tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202360842882817878.post2760302204264478697..comments2023-11-02T08:41:28.061-07:00Comments on Dissenting Leftist: Why I Am Not a DemocratQuantum Tubahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00409114140434029863noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202360842882817878.post-66264128838655982362011-01-04T22:43:57.973-08:002011-01-04T22:43:57.973-08:00Thank you very much for your thoughtful comment an...Thank you very much for your thoughtful comment and the insightful link.<br /><br />I understand the appeal of working through the Democratic Party, and there are even some Democratic congresscritters I would work to support(Feingold and Kucinich come to mind), but after watching Democratic administrations advance the wrong positions on the issues I care most about (Civil liberties and war), I have decided that advocacy on specific issues is a far more effective use of resources than most electoral work can ever be. My opinions are more fully fleshed out in this post: http://dissentingleftist.blogspot.com/2010/07/dangerous-deification-of-voting.htmlQuantum Tubahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00409114140434029863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2202360842882817878.post-87943045287742758422011-01-02T21:30:58.731-08:002011-01-02T21:30:58.731-08:00Have you heard of Bernie Sanders? He is a U.S. Sen...Have you heard of Bernie Sanders? He is a U.S. Senator from Vermont, a Democrat - and, he is the first person elected to the U.S. Senate to identify as a socialist. The Democratic Socialists of America have an interesting article about this that you might (but, of course, don't have to agree with!) :]<br /><br />Here is a link to it: http://www.dsausa.org/pdf/TheoryPractice.pdf<br /><br />And a good, pertinent excerpt:<br /><br />"... Gramsci believed that the dominance of capitalist modes of thought could be countered by a conscious, “counter hegemonic,” leftist cultural presence throughout civil society. The left would have to organize not only in the formal political arena, but also in the workplace, the neighborhood, the church, and the PTA. Though those who hold electoral state power set Rosa Luxemburg, socialist leader <br />Antonio Gramsci, theorist of hegemony the boundaries within which political struggle occurs, organizing in civil society (at the grassroots) is critical for the growth of the left. Cultural, educational, and ideological work is as “political” as are elections. In order to affect state power and to change the balance of forces in civil society, democratic socialists believe it is necessary to work both in electoral politics and in community and trade union organizing. <br /><br />In light of the peculiar structure of the American political system (the absence of proportional representation; the absence of coalition governments because of an executive rather than parliamentary system; open party membership and open primaries; single district, winner-take-all electoral districts), most progressive forces, when doing electoral work, pragmatically choose to work in the left wing of the Democratic Party. Hence, electoral class conflict runs through the Democratic Party, not around it."Dexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11789518319932340646noreply@blogger.com