JF

i think in the mid-term one result of this is probably going to be the left abandoning the pretense of speaking for or on behalf of "the working class". that was always coming down the pike but covid has accelerated a great deal of things that would otherwise have been slower.

You're more optimistic than me on that one. I think they can, and in fact need to, keep up that charade indefinitely.

why would they? like majoritarian politics is just completely outdated and also materially opposed to their coalition. black trans lives matter is demonstrably BETTER for the left today than black lives matter! theyre not forced into anti-majoritarianism, theyre embracing it.

we're clearly seeing a shift now where "you should listen to me because i represent a majority of people" is starting to become LESS politically prestigious than just saying "you should listen to me because i represent ten schizophrenic disabled black trans lesbians".

and if this is mode of brokerage politics is what has the ford foundation and the democrats taking you seriously, then thats the form of brokerage politics these people will gravitate towards. they arent going to let sentimentality for "the workers movement" ruin that.

I don't really see how that prevents them from engaging in superficially majoritarian rhetoric. In fact, if they want to be anything more than simply an adjunct for the Ford Foundation, (and they are nothing if not ambitious), they have to find a way to square that circle.

nothing prevents them from doing that. its a free country. im just saying that given the way the winds are changing, there wont actually be any political payoff to pretending to do that, and so they wont have any real incentive to do it.

like i can pretend to represent the international proletariat, or i can pretend to represent people who are allergic to 5g radiation. my choice here is usually going to come down to which playact will actually get me taken seriously. and THAT is shifting right now.