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It's about respect, and the problem is that there is virtually no respect among the people who are shaping the Democratic message for the idea that blue collar work is not some kind of badge of dishonor.

Its all good and well to say that you are for the working man (and there's a considerable body of evidence that suggests that Obama is an even bigger sham on this than McCain) but when you refuse to include a place for their lives and lifestyle in your plans for the future, they aren't going to vote for you.

And Obama has been seriously fucking milquetoast when it comes to addressing the possibility that the problem with the American economy isn't that working people are retards who didn't get a degree, but the victims of an economic system that fundamentally doesn't believe in shared prosperity.

And I'll give my consent to any government that does not deny a man a living wage-Billy Bragg

by ManfromMiddletown (manfrommiddletown at lycos dot com) on Sun Oct 19th, 2008 at 04:09:15 PM EST
[ Parent ]
ManfromMiddletown:
victims of an economic system that fundamentally doesn't believe in shared prosperity

Yes but there is also something else happening.  "The West" has given up on being competitive for manufactured goods in a globalised economy because it cannot compete with Chines wage rates.  Thus, out of economic necessity, there has been a flight (upmarket, or up the economic food chain in the value-laden jargon) from blue collar to white collar jobs - with blue collar workers seen as dead-enders who will never compete with the Chinese.

However, now, Globalisation has moved into a new phase with even white collar clerical, accountancy, administration and many other jobs being outsourced to India etc. - so that, finally, globalisation has become a middle class issue as well - which can lead to a new blue/white collar alliance.

With even capital now fleeing the USA for more profitable havens there is the basis for a broadly based, nationalist alliance against global capital.  However it has a lot of cultural/ethnic/class barriers to overcome before it can be a reality on the ground.  Perhaps that is part of the dynamic which is driving Obama forward.

Vote McCain for war without gain

by Frank Schnittger (mail Frankschnittger at hot male dotty communists) on Sun Oct 19th, 2008 at 04:24:25 PM EST
[ Parent ]
... if the challenges of the formation of the coalition is taken seriously.


I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
by BruceMcF (agila61 at netscape dot net) on Sun Oct 19th, 2008 at 06:02:04 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Frank Schnittger:
The West" has given up on being competitive for manufactured goods

I think it would be more accurate to say that the West has given up on being competitive for manufactured consumer goods. For high-end industrial goods, whether machine tools, printing systems or commercial aircraft, the world still buys from the West (as seen in Germany's status year after year as the world's largest net exporting nation (as well as the largest exporter in absolute terms in some years).

The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman

by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Mon Oct 20th, 2008 at 02:44:19 PM EST
[ Parent ]
LEGO is either entirely or mostly produced in the West, so is playmobil.
You can wear Trigema cloths and Italian shoes, and of course a mostly local nutrition is available.

Yes, consumer electronic is not so much produced anymore in the west, but there are exceptions like AMD processors.
Especially the high quality consumer goods have often a major Western produced component.

Der Amerikaner ist die Orchidee unter den Menschen
Volker Pispers

by Martin (weiser.mensch(at)googlemail.com) on Mon Oct 20th, 2008 at 03:37:07 PM EST
[ Parent ]
Indeed.

My experience with manufacturing has always been more investment than consumer goods, so that tends to skew my perspective.

The fact is that what we're experiencing right now is a top-down disaster. -Paul Krugman

by dvx (dvx.clt ät gmail dotcom) on Mon Oct 20th, 2008 at 03:45:12 PM EST
[ Parent ]

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