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Originally posted by M. Spector:
[QB]It's very hard to have a discussion when people keep shifting their ground.I find it bizarre that people who acknowledge the need for revolutionary action to save the world don't think it should be mentioned in an election campaign by Canada's major party of the left.
By people I'm going it assume you mean more then ItsmeD. I didn't say anything along those lines.
Here's a question. Have you been working with the NDP to get this expressed. To change it in this direction. If so, how is that work going?
I think it wouldn't be wonderful if they would talk about it. Wish they would. Don't see it happening though at least not this election, it's to late for that.
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Instead of an explanation, I got lectures about the limits of electoralism, as if there were some obvious alternative at this point in time (i.e., on the one hand you have the federal electoral process, and on the other you have....um, nothing, really).
No not lectures, just some attempts at explanation. That you don't see some of the alternatives given as anything important doesn't mean they are nothing.
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So it seems to me that talking about the obvious limitations of electoral politics ("the system is rigged", "can't play by old rules", "the solution will not be achieved by voting", etc.) is being used as an excuse for complete political inaction. That's what I mean by "shunning" electoral politics.It's nothing to do with "priorities" because the higher priority is what? Organizing community food cooperatives and barter exchange systems is an admirable endeavour, but it is not making the revolution either. It's not even political action in any kind of sense that builds mass support for social change.
Really? You're really sure about that? First off on a purely base level, working at ensuring people actually have food to eat and will continue having good access to food IS a priority. Our food system is in trouble with some of the things that are potentially coming down the line eating and getting reasonably priced food to people is going to be important. We have to start seriously looking at it now and set the foundations to deal with what is likely coming. The change in this realm does not happen over night. You can't just wake up one day and go, 'oh damn, food' let's change.
The way that we eat and how it's produced, the base systems, are political. It's also something that can get to the masses because everyone eats. It's one thing that all people have in common. When people start really looking into what they eat and where it comes from, it's probably one of the most politicizing issues that I've ever come across. Start by talking about a tomato and you can take people almost anywhere in the political realm that you want to go. Want to talk on a meta level about imperialism, capitalism or widespread ecological issues with people that in most other cases would never even broach the subject or see the connection to their daily lives? Start with the beans and bananas from south America they buy in the store. I've been working at consciousness raising in many different mileus for almost twenty years now and I wish I figured out the food connection a heck of lot sooner.
Take a look at the growing awareness about 'local' food. Is it at the mass level yet? No, but it sure is growing like crazy, both in urban mileus and rural ones. In my area the demand actually outweighs the supply right now. The farmers market pretty much sell out each week and in talking to the people that actually grow the produce they say that they don't actually have enough in the ground to meet the desire.
Food cooperatives may be a simplistic term because it's about much more then that. It's not only about organizing a space for the food to come to but about working at supporting a more localized economy, the establishment of new smaller scale growers, working with established farmers in creative ways, dealing with general food and health policies and bylaws at the municipal level on up to the Federal, establishing systems to get good healthy food to people at lower income levels, teaching people the skills to grow their own food, dealing with local environmental issues, ecological building and production, establishing community seed banks, establishing community currencies and exchange systems, dealing with transportation issues, community cooking and foodsaving programs, the best being where seniors who have these old skills teach younger people and on and on. Through all of this 'politics' is at it's core and it does change how people operate and think about their most basic of daily lives.
I can see how all of this awareness is building part of a base for a jump when the crunch comes.
Is it the whole solution? No of course not, but changing how we eat, produce and supply our food is going to be part of the social change needed. It's one of our most basic necessities of life.