Wojtek Sokolowski wrote, >I agree, however, I also think college trained professionals can do more >than just exposing superficial class peace and providing "leadership." The >latter sound suspciously like the traditional aspirations of the middle >class. We can do much more than that: provide logistics how to organize >and recruit supports, how to sabotage the ruling elite's effort to dominate >the public sphere, how to stirr popular dissatisfaction with the status >quo, etc. > >It is also my understanding that sociologists are uniquely qualified for >writing such a manual. This can be a collective work of this discussion >group, something positive coming from the net (instead of endless >schmoozing). Any comments or suggestions? Am I the only de-institutionalized intellectual who is actually doing this kind of work full time (not "anarchist" per se, but the general idea) and not being paid for it? It's amazing to me that I talk regularly to progressive minded executive directors of community organizations, tenured professor and what not who are sympathetic (or sometimes not) to the work I'm doing and are more than happy to supply me with advice on where I can submit proposals for project funding to finance the work I'm doing. Some of these people are pulling in $70-80,000 and having a hard time making ends meet, covering the mortgage on their gulf island cabin and getting away to the Caribbean for a couple of weeks in the winter. My suggestion is that progressive minded professionals send me a monthly retainer of, say, $100 or $200 so that I can write the book -- not an academic book but a practical guide for unions -- on "Bargaining for Better Times". (I'll send an outline to anyone who wants to seriously consider becoming a sponsor). Or they could send me, say $1000 or $2000 so I can hire a programmer to convert my contract costing spreadsheet into a stand alone, user friendly program. Or several thousand more for production, promotion and distribution. Or they can send me a roundtrip plane ticket to D.C. so I can give a seminar on Hours of Work to the Economic Policy Institute (I'm sure Max will let me billet at his place for free, as long as I don't eat too much cabbage and beans). Preferably the ticket will be routed so I can stop off in Toronto and zip up to Ottawa to pester a CLCer, NDPer or two. Sometimes I get the impression that leftistes are more wedded than anyone to institutionalized financial support for political/educational work -- as if a board, a bureaucracy, and a charitable tax number (in other words, legitimization in the eyes of the state) were the sine qua non of effectiveness. Yeah, sure, buddy. Send me a proposal, a feasibility study, a marketing plan and we'll see if we can find a funder. Oh yeah, and it would help you have some assets you could put up for collateral. If Christ were alive today, the Christians would crucify him. If Marx were alive today, the marxists would give him advice on what agency to apply to for a project grant to write Das Kapital. Regards, Tom Walker ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Know Ware Communications Vancouver, B.C., CANADA [EMAIL PROTECTED] (604) 688-8296 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ The TimeWork Web: http://www.vcn.bc.ca/timework/
