Julio Huato wrote:
> So, should lefties avoid working within government institutions or within
> universities or within the administration of universities<
No. You have to live, so you have to work for a living, doing
something you're good at. If you want to change an institution, you
must be aware of the limits (see below).
> -- or should they work in them more effectively, so that they actually change
> those institutions for good and not only are changed by them for ill? If
> people cannot change social institutions, then who can? <
Individuals can't change institutions _unless_ they work in large
groups, in concert or roughly so. The mass movements of the 1960s and
early 1970s changed a lot of the preexisting institutions, pushing
them in the leftward direction. As those movements faded (and as new
right-wing movements grew), the leftist effort became more and more
individualized and thus less effective.
With enough effort, a localized mass movement can have a positive
("progressive") effect. But if it's isolated, its gains will slowly be
eroded. Look at Antioch college, for example.
As an individual, can someone "work in them more effectively, [and]
actually change those institutions for good"? I can imagine some lefty
becoming a university president.[*] That person would have to
immediately face attacks from the trustees (the moneyed people who
actually own the university and its funds), the parents, the alumni (a
major source of funds), the local capitalist media, the state
legislature, and more. The only way to repel them is to use the
position of presidential power to organize and (more importantly)
mobilize the faculty and the students (and maybe some alumni and the
local community).
I never said that universities can never be changed. But the massive
power of capital (compared to that of other vested interests) has
meant that the progressive changes have mostly been on non-class
issues. So our university is becoming more "green." (Hey, it cuts
costs! who needs a tray at the cafeteria, anyway?) A lot of
universities have been good on issues of affirmative action, so the
demographics of the faculty have changed over the years. These
changes, I think, have been largely because of the persistence of
green and feminist and minority-rights movements. It's more a matter
of collective movements than the efforts of isolated individuals. (and
academia thrives on isolation and competition.)
Of course, some efforts have been "sound and fury, but signifying
nothing," like most cult. stud., which seems radical some times but
ends up being standard academics. Or maybe I'm biased on that issue.
[*] BTW, if nominated I shall not run; if elected I shall not serve.
Besides, I'm not a Jesuit.
--
Jim Devine / "Nobody told me there'd be days like these / Strange
days indeed -- most peculiar, mama." -- JL.
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