I hear people on the left make a case for a united front against fascism in one sentence and then exclude some of the very social constituencies that should make up that front in the next. It’s as if they see the necessity of a broader movement in the face of an existential danger, but are still, almost reflexively, hemmed in by politics that were, even in earlier periods, too narrowly cast. Just as it takes a village to raise a child, it will take a coalition of unusual diversity and complexity to save our democracy and the social progress secured through hard struggle over centuries. Breadth of approach, not a radicalism out of sync with the political requirements of our times, should be our strategic hallmark, as we look ahead to next year’s elections. I suspect that it will, much like it was last fall..

I came across a post on Facebook yesterday that self righteously castigated “silly liberals who supposedly rely on the Democratic Party and the Mueller report to extract the country from the Trumpian fix that it is now in. Below is my reply:.

Silly liberals, and especially liberal women, were one of the main backbones of last fall’s election victory. I saw that here, but it was much the same in many cds across the country. I wish the left had made a contribution of that magnitude. What is more we can only hope that liberals, women and men, do much the same next year. Bashing liberals has been a cottage industry on the left since the sixties. While it made little sense then, it is completely wrongheaded now, given what we are up against. In the times in which we live, an accent on modesty and unity would serve us far better than self defeating broadsides.

I get the impression that some think that white workers in Trump’s coalition will bid farewell and come over to our side upon hearing an alternative to Trump’s economic policies. I wish it were that simple.

Sometimes the “cultural wars” over race, gender, sexuality, and patriotism are understood as simply a battle over values, symbols, words, etc. in contrast to the hard reality of economic struggles. Cultural wars, for sure, have that dimension and should be engaged at that level. But as this article reveals how they are fought out and resolved have every bit as much materiality and practical consequence as struggles in the economic arena. Further, economic struggles can’t be separated from “cultural struggles.” Neither form of struggle floats around doing its own thing in some self enclosed space. Instead, they are intertwined as well as mutually constructed. Thus they should be understood and acted on in that way.