I don't have a ton to say about Freddie DeBoer's essay on the absence of a true left wing in American political discourse and, more specifically, the liberal blogosphere. If I were to diagnose the problem, I'd point to the general absence of a true left wing in American politics -- even at its height, the American socialist movement had no more than a few million supporters -- and the corrosive effects of racial division on class solidarity.
That is, left-wing politics were deeply harmed by the racial caste system, which fostered white supremacist views among whites, isolated blacks with violence and economic isolation, and blocked (or stunted) the possibilities for interracial organizing. Which is all to say that if the left were a stronger force in American politics, I think you'd see a place for left-wing voices in the political conversation.
That said, I want to highlight a particular point from DeBoer, found in the comments, that speaks to something I've been thinking about recently. Here it is:
I understand, and in many ways respect, a certain line of progressive neoliberal thought: adopt neoliberal policy, watch the economy grow, then redistribute some of that wealth through social programs to the workers whose living conditions have been lowered by globalization. I think there's a lot to like there, but I have a major objection: what I want ultimately is not higher standard of living for the working class but for the working class to have the power to ensure their own standard of living. [...]
...if the right of workers to organize and strike is protected, the workers can defend their own interests, free of paternalism and without the shadow of democratic whim hanging over their standard of living.
I'll co-sign on this. Paternalism might work, but there is a lot to be said for dignity and self-reliance. It's simply true that the decline of labor has left workers unable to assert themselves for their well-being. Even if benevolent social programs can work to lift the material condition of workers, there is a lot to be said for giving workers the power to fight and bargain for their own good, without placing them at the mercy of employers or the political process. I happen to think that this is an implicit part of the liberal platform (or at least most of it), but it can't hurt to give more lip service to the idea.
-- Jamelle Bouie
