Patrick Bond wrote > your proposed alliance with the religious social justice crew > (or interest-free money or Grameen Banking or the like) has less > appeal than grounding a critique of finance in class conflict. Here I > would start with corporate campaigns (highlighting financial control > of target companies), those 1980s struggles against leveraged buyouts > and termination of pension funds, the (apparently defunct) Financial > Democracy Campaign, continuing anti-redlining and even consumer > finance struggles, and a variety of anti-imperialist activities > (financial sanctions against apartheid, targetting Chase for the > Chiapas memo, and so forth). As a member of the "religious social justice crew", I don't see why that identity precludes engaging in a critique of finance based on class conflict. Chiapas is a good recent example where both come together <particularly in the person of Bishop Samuel Ruiz, who has been targeted by the opposing class in ways that I suspect--and hope--Patrick Bond never has been. Sister Ortiz, who recently won a court judgment against a Guatemalan officer <Gramajo--he's now a presidential candidate>, knows all about class conflict--she has 111 cigarette burns on her back to prove it. The Bible is full of class conflict, and it's pretty clear most of the time which side God is on. Not all Christians are namby-pamby types, you know. BTW, this is my first posting on this list. I am a Scottish Jesuit priest currently engaged in doctoral studies in political philosophy. This summer I hope to complete a book <not my Ph.D thesis> on Catholic social thought and democratic socialism. Roughly, the book will argue that it is high time the Church gave up on the chimera of capitalism with a human face, and opted unequivocally instead for socialism. Fat chance, I know, at the institutional level, but I think it's worth saying, and hope to encourage ongoing grassroots efforts. <In the book, I strongly endorse the model of socialism presented in David Schweickart's superb book, AGAINST CAPITALISM Cambridge University Press, 1993-- have other people read this, and if so, what do they think of it?>. Peter Burns SJ Jesuit Community Loyola Marymount University P. O. Box 45041 Los Angeles, CA 90045 Tel:310-338-3012 Fax:310-338-3002 Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
