[Marxism] The absence of real forces [was: The low point]

[Mark Lause]

As is more frequently the case than not, I think Joaquin and I may have been
getting at the same thing from different directions.

One problem is that, since Ronnie, the statistics are becoming very
scrambled.  In the cities I've lived, a very large portion of the working
class does not have full-time work or, at least, is working "off the books."
I probably see this a lot more since I've been in Cincinnati, because the
neighborhood is so overwhelmingly black.

However, I know this is also a trend among younger whites because I have
students.  In fact, it's not that unusual for some kid waiting tables to
scrimp and save to go to college and, after years of sacrifice and work,
they get their degree and continue to wait tables at the same damned place.
This sort of thing was pretty unusual in our day.  I don't think this is as
much something about youth and a youth culture as a response to the economic
realities.

Almost all of the prosperity reported, touted and celebrated seems to me due
to just what Joaquin fingers: the advertising and public relations industry.


Solidarity!
Mark L.