blah blah capitalism blah blah

Watching ABC's This Week yesterday, I started thinking about whether our fucked up political system is fixable. It seems to me, for example, that most people tend to think of the bourgeois state in general, whatever its size or character, as simply a collection of elected and/or appointed individuals; and that if we want to change the way things are, we can simply change the individuals who compose it. The reality, however, is a bit more complicated than that, in my opinion. The state isn't just a collection of people, it's also the political representation of capital, the social relation, that subsumes the capitalist class and working class alike, and which seeks to help resolve the reoccurring crises of overaccumulation that result from the intrinsic contradictions within the capitalist mode of production itself.

In this capacity, then, the state, even with an overwhelmingly working-class majority, is still the representative of capital, the social relation, and depends on the continued existence of capitalism. As capitalism develops, and both the mass of superfluous (i.e., unproductive) capital and labour increase in conjunction with efficiencies in production, causing the rate of profit to fall and a shrinkage in the absolute mass of profit created, the state, in conjunction with capital, must find ways to overcome this, whether through encouraging debt spending (which itself is somewhat paradoxical in that it essentially provides this 'life-support' by consuming superfluous capital to facilitate expansion in the private sector instead of employing it productively), the opening of new markets, the 'creative destruction' of superfluous capital (mostly through state consumption), or creating ways to increase the mass of profit that via evolutions (i.e., innovations) in the means of production and finance that, in turn, set up the conditions for further overaccumulation and crises.

Changing the players in this game doesn't change the game so much as the moves that are made within it—the object being the continual expansion of capital. So while one individual may favour austerity while another may favour increased state spending, and one may be for gay marriage while another against, they're all still ultimately aiming for the same goal as each is constrained and compelled by certain 'blind' material forces at work, i.e., the underlying contradictions that constantly push capitalism to the point of collapse and thus requiring ever-increasing intervention on the part of the state to prop it up and stimulate the production of surplus value, basically treating the symptoms and not the disease since none of these solutions can permanently prevent things like overaccumulation, the rate of profit to fall, or reductions in the mass of profit. And the longer it takes for us to realize this, the longer it'll take for us to find a better alternative. As @Damn_Jehu argues via Twitter against redistributionism:

The mode of production concentrates wealth in the hands of a few, while redistribution seeks to unconcentrate it. The effort to redistribute wealth only gives rise to forces within the mode of production itself that leads to greater concentration. [...] An increasing mass of workers is rendered superfluous to production, but this is no less true for an increasing mass of capitalists. This really has to be emphasized: BOTH the working class and the capitalist class is rendered superfluous to production due to the development of the productive forces of society. This most emphatically is not a problem simply for the working class alone. Both, therefore, are responding to a real present danger to their existence as classes, when they turn to the state to resolve the crisis. The crisis does not simply threaten the existence of one class or the other, but both, i.e., it threatens the existence of capital itself.

It will not do to conflate capital, the social relation, with the capitalist class. Capital is a social relation subsuming both classes together. The ideal expression of capital, the social relation, is not the capitalist, but the state. Even in a democracy, with a huge overwhelming proletarian majority, the state is still the representative of capital, the social relation. It is not the representative of the workers, even if they consciously treat it as such, as in Social-Democracy. This argument, like the one on redistribution, is counter-intuitive, because it seems as if a working class majority must have an impact. But it does not. The state form cannot express the rule of the working class; it can only become a state capitalist. (31 Jul)

As I've argued before, our productive capacities are such that we no longer have a material necessity for capitalist wage labour or social relations, but the demand for profit creates an political-economic system that consistently depresses our productive capabilities and produces artificial scarcity, limiting the production and consumption of commodities to only that which can realize profit, among other things. We have reached an epoch of material abundance via the technological advancements and innovations of the past, but the old masters, who must increasingly rely on the state (so much so that the two are almost indistinguishable, with the state essentially acting as the national capitalist), are refusing to let go of their death grip on wealth and power, their ownership of the means of production, finance, etc., stalling our transition to a post-capitalist society.

What's worse is that most of us follow suit, fearing that society would drift into chaos and crisis and economic barbarism without them, without capital, wage labour, and profit, when the reality is that we're actually descending into chaos and crisis and economic barbarism because of them, because we refuse to let these relics of a past epoch go, because these things are holding us back and we lack both the imagination and the motivation to conceive of a future without them. We've reached a point where the working class, even with vast reductions in hours of labour and/or employment, consistently produces more than can be productively consumed in the capitalist production process (i.e., in a way that produces surplus value for the capitalist) despite no shortage of need.

