Social progress requires vision

People feel there is no alternative to a world in which these oppressive conditions predominate. They feel that fighting injustices is like fighting aging: it is useless. Even if we make gains they will be quickly wiped out by inevitable pressures reinstituting all the old rot.

And so people feel that our piling up descriptions of the pains induced by capitalism, the pains they most often know already from their own experience, is mere whining…and certainly not constructive. The point is, unless people believe that something better is possible, explaining the harm of capitalism, of racism, of sexism, is to their ears like explaining the pain caused by aging: it is an annoying impediment to getting on with life.

And they tell us so. Get a life, they say to us in the U.S., for example.

Recently a computer broke down in the Z offices, which is where I work, and also where I live. A fellow came to do some repairs, a young white man who owns his own small business. We talked about the bombing of Afghanistan while he worked, and for another couple of hours after.

I argued that the motives of the U.S. response were to delegitimate international law, to maintain our credibility as a thug willing to destroy those who defy us, and to create a war on terrorism to justify redistributing wealth upward to the rich, and draconian repressive measures for the poor, below.

He had no trouble understanding all this, seeing and feeling the horror of bombing a country with everything short of nuclear weapons even at the possible cost of millions of human souls starved to death. But he said, Michael, you need to understand, me and people like me. We don't want to hear this. We don't want you to say this to us. To make us face it over and over.

And I said, "Rather like you wouldn't want me to detail the suffering of an earthquake?"

He said, exactly. It is inevitable. There is nothing I or anyone I know can do to change it. I need to protect my family and improve their lives. What you want from me would waste my time. You are right about the facts, but it is only painful to my ears. I can't affect it. No one can affect it.

For this young computer repairperson and millions upon millions like him, like for the students I was trying to reach thirty years ago, only now much more so, a powerful impediment to becoming politically active is doubt that any better outcomes can be attained or maintained.

To build really large movements we therefore need vision.

We need vision to combat cynicism and doubt

We need vision to combat the idea that there is no alternative

We need vision to provide hope that sustains commitment, even for ourselves.

We need vision that conveys a positive and inspiring approach rather than making us sound like whiners and naysayers to people's ears.

And we need vision to know where we want to go so that our efforts will advance our aspirations rather than leading only in circles, or even worse, leading toward ends we abhor, as has happened often in the past.