"We have to build that independent left. It has to be so strong and so radical and so militant and so powerful that it becomes irresistible."
Who better to say such a thing than Naomi Klein, Nation columnist, author of The Shock Doctrine and No Logo, and longtime rabblerouser? Naomi makes a special visit to the GRITtv studio to talk about the recent G20 meetings in her hometown of Toronto, about Obama's recent return to a kind of populism, the looming midterm elections in the U.S., her reporting on the BP disaster in the Gulf, and what we can do to channel the growing rage in this country and in the world into a true progressive movement.
[...] Source: GRITtv [...]
By Naomi Klein: Building a Real Left | Amauta on September 14th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
I am a big admirer of Naomi Klein’s work. I certainly agree with her perspective that the center in this country is incapable of fighting the upsurge of the right, as much as I agree with so much of her analysis of the use of crises to consolidate economic and political power. I differ with her statement that “there is no real left” in the United States. There certainly exists, and was in evidence in the form of 20,000 people – the vast majority of them part of broader organizations of people – at the second United States Social Forum that took place in Detroit at the end of June. And people are not starting to organize themselves now. Rather, the USSF was just another step in a rather deliberate, though very decentralized, process that began back in the early 1980s. Naomi would be right to learn the history of this development. The fact that much of this “new left” in fact does work in synergy with the Democratic Party at certain moments should not be confused with any sense of permanent identification with the Democrats. Rather, it is a reflection of present day political realities in the U.S. Naomi in fact seems confused by this very point, when she suggests that “politicians” would listen to a “real left.” To which politicians could she possibly be referring? Republicans? There is obviously room for much more thought here.
For better or worse – and often times the former – many who consider themselves “leftists” in the U.S. have absolutely no knowledge of the development of grassroots left organizations during the past 30 years. Most of these were developed and have been led by people of color, with an increasing infusion of women and LGBT leaders – a fact that may have guaranteed that white progressives, including even doctrinaire marxists, would never know about it simply because they themselves are too racist to acknowledge such a thing. In the worst of cases from the 1970s onwards, many white progressives gave up entirely on poor people in the U.S. and looked towards the global south for political activity that better fit their criteria. They thus came to support global south movements and progressive governments, rather than recognizing and responding to the impacts of the very neoliberal policy of which Naomi writes so passionately. “Solidarity” work was often painted as some kind of noble act, when in fact it amounted to another form of racist paternalism that made it possible yet again for white progressives to ignore what was taking place here, and to completely avoid dealing with their own contradictions that prevented them from working with this most directly affected inside the U.S. It is ironic indeed that this was even more the case with regard to white progressive attitudes towards white working class people, although that dichotomy is historic, a story in its own right worthy of greater scrutiny.
By Louis Head on September 14th, 2010 at 8:42 pm
[...] this is vast transfer from ‘the thieves‘ to ‘the victim. ‘How We Can Build a Movement So Radical, So Militant, So [...]
By The most vulnerable people have to pay, because there is no independent left anymore · Tessonome on September 15th, 2010 at 12:51 pm
[...] leave a comment » Building a Real Left [...]
By Naomi Klein- Building a Real Left « Andrewbryan79's Blog on September 16th, 2010 at 1:19 am
Great interview. I completely agree with Naomi stating that there is no “real left” in this country yet. Look at the most popular online outlet Daily Kos – it blatantly is just an extension of the Democratic Party and has a bunch of people who blindly worship Obama. We need more people like Naomi, Glenn Greenwald, Jane Hamsher, etc. who can stand up and fight for progressive ideals independent of both political parties that have failed the everyday citizen.
By Seth Cohen on September 17th, 2010 at 4:11 pm
[...] Klein’s Irresistible Left Posted: 09/17/2010 by adampdx in Uncategorized 0 Naomi Klein’s vision for progressives, “We have to build that independent left. It has to be so strong and so [...]
By Naomi Klein’s Irresistible Left « Real Left on September 17th, 2010 at 7:06 pm
The Corporatist Leadership of the Democratic Party
doesn’t give a damn about the working poor and
the disenfranchised except at election time.
Otherwise we would have had a WPA program along with
a stimulus program for high paying union and government
jobs. Yes, the Dems need their union funding, but
why not include a WPA for the non-union, under-educated
working-poor unemployed?? Why not have a Guest Worker
Program to solve the unlawful immigration problem??
We need a Populist Left movement.
Unfortunately, most of the Democratic Elitists
don’t have much regard for the Populist Left
at the bottom of the barrel.
So we need some intellectuals like Simone Weil
to take on the Democratic Establishment, and
lead a Tea Party Revolution for the Left.
By elkojohn on September 19th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
[...] Video: Naomi Klein: Building a Real Left http://www.grittv.org/2010/09/14/naomi-klein-building-a-real-left/ Cars: a time of transformations http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article1912 Trade [...]
By #349: Thurs: Cuban ambassador, Jane Kelsey & Keith Locke speak on “Cuban 5″ « GPJA's Blog on September 27th, 2010 at 6:05 pm