And I think this is precisely what Marx meant when he wrote, "The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains. They have a world to win." The world he foresaw is a world of material abundance and social equality, characterized by what he called "a community of freely associated individuals" rather than capitalists and wage-labourers, that no longer revolves around the realization of profit — with production primarily benefiting one class of owners and the state's primary purpose being the continued existence of an antiquated mode of production — but the needs of all. But that world, as @Damn_Jehu so tactfully puts it via Twitter, is only going to be realized once we, as a community of freely associated individuals, regain the capacity to imagine we can organize our own lives:

For 80 years liberals have been saying poverty and unemployment could be fixed by the state. The state has yet to fix either. At what point do we figure this shit out? How long will we continue to believe the myth. The belief that social ills can be fixed by political action is the single most debilitating illusion today -- democracy is the real opiate. The illusion that the state is a neutral instrument that can be wielded by society to address its defects is shockingly naive. It goes against every experience we have with it. We approach the state like black people approach the Constitution, always expecting the words of slaveholders to be made real for slaves.

"How can we eat without a job" = "Who will build the roads" = "If property is abolished who will own everything"[?] We have lost our capacity to imagine we can organize our own lives -- fully grown adults acting like coddled children. There should be no tolerance for this childishness among the working [class]. Grow the fuck up and take [responsibility]. When did your momma die and leave the state to take care of you? Everything the state provides for you it got from you, minus its cut. This infantilism has to end. The nanny state is an abuser and exploiter. The state provides nothing for you. Not a single thing. It takes from you [every day], all the time, without remorse. And then it has the nerve to ask YOU to sacrifice! The sheer gall of the state, of politicians, can only be explained by your own ignorance. (2 Aug)

captain obvious strikes again

I really love how Paul Krugman, a self-described Keynesian, continuously introduces what are essentially Marxist terms and concepts in his op-eds as if they're some novel ideas he's just now come up with or stumbled upon.

For example, in an op-ed from last December, Krugman writes:

So the story has totally shifted; if you want to understand what's happening to income distribution in the 21st century economy, you need to stop talking so much about skills, and start talking much more about profits and who owns the capital. Mea culpa: I myself didn't grasp this until recently. But it's really crucial.

And a couple days ago, in an op-ed about China, he writes:

The story that makes the most sense to me ... rests on an old insight by the economist W. Arthur Lewis, who argued that countries in the early stages of economic development typically have a small modern sector alongside a large traditional sector containing huge amounts of "surplus labor" — underemployed peasants making at best a marginal contribution to overall economic output. The existence of this surplus labor, in turn, has two effects. First, for a while such countries can invest heavily in new factories, construction, and so on without running into diminishing returns, because they can keep drawing in new labor from the countryside. Second, competition from this reserve army of surplus labor keeps wages low even as the economy grows richer.

Seriously, how the hell did this guy get a Nobel Prize in economics? This shit's like Marxism 101. And yet, Marx and Engels rarely get any of the credit for their sizable contributions to both heterodox and mainstream economics alike. Instead, people like Lewis, who relied heavily on Marx for his own ideas about what Marx and Engels called the 'reserve army of labour,' are more prone to getting honourable mentions in Krugman's mainstream regurgitations of ideas put forth over 150 years ago by Marx and Engels than Marx or Engels themselves.

From what I can tell, Keynesianism is essentially Marxism for liberal statists and capitalist apologists who are groping for ways to keep a failing system going.

2013 next wave conference

Attending ‪the third annual Next Wave Conference‬ was a really great experience. I not only had the opportunity to meet and connect with some great people from all over the country, including some fellow socialists within AFSCME (a relatively conservative union historically), I also learned a bit about Detroit labour history that I didn't know, met two of the 1968 striking black Memphis sanitation workers, and hopefully gained some useful ideas about how to get local members more active and engaged in their union and workplace.

I arrived late Thursday night with others from the Portland area, caught a ride from a good friend of mine to the Renaissance Marriott, and met up with some other Next Wavers from Oregon. We all went out, grabbed a bite to eat at PizzaPapolis (I forgot how awesome Chicago-style deep dish pizza is), and then I retired for the night, making sure to get plenty of rest before the start of the conference.

