me: > why is affirmative action a "scam"? Shane Mage wrote: > because. as intended, it makes even a small measure of equality a gift from > the bosses and their government rather than something to be struggled for.
Even though something is a "gift from the bosses" -- rather than something that is won via struggle -- doesn't mean that it's a "scam." Sometimes, for example, competition between the bosses gives workers the "gift" of higher wages even when there's no active working-class struggle. And many women and ethnic minorities _were_ struggling for something a lot like affirmative action -- and what they got in practice wasn't a "scam" as much as a _compromise_. We should also remember that not only did some capitalist types like Nixon promote AA but there are also a bunch of other capitalist types who oppose it. Its not like the bosses form a unified bloc on this question. Anyway, if done right (e.g., without rigid quotas) AA can not only break down inefficiencies within capitalist management systems (e.g., by preventing the "old (white) boys' network" from dominating decision-making, promoting their cronies, etc.) but can also abolish divisions within the working class based on gender or ethnicity, especially in the long run. The "old white boys' network" includes some (relatively elite) workers, who have allied with the capitalists in return for a few privileges. Preventing this kind of thing can undermine alliances with the bosses. Of course, capitalists don't want AA to have the latter effect, while workers should push for the most progressive kinds of AA. But not all AA is the same and it's a mistake to make blanket assertions that _all_ of it represents a "scam." -- Jim Devine / If you're going to support the lesser of two evils, at the very least you should know the nature of that evil. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
