I have an older blog called lefter warmer where I haven't been posting much, but I've been inspired by the primary season to start working out my ideas on the significance of the Sanders campaign and assorted left reactions to it that I've seen around the internet. Based on some of the abrupt switches in tone I've seen among even some very staunch electoral skeptics, I think it might be worth considering if it's time to start partyin' like it's 1905, or maybe like it's 2011.
It sounds a little crazy to turn back the wheel to 1905, but what the New Yorker called "nostalgia" for 2012, might be the return of the political "moment" that began in 2011. Remember that? The enthusiasm for Sanders, which I see as a direct outgrowth of Occupy and to some extent Black Lives Matter, might be something that could lead into the growth of a general left revival on a scale beyond supporting an individual candidate, and which could take the role of effectively pushing whoever is elected in November to make policy that we believe in (not just the president, but congress, and lawmakers at local and state levels) rather than just checking the box by their name, hoping for the best, and then becoming their cheerleaders no matter what.
Part of pushing effectively is knowing some history and some theory, and all that, so here's a primary season list of book recommendations.
If this is something like a 1905 moment, regardless of what conclusions you draw from it, it's a good idea to read and discuss Lenin's What is to Be Done? both as a historical document, and as a political analysis.
Another landmark political document that people might want to consider reading is The Port Huron Statement which was the founding document of the Students for a Democratic Society in 1962. I saw an effort to revive SDS about 11 years ago, and I don't necessarily think that's the way to go, but reading this document might be helpful in thinking about the kind of visionary writing that a student or youth movement can do.
My own favorite US movement model is the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the radical Southern student movement against Jim Crow that began with the lunch-counter sit-in in Greensboro, NC. One collection that I have not read myself, but which looks good is Hands on the Freedom Plow, a group of essays by women from SNCC about their organizing experiences.
Not a book, but a great movie about SNCC, is Freedom on My Mind which I used to show every year in my U.S. history survey.
On the more academic side of things, check out Robin D.G. Kelley's Freedom Dreams, in which you will find a compelling and fairly detailed argument for reparations. If you don't have time for the whole book, there is an excerpt with that position laid out here.
If you are thinking, "wait, hasn't everyone who supports Sanders agreed that reparations is a Black nationalist demand that won't help the rest of the working-class?" not so fast. Some of us think that racial justice remains central to progress for the entire working class, and that reparations is a demand with long historical roots. On that note, check out David Roediger's most recent book, Seizing Freedom, which is inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois' argument about the General strike of the slaves following the Civil War from Black Reconstruction. .
For reading relevant to thinking about our two biggest youth social movements of recent years, I suggest these two books:
If you want to know more about Black Lives Matter, Christina Heatherton and Jordan Camp's edited collection Policing the Planet brings together a bunch of writing about the police from scholars and activists who have been involved in movements in Ferguson, Baltimore and elsewhere.
If you want to know more about Occupy Wall St., N+1's collection Occupy! Scenes from Occupied America is a collection of writing that emerged during the Wall St. Occupation. N+1 also produced the Occupy Gazette while it was happening, and provide a good "on the ground" perspective.
Going back to the more recent past of electoral politics and the present day fix we're in there, here are some reaches back to a couple of relevant election challenges:
Sheila Collins, The Rainbow Challenge. This book is about Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow coalition of the 1980s, to which a few people are beginning to compare the present-day Sanders campaign. I read it in college when I was taking a class with Mike Honey (also the author of a number of good books) and found it pretty inspiring at the time.
Another comparison that people are making to the Sanders campaign now is the McGovern vs. Nixon match up of 1972. Joe Lowndes, whose book I recommend as a way to understand the contemporary Republican party more generally, has a chapter about that election in his book, From the New Deal to the New Right. I'm going to read Bruce Miroff's The Liberals' Moment about that campaign, as it seems to provide a different analysis than the one I am most familiar with, which is "You can't support a real liberal or left candidate because the outcome will be the same as with McGovern in 1972." On that election, see also the data on voter turnout at this link.
It is also still relevant to read anything by Frances Fox Piven when you're thinking about what goes into Democratic movement building. her book, Poor People's Movements is a classic with great insights that we should keep in the front of our minds when engaging in any electoral campaign. She also has given one of the best answers to the question of Why Americans Still Don't Vote that can get you way beyond tsk-tsking your more apathetic friends and acquaintances.
Researching the opposition is also important. Matt Taibbi's Griftopia which brings together his writing on the relationship between Wall St. banks, the 2008 crash, and our elected representatives is still required reading. We are still living in the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2008. Another useful couple of books for understanding the electoral right and its own grass-roots origins, along with Joe Lowndes' book noted above, are Lisa McGirr's Suburban Warriors and Kevin Kruse's White Flight.
If you are thinking from voting from fear of the Republican party in particular: I do not always agree with Doug Henwood, whose arguments about "identity politics" earn my ire, but his book on Hillary Clinton, My Turn is one that anyone considering supporting Hillary Clinton should read. Henwood has been attacked for it, needless to say, but the book is inexpensive, and not too long. Throw it in the mix. Also forthcoming is an edited collection of writing by socialist feminists who oppose Clinton, Liza Featherstone's, False Choices: The Faux Feminism of Hillary Clinton.