For those of us who got in early enough, Friday began with a labour history tour of Detroit, which focused on several key locations around the city. Our first stop was the Walter P. Reuther Library of Labor & Urban Affairs. Our guide, who works there, gave a brief bio of Reuther, a prominent socialist, labour leader, and the library's namesake, and explained how many labour-related documents and artifacts were stored there, including a complete history of the UAW, a huge collection of Chavez/UFW material, and AFSCME-related documents spanning the union's history. A sample of things were provided for the group to view, much of it AFSCME related, such as early documents, photos, and two signs used by the 1968 striking Memphis sanitation workers.

We also learned more about things like the Ford Hunger March, a demonstration of unemployed workers that ultimately ended in over 60 injuries and 5 dead—an event that, in conjunction with others over the next few years, helped lead to the unionization of Ford and the auto industry in general. At the time, auto unions were weak, with no recognition or contracts; and the Depression only made things tougher for desperate workers. One of the responses to this was the Ford Hunger Strike since Ford was one of the primary employers in Detroit, and Henry Ford's anti-union and racially-discriminatory policies made him an especially prominent target for pro-labour groups and movements.

The march, mainly organized by members of the Communist Party, was peaceful until police attempted to stop it, firing teargas into the crowd and clubbing protesters. The crowd responded by throwing rocks at the police and continued marching towards the Ford River Rouge Complex, who were then confronted by a shower of cold water from fire engines and bullets from the guns of the police and Ford security guards. Four marchers were killed immediately, and one, a black worker named Curtis Williams, later died of his wounds. The four white workers who were killed were buried in the Woodmere Cemetery near the River Rouge plant. The fifth, however, was cremated and his ashes scattered over the River Rouge plant from an airplane because the cemetery wouldn't allow blacks to be buried there.

From there, the tour left the Wayne State campus and wove through downtown on its way to the River Rouge plant while our guide pointed out points of interest and relayed bits and pieces of Detroit's history. The tour ended at the plant, where we learned about its history, including the incident known as the Battle of the Overpass involving Walter Reuther. It's sad how much of Detroit's labour history has been forgotten, and its radicalism downplayed.

After the tour, the opening ceremony of the conference kicked off at noon in the Renaissance ballroom with a speech by AFSCME's international president, Lee Saunders, who stressed the necessity of labour unity, connecting public sector and private sector struggles, and coming up with new approaches to the challenges currently facing labour, as well as calling for a "new spirit of militancy." He noted that today only 11% of the workforce is unionized. More people were in unions 100 years when there "more cows in Detroit than cars," he said, reinforcing the need for unity among workers in all sectors.

Saunder's opening speech was followed by a panel discussion with a number of speakers that included two of the 1,300 striking black Memphis sanitation workers, Alvin Turner and Baxter Leach. Out of all the speakers, their words and example inspired me the most, and they deserved the standing ovation they received. In the heart of the south, when racial discrimination was still overt, and with families to support, these two men, along with many others, risked their livelihoods and more to protest unfair treatment and unsafe working conditions, and fight for union recognition for their local, eventually winning "union recognition, dues deduction, wage increases, a four-step grievance procedure ending in arbitration, and end to racial discrimination in promotions and job assignments" after a 65-day strike (with a little help from Martin Luther King, Jr., of course).

After the plenary, the organizers of the conference put together a bit of an ad hoc direct action to show support for local AFSCME members and protest the recent passage of emergency manager and right-to-work legislation (even after voters voted down a similar emergency management law no less). The theme of the action was "Revenge of the Nerds" and "Nerds for Democracy," a play on Gov. Rick Snyder's 2010 Super Bowl ad in which he called himself "one tough nerd."

About 600+ Next Wavers, many wearing 'nerd gear' like suspenders, glasses, and pocket protectors, marched from the Renaissance Center to Hart Plaza, gathering in front of the Labor Legacy Landmark to listen to a few speakers explain what's been taking place since these measures were pasted, and then continued on to City Hall, where both the emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, and Mayor Dave Bing work.

Next Wavers swarmed the lobby, chanting slogans, bewildering pedestrians, and alarming/annoying building security, then filed outside to congregate in front of the Spirit of Detroit to hear a few more speakers, who noted things like the fact Orr can't find the money to pay for city pension and health programs yet can afford to pay his pals at his former law firm, Jones Day, $1,000 an hour. Passersby, including city workers, honked their support, and we continued our march, circling City Hall before heading back to the Renaissance Center.

