friends, it is hard to see how this discussion of postmodernism could remind anyone of the moscow show trials. try as they might the psotmodernists just do not seem to be able to demonstrate much practical relevance for their ideas. how, for example, will postmodern ideas help rebuild the labor movement? if they can, fine. but it seems silly to respond to doug and others who criticize the pomos by accusing them of stalinism. i read a. callari's discussion of his work with battered women with interest, but i must say i don't see how any person, blessed with some common sense and sympathy plus a radical view of the world, might not have achieved the same results. i've been teaching working people for many years, and of cours, they have many ideas different than mine, and, of course, i try to draw from their everyday experiences to formulate an understanding of the world around us and ways to change it. yet i remain pretty much an orthodox marxist. it's class analysis which i think is most important, and it's surprising how many workers, including people of color, women, and others who are not heterosexual white men, find it useful. in solidarity, michael yates
