financially powerful special interests. Such opinions, today, are demonized by a National Politics of Corporatism. Without the pervasive acceptance or Socialist theory, it is challenging to see how Organized Labor is anything but a marginalized special interest group in its own right.
This is not to say that their aims aren't righteous. They are. This is to say that public opinion except among the most radically progressive elements of society is anti-socialist and therefore biased against Labor which can likely not shed that historical association. Thus, Labor joining Occupy* or Labor supporting cooperation is like MoveOn.org or the Democratic Party supporting Occupy* or stridently supporting cooperation. It triggers strong radicalizing social memory and powerful responses from some who should, in fact, support both of those movements.
Labor, like MoveOn.org, supports worthy causes partly for "the right" reasons and partly to be seen as being "on the side of the angels" for public opinion and influence. Where constructive contributions are made we should be thankful. Where publicity is the objective we should be critical. Occupy* and the cooperative (Solidarity/Democratic Economy) movements continue to evolve and need to be careful not to become encumbered with the baggage of the movement leaders (successful or failures in their times) of the past. More to the point, where legacy organizing cadres share organizing principles and teach the mechanics of opinion formation, they are providing a huge service. Where they try to impart some or all of their value-sets and platforms (baggage) they are inflitrators and agents provateurs
We see a growing recognition of the unfortunate political and economic arrangement.. As that recognition reaches ever more conservative and timid members of society, we need to offer them sound, democratic, fair, transparent, and powerful ways to express and act on their concerns. Certainly, the Solidarity or Democratic Economy offers them the most direct and constructive alternative to Corporate Monopolism (Cartelism) and a potential return societies, politics, and economies that actually support them as opposed to entrenched special interests.
Just my two shekels.