Here's one feminist who's got this to say to the opposition. When I saw Lucinda Williams in Atlanta, she dedicated this song to the Sanders campaign as a response to the senator's fear-mongering, lying opponents.
It sounds a little crazy to turn back the wheel to 1905, but what the New Yorker called "nostalgia" for 2012, might be the return of the political "moment" that began in 2011. Remember that? The enthusiasm for Sanders, which I see as a direct outgrowth of Occupy and to some extent Black Lives Matter, might be something that could lead into the growth of a general left revival on a scale beyond supporting an individual candidate, and which could take the role of effectively pushing whoever is elected in November to make policy that we believe in (not just the president, but congress, and lawmakers at local and state levels) rather than just checking the box by their name, hoping for the best, and then becoming their cheerleaders no matter what.
Part of pushing effectively is knowing some history and some theory, and all that, so here's a primary season list of book recommendations.
If this is something like a 1905 moment, regardless of what conclusions you draw from it, it's a good idea to read and discuss Lenin's What is to Be Done? both as a historical document, and as a political analysis.
Another landmark political document that people might want to consider reading is The Port Huron Statement which was the founding document of the Students for a Democratic Society in 1962. I saw an effort to revive SDS about 11 years ago, and I don't necessarily think that's the way to go, but reading this document might be helpful in thinking about the kind of visionary writing that a student or youth movement can do.
My own favorite US movement model is the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the radical Southern student movement against Jim Crow that began with the lunch-counter sit-in in Greensboro, NC. One collection that I have not read myself, but which looks good is Hands on the Freedom Plow, a group of essays by women from SNCC about their organizing experiences.
Not a book, but a great movie about SNCC, is Freedom on My Mind which I used to show every year in my U.S. history survey.
On the more academic side of things, check out Robin D.G. Kelley's Freedom Dreams, in which you will find a compelling and fairly detailed argument for reparations. If you don't have time for the whole book, there is an excerpt with that position laid out here.
If you are thinking, "wait, hasn't everyone who supports Sanders agreed that reparations is a Black nationalist demand that won't help the rest of the working-class?" not so fast. Some of us think that racial justice remains central to progress for the entire working class, and that reparations is a demand with long historical roots. On that note, check out David Roediger's most recent book, Seizing Freedom, which is inspired by W.E.B. Du Bois' argument about the General strike of the slaves following the Civil War from Black Reconstruction. .
For reading relevant to thinking about our two biggest youth social movements of recent years, I suggest these two books:
If you want to know more about Black Lives Matter, Christina Heatherton and Jordan Camp's edited collection Policing the Planet brings together a bunch of writing about the police from scholars and activists who have been involved in movements in Ferguson, Baltimore and elsewhere.
If you want to know more about Occupy Wall St., N+1's collection Occupy! Scenes from Occupied America is a collection of writing that emerged during the Wall St. Occupation. N+1 also produced the Occupy Gazette while it was happening, and provide a good "on the ground" perspective.
Going back to the more recent past of electoral politics and the present day fix we're in there, here are some reaches back to a couple of relevant election challenges:
Sheila Collins, The Rainbow Challenge. This book is about Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow coalition of the 1980s, to which a few people are beginning to compare the present-day Sanders campaign. I read it in college when I was taking a class with Mike Honey (also the author of a number of good books) and found it pretty inspiring at the time.
Another comparison that people are making to the Sanders campaign now is the McGovern vs. Nixon match up of 1972. Joe Lowndes, whose book I recommend as a way to understand the contemporary Republican party more generally, has a chapter about that election in his book, From the New Deal to the New Right. I'm going to read Bruce Miroff's The Liberals' Moment about that campaign, as it seems to provide a different analysis than the one I am most familiar with, which is "You can't support a real liberal or left candidate because the outcome will be the same as with McGovern in 1972." On that election, see also the data on voter turnout at this link.
It is also still relevant to read anything by Frances Fox Piven when you're thinking about what goes into Democratic movement building. her book, Poor People's Movements is a classic with great insights that we should keep in the front of our minds when engaging in any electoral campaign. She also has given one of the best answers to the question of Why Americans Still Don't Vote that can get you way beyond tsk-tsking your more apathetic friends and acquaintances.
Researching the opposition is also important. Matt Taibbi's Griftopia which brings together his writing on the relationship between Wall St. banks, the 2008 crash, and our elected representatives is still required reading. We are still living in the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2008. Another useful couple of books for understanding the electoral right and its own grass-roots origins, along with Joe Lowndes' book noted above, are Lisa McGirr's Suburban Warriors and Kevin Kruse's White Flight.
If you are thinking from voting from fear of the Republican party in particular: I do not always agree with Doug Henwood, whose arguments about "identity politics" earn my ire, but his book on Hillary Clinton, My Turn is one that anyone considering supporting Hillary Clinton should read. Henwood has been attacked for it, needless to say, but the book is inexpensive, and not too long. Throw it in the mix. Also forthcoming is an edited collection of writing by socialist feminists who oppose Clinton, Liza Featherstone's, False Choices: The Faux Feminism of Hillary Clinton.
Here's one feminist who's got this to say to the opposition. When I saw Lucinda Williams in Atlanta, she dedicated this song to the Sanders campaign as a response to the senator's fear-mongering, lying opponents.
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