Beyond Activistism

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Because activistism tends to embody such values, a theory dedicated to understanding (and changing) deep structures necessarily gets shunted aside. The practical effects are obvious. Without a serious understanding of how capitalism works, it's easy to delude yourself into thinking that moral appeals to the consciences of CEOs and finance ministers will have some effect. You might think that central banks' habit of provoking recessions when the unemployment rate gets too low is a policy based on a mere misunderstanding. Or that imperial war is just bad lifestyle choice.

Unreflective pragmatism is also encouraged by much of the left's dependence on foundations. Everyone wants a grant (including us), but philanthropy's role in shaping activism needs more discussion. Foundations like to reward entities that undertake specific, polite fixes. They don't want anyone to look too closely at the system that's given them buckets of money that less fortunate people are forced to pay for.

Needing that money, nonprofits essentially become businesses that sell press coverage of themselves to foundations. Action -- regardless of its value or real impact -- is the product they trade in return for access to more grants. They thus fall prey to the same hyperpragmatism and short-term thinking that shapes the profit sector.

In fact, nonprofit culture fosters an array of mind-killing practices. Brainstorming on butcher paper and the use of breakout groups are effective methods for generating and collecting ideas and organizing pieces of a larger action. But when these nonprofit tools are used to organize political discussions, nothing really happens.

OUR POINT IS NOT that there should be less activism. The left is nothing without visible, disruptive displays of power. We applaud activism and engage in it ourselves. And we're not arguing for conformist ideologies. The impulse to resist hierarchy and mind control is one of the more appealing and useful facets of the new activism.

What we are calling for is an assault on the stupidity that pervades American culture. This implies a more democratic approach to the life of the mind. We challenge left activists to become intellectuals. Ideas belong in the street, at work, in the home, at the bar, and on the barricades.

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