dagblog - Comments for "What Does It Take To Have A Revolution?"

Danny, I had a nice note in

Oxy Mora — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 16:26:20 +0000

In reply to What Does It Take To Have A Revolution?

Danny, I had a nice note in my rural mailbox, an invitation to a coffee, picture of a lady, kind of a neighbor. She's running for a board member of the county utilities commission and I immediately thought of your blog. Who is this woman, she might be a future Palin.

So I would like to emphasize the point you made. It's one thing to be an activist in a campaign but it's involvement in the community on an ongoing basis that is where the work needs to be done---and this is an arena in which the right wing has eaten our lunch.

One of the big reasons

PeraclesPlease — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 11:15:30 +0000

In reply to "You say you want a

One of the big reasons America grows more jobs is access to startup capital - venture capitalists willing take risks and easy access to loans, plus what had been a forgiving bankruptcy environment. Credit to own your own home has also been traditionally easier in the US. Despite the malfeasance in banking and mortgages, the banks remain part of the solution for improving the economy and growing jobs until someone invents a new economics/way the world works. The reason austerity is in general bad is that most people and companies can work more efficiently with a bit more capital, and taking on debt responsibly allows them to function more efficiently, which eventually allows them to either pay off the debt or then take on larger but still appropriate debt.

Our discussions about taxes and higher pay and breaking up financial institutions in the same breath as trade agreements and growing jobs are often in conflict. Seattle's wage hike seems to be having an effect, but as usual, no one can agree on how much. Some interesting points made in this article from a franchise owner though - including # of jobs might stay stable as more people outside the $15/hour ring are willing to commute - even as people inside the city with high housing costs might lose their jobs due to rising costs & failing low-margin businesses (often those that are easier for minorities to access).

Similarly, I find the Trade discussions always want to raise barriers to foreign workers and products (while laughing at Trump's Wall?), with the best criticism contending things got worse for *ALL* parties, yet many of those critics contend that they support helping the 3rd world (which has included China's 1.4 billion in most reckoning (though at $8800/year in 2014, perhaps that definition's a bit old, but 10 years ago it was 1/3 that). And of course China's factories are exceptional compared to the Pacific Rim, which are exceptional to Central Asia and Africa and the Caribbean. If they can't compete and are barred from our markets, will we just cut them a big check, or what do we expect? And does this factor in the Revolution's "success"?

"You say you want a

Flavius — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 09:05:59 +0000

In reply to What Does It Take To Have A Revolution?

"You say you want a revolution".

To bring about what? I guess you mean " to bring about the things that Bernie wants." . But are those things enough? Or in fact are they all actually good things? Breaking up the banks has a nice revolutionary sound but it's not clear to me it would lead to more blue collar jobs Akron..

Haiti was a well chosen illustration. The revolution was certainly justified. But it's been followed by two centuries of appalling living conditions compared to those in ,say, Martinique.

More to the point what do you want to be achieved by a Revolution.

Flavius

Some of the Bernie people

Michael Maiello — Sun, 24 Apr 2016 02:58:16 +0000

In reply to What Does It Take To Have A Revolution?

Some of the Bernie people fell in love with their first politician this cycle. This was their awakening. They will talk about it forever. It's emotional. So I'll forgive the rhetorical excesses as the primary plays out.

But, you're right. Change doesn't really happen after a lightning strike seizure of the White House. To get long term change that really works, it might really be better to elect democratic socialist dog catchers, PTA members and local councilors. Elect a democratic socialist tax assessor or coroner. Seriously. This is how political careers are built. The democratic socialist you put in city council today may never reach higher office, but he may help somebody like-minded do so.

If the problem is the system and the system is big, built from the ground up, and reflects preferences over a long period of time, you can only fix it from the bottom and you have to be patient and perseverant. Before you get to Barack Obama (decades before) you need a whole bunch of people like David Dinkins (who was also misunderstood and poorly appreciated) and before you even get to Dinkins, you need a whole bunch of people who few have heard of. Power doesn't hand itself over. That's why it's power.

It was also written before

Michael Wolraich — Sat, 23 Apr 2016 23:15:00 +0000

In reply to Nice instructive article -

It was also written before Arab Spring, where social media really did play a role in changing the status quo. Danny and Gladwell are correct that social media is not an effective petitionary tool. Likes and retweets are meaningless. But it can be an effective communication tool. In Tunisia, Egypt, and Ukraine, social media proved to be a more efficient version of the political pamphlets that promoted revolutions in the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. The revolution of the future uses social media to promote and organize real world activism. (That some of these revolutions have been short-lived does not contradict the point that social media has helped topple regimes.)

Are Bernie's supporters just "keyboard" activists? Many are perhaps, but many more are out there calling and canvassing and donating, which is what activists do in presidential elections. We're not at "sit-in" stage yet. The real test will come next. Is the Bernie movement just a flash in the pan, or will it inspire long-term dedication? That remains to be seen.

Nice instructive article -

PeraclesPlease — Sat, 23 Apr 2016 19:05:33 +0000

In reply to This is a New Yorker article

Nice instructive article - good it was from before the Bernomenon.

This is a New Yorker article

CVille Dem — Sat, 23 Apr 2016 17:26:27 +0000

In reply to What Does It Take To Have A Revolution?

This is a New Yorker article from 2010 by Malcolm Gladwell, pretty much explaining why the critical element for an actual revolution is missing from social media:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/10/04/small-change-malcolm-gladwell

It's a good read, and augments what you say.

You've just created the

Oxy Mora — Sat, 23 Apr 2016 16:02:31 +0000

In reply to Thanks Oxy! This new breed of

You've just created the definitive statement on this subject.

Wonderful, Danny. It's what

Ramona — Sat, 23 Apr 2016 13:58:38 +0000

In reply to What Does It Take To Have A Revolution?

Wonderful, Danny. It's what we've been trying to say, only you say it infinitely better. Thank you.

Thanks Danny. The Fanon quote

rmrd0000 — Sat, 23 Apr 2016 13:32:47 +0000

In reply to What Does It Take To Have A Revolution?

Thanks Danny. The Fanon quote is a jewel.