Duncan Cameron writes that, historically, the working class has driven social change. But that trend has been reversed:
Today while the world faces growing inequalities, environmental destruction, and rapid climate change, members of the working class, abandoned by their representatives and attacked by governments, have joined the right-wing populist insurrection in alarming numbers.
Without the working class where are the agents of progressive social change? In his latest work, French economist Thomas Piketty points out that support for parties of the left now comes from the more educated strata of society.
How to organize and mobilize the highly educated seems less than obvious.
Within the context of corporate control over the political process, the women's movement has been the most powerful social force operating outside the mainstream, and could be expected to be a source of support for an alternative agenda.
The reality is that political parties of the left have to re-invent themselves as anti-capitalist formations. Issues of inequality, environmental degradation and rapid climate can all be traced back to how we produce goods and services and exploit resources.
We have been living with a corporate agenda for a long time now. And the consequences are everywhere. The most obvious consequences have been on the planet itself. Cameron believes that left-wing parties must focus on the future of the planet:
Left political parties have to reinvent themselves. Ideas for change need to be central to what they do. There is no point in waiting for an election to campaign on the issues that matter to people. Large numbers of engaged members are needed if left parties are to become agents of change.
A message of hope -- we can organize ourselves differently -- needs widespread attention from the public.
Food for thought.
Image: The American Prospect
