I think the following post from the Marxism List
succintly makes Carrol's point concerning the
relationship between economic good times and
resistance to oppression.
Jim F.
------Original Message------
From: John Edmundson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: September 11, 2000 10:17:07 AM GMT
Subject: Re: Barnesites, revolutionary parties etc
Phil F wrote:
> Oppression and misery, which Marv suggests
> the working class in the West has to go through before socialists will
> have a shot, is just as likely to breed apathy and demoralisation as
> to breed militancy.
I was just looking at historical sociologists E Shorter and C Tilly's
"Strikes in France 1830-1968". Their research makes this exact
point:
"in general dislocation and severe deprivation tend to reduce the
propensity of workers to strike - except in the important case
where they touch groups which already have a high degree of
solidarity and internal organisation. Our reasoning is threefold: (1)
dislocation and deprivation fix the attention of workers on survival
from day to day, leaving them little disposed to risky collective
action; (2) dislocation and deprivation reduce the resources
available for any sort of collective action; (3) for a number of
different reasons...dislocation and deprivation generally go along
with an unfavourable bargaining position for workers."
I used to hold to the idea that when things got bad enough, we'd
finally see things start to happen. I'm no longer convinced that that
will be the case.
Cheers,
John E
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