While the theme of Friday's direct action was a bit cheesy and somewhat obscured the deeper aspects of what's going on in Detroit in my opinion, it was still cool to be a part of and worth doing. Not only because I think attention should be drawn to these kinds of issues, but because it sends a message (as vague as it may be) that working people are willing to organize and fight back against anti-democratic, anti-union, and ultimately anti-worker solutions to problems that have essentially been created by things like broader economic instability and years of capital disinvestment, a message that will hopefully inspire other working people to join the fight.

At this point, I went off on my own to see if I could find Tony downtown, but to no avail. I ended up talking to another homeless guy named Greg and taking him out to lunch instead. I also ordered a few coneys and handed them out to a few hungry people on my way back to the reception. The reception itself was nice enough, with plenty of food and karaoke, but a few of us took the opportunity to split early and head off to the Detroit Institute of Art, which is open until 10pm on Fridays, to admire Detroit's amazing collection of art—a priceless treasure that's in danger of being auctioned off to the highest bidder in order to appease the city's creditors.

Saturday started with a panel discussion with Sommer Foster from Equality Michigan, Rashad Robinson from Color of Change, and Sofia Campos from United We Dream. One of the themes was the importance of developing local connections that can have the potential to lead to national partnerships. During the Q & A portion, Rashad Robinson gave some general advice on how to get people more actively and successfully involved, such as illustrating concrete harm (i.e., how people will be negatively affected by something), finding common ground (i.e., places where you can agree and start working together), avoiding your opponent's rhetoric (i.e., reframing things in ways to support your position), and providing people with information and resources to help them address and overcome challenges.

Secretary-Treasurer Laura Reyes spoke next, whose speech touched on the importance of having mentors, organizing, and organized labour in general, at one point quoting David Macaray's response to union-haters from an article in CounterPunch: "After listening to their tiresome litany of complaints (i.e., unions are corrupt, they go on strike too much, their economic gains are eaten up by monthly dues, they're undemocratic, etc.), I would respond with this: 'Say what you will about unions, but name another institution that's solely dedicated to the welfare of working people. Name me one. Just one.' Of course, no one could name any because there aren't any."

Around 11am, we broke up into groups and went to the various workshops we'd registered for earlier. I attended the "Actions Speak Louder Than Words" workshop, which explored options to solving workplace issues outside of the grievance procedure via forms of direct action. During the workshop, we were encouraged to brainstorm things from ways to get members motivated and united in preparation for a direct action to various forms of direct action themselves. One of the things that came up again and again was the importance of getting your message out there since visibility helps put pressure on employers/public officials. Another was the importance of developing relationships with groups and people that can help aid you in the future well before you need them. The usefulness of Member Action Teams in responding to workplace issues was also stressed repeatedly.

The workshops were followed by lunch and the Open Space Technology portion of the conference, which is an interesting way for participants to be more actively involved by allowing them to propose topics and then facilitating discussion groups with other members interested in exploring the same topics. A number of people proposed topic ideas via Twitter or by coming up to a microphone that were then broken up into two rounds of discussions hosted in the various meeting rooms. The first one I attended was about internal organizing and ways of getting members more involved in their locals. I found this one to be the more helpful of the two I participated in, and it gave me some ideas to take back to my local E-Board (which I hope to write up soon).

The second was about alternatives to simply supporting the Democratic Party based on the premise that decades of doing so hasn't stopped the decline of organized labour or the Democrat's political slide to the right, and that more time and money should be spent on organizing and direct actions. And while interesting (and something I personally agree with), it wasn't as practically useful. The night ended with a cook-out hosted by Council 25, with plenty of food, music, and dancing.

The final day of the conference began with workshops. I went to the "Ultimate Action" workshop, which I went to because I mistakenly thought it was about running for union and public offices, but was just about running for public office. It was still interesting, though, to see all the things that go into organizing a successful campaign. Next up was the closing plenary, which started with a moment of silence for Trayvon Martin and a speech by Saunders venting his frustration over the verdict, vowing AFSCME would join NAACP in pursuing civil rights charges. Then everyone had time to share some of the things they'd learned or ideas they came up with during the Open Space discussions the previous day. The closing plenary finished with a speech from Van Jones, a former White House adviser and current president of Rebuild the Dream.

The day was overshadowed by the not-guilty verdict, and Jones opened by apologizing to our generation for having to deal with these kinds of issues in this day and age. He quipped that black children have to wear tuxedos just to go the store so they're not stalked by strangers with guns, and noted wryly that the Martin family has been forced to repeatedly call for restraint and non-violence from supporters while the Zimmerman family hasn't had to do the same to vigilantes like Zimmerman. But he also said that the youth of today have the power to make a difference with our numbers, our access to modern technology, and through our progressive values, courage, and militancy. "The US government," he said, "put a man on the moon with less computing power than you have in our pockets. When you realize the phone in your pocket is a tool, not a toy, that is when your power will be realized."

With that, the conference was officially over, and those that had to catch early flights began their migration to the airport. Those of us sticking around for a bit longer, however, had the opportunity to take a second tour, this time to the Detroit Institute of Art to view Diego Rivera's famous Detroit Industry murals and learn about their history and meaning. The thing I most appreciated about them is the way they romanticize the workers and the production process rather than the commodities being produced. In all the murals commissioned by Edsel Ford and depicting industry at the Ford Motor Company, only one, small finished car be seen off in the distance—it's the workers who clearly take centre stage.

After learning about the history of the murals, both from a political as well as an artistic perspective, we had a couple of hours to explore the DIA on our own. I spent some of the time with comrades from Minnesota, and the rest on my own, spending the majority of it wandering through the Modern, Contemporary, Medieval and Renaissance, and Dutch Golden Age sections, admiring the artwork and letting everything I learned the last few days sink in. Like I said, it was a really great experience.

doma and prop. 8 take it on the chin

In the much-anticipated decision to US v. Windsor, the Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, struck down the section of DOMA that barred the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages legalized by the states on the grounds that it violated the Fifth Amendment, as well as dismissed California's Prop. 8 appeal on the grounds that the supporters had no legal standing to challenge the ruling, tentatively allowing same-sex marriage in California once again.

However, since the justices essentially skirted the issue of the constitutionality of statewide bans, the ruling doesn't go so far as to require all states to legalize same-sex marriage, leaving 37 where same-sex marriage is still not allowed. While a victory in the fight for equal rights and full legal recognition for same-sex couples, the fight for true equality itself is far from over. It's a step in the right direction, and something for us to celebrate, but we still have a long way to go. As Nelson Mandela wrote in his 1995 autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom:

A man who takes away another man's freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness. I am not truly free if I am taking away someone else's freedom, just as surely as I am not free when my freedom is taken from me. The oppressed and the oppressor alike are robbed of their humanity.

upasika renewal trip

Our caravan to Abhayagiri for the Upasika Renewal Day left around 4:45am Friday morning, a motley crew from all over the Pacific Northwest gathered together for this special occasion. Irv, the driver of our car, for example, was from Pullman, Washington, and had driven to Portland the day before. We all met at the old Portland Friends of the Dhamma hall, organized our luggage and seating arrangements, and began the twelve hour journey to Abhayagiri before the sun started its own daily migration across the sky.

We made a brief stop near Eugene early on to grab some coffee, tea, and water at one the innumerable Starbucks that dot the universe, like some kind of ley line nexus points tying together all things, and then hurried towards the California border, eager to meet up with two monks on tudong in time to offer their daily meal, which has to be eaten before midday. Along the way, we passed the time by discussing everything from Dhamma to archaeology, anthropology, ecology, and the conditionality underlying geopolitics.

Close to 11:30am, we arrived at the Mystic Forest RV Park in Kalamth, California, just in time to offer the meal to the two tudong monks walking from Abhayagiri to the Pacific Hermitage in White Salmon, Washington, as well as the three that were driving down to Abhayagiri with us.

Afterwards, the group paid for their campsite for another night, Denise, the event organizer, arranged their meal the following day at the nearby Forest Cafe, and we all took a short hike to Hidden Beach to enjoy the beautiful landscape and fresh ocean air before saying goodbye to Ajahn Naniko and Tan Thitabho and continuing on to Abhayagiri. We arrived at Abhayagiri just as the sun was setting in Redwood Valley, paid our respects to Ajahn Pasanno, and settled in for the night.

Saturday began at 4am for Shad, one of the drivers, and I. We'd been offered a room at a guest house across from Abhayagiri that was about a ten minute drive up a rather rugged slope, and so wanted to make sure we weren't late for morning puja, which started at 5am. We chanted both the traditional Pali and the English translation, and then we meditated as the sun rose. Morning puja was followed by a short work period and a light breakfast of oatmeal and coffee, both of which were heavenly.

My heavenly bliss was soon interrupted by the main work period, however, and I was sent to rake one of the many winding paths that weave their way through forested property that makes up Abhayagiri, mindfully avoiding the copious amounts of poison oak that also help to make up the monastery grounds. The work wasn't unrewarding, though. Many of the paths offered their natural beauty and a sense of tranquility in return. We worked our way down towards the main house, making sure to finish in time to clean up before the start of the Upasika Day events.

By 10:30am, the meditation hall was filled with people, both lay and ordained. Upasika Day commenced with those of us taking the precepts with Ajahn Pasanno for the first coming up one by one with a traditional offering of candles, incense, and flowers, bowing three times, and requesting to take the three refuges and five precepts. Then we all took the refuges and precepts as a group, chanting in both the traditional Pali and the English translation that we undertake the training rules to refrain from taking the life of any living being, refrain from taking that which is not given, refraining from sexual misconduct, and refraining from indulging in drink and drugs that lead to carelessness.

Lunch followed. After the meal offering, Ajahn Pasanno and a number of his senior students spent the rest of the day explaining many of the monastic rules and ceremonies, not only to help educate the laity about monastic life in general, but also to help relate how some of these practices can be incorporated into our lay practice. Talking about the ins and outs of monastic life was inspiring; it filled some of us with a sense of longing. I couldn't help fantasizing about what it must be like in being robes and surrounded by such skilled and dedicated monastics. At 7:30pm, after the informal tea period, Ajahn Sudanto led the evening puja and gave a Dhamma talk on the importance of spiritual friendship (kalyana-mitta) as a source of support on the path.

Sunday was slightly different since it was Wan Phra or 'Monk Day,' which is kind of like the Thai Buddhist equivalent of a sabbath day. There was no morning puja, so we all met up just before breakfast around 6:30-7:00am. Many of the monks went on alms round in the traditional style, some being dropped off in town while others simply walked along Tomki Road, with people placing food offerings into their bowls, while the lay people did their best to help out around the monastery. Since everything seemed to be taken care of, and I was mostly just getting in everybody else's way, I decided to hike the two-and-a-half mile Cool Oaks trail that wraps around the monastery grounds, arriving back as the monks were returning from their alms round.

After the meal, the monks began to prepare for the ordination ceremony taking place at 4pm as the laity cleaned up from lunch, filling the remaining time however they felt the most appropriate. I spent most of it talking with Irv and Shad, checking out some of the books in the main house, and sitting in the meditation hall. Around 2:30pm, I started up the Cool Oaks trail, taking the long way around to the ordination platform. Others took the shorter route, or else caught a ride up the relatively steep mountainside.

Tan Sudhiro's ordination ceremony lasted about two hours, all throughout which Ajahn Pasanno explained what was happening in detail as he acted as preceptor. The ceremony seemed especially auspicious as it had a full quorum of ten monks — double the number of monks needed to perform it outside of the Ganges valley (ten vs. five), illustrating the growing strength of Buddhism in the West — was attended by three senior monks and seven novices from the City of 10,000 Buddhas, and was performed on Father's Day/the 18th Anniversary of Venerable Master Hua's Entering Nirvana. I was happy for Tan Sudhiro and jealous at the same time.

The night ended with a quick clean-up of the ordination area and an informal tea period. The Pacific Hermitage monks took this time to catch up with some of the monks from Abhayagiri, while the group from Portland and some of the other upasikas took the opportunity to spend time with Ajahn Pasanno in the meditation hall, talking and asking questions about the practice. At the end of the night, we paid respects to Ajahn Pasanno and took leave, which is traditionally done in the monastic community by ceremony of Asking for Forgiveness (although we did this informally).

Monday began much like Friday and Saturday, at 4:00am before the first rays of dawn. We all congregated at the main house, packed the cars, and commenced the long drive back to Portland just before 5am. Along the way, we stopped to eat at the Forest Cafe, and then took short a break at the half-mile Stout Memorial Grove trail in Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park to stretch our legs, the trees as amazing and wonderful as the last three days. We arrived at the rendezvous point near Shad's just after 7:00pm, and said our final farewells as the group disbanded and we went our separate ways.

prism illustrates one of the downsides of legal positivism

People seem to have this weird idea that a piece of paper written 226 years ago in and of itself guarantees and protects their right to things like privacy, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, etc. But I