Doug Henwood asked, >Old language: "The boss is screwing you. Organize and fight back." >New language: "The metanarratives are all broken. Liberate yourself through >freeplay in the deliciously slippery world of discourse!" > >This is progress? The old language is clear. In light of the tragic -- and real -- historical experience of exchanging old bosses for new bosses, it's also not credible. In a society where class divisions are obscured by an overwhelming degree of stratification, its clarity may even be deceptive. Does the Korean immigrant, part-time clerk in the corner grocery really have more in common with the $100,000 a year, native-born unionized petroleum industry technician than she does with the grocery store's Korean immigrant owner -- her "boss"? The slipperiness of discourse is not always delicious. To risk overusing a word, it may well be tragic. In this sense, there is no doubt a greater affinity between Marx's analysis and Doug's parody of the new language than there is with the "old language". Regards, Tom Walker, [EMAIL PROTECTED], (604) 669-3286 The TimeWork Web: http://mindlink.net/knowware/worksite.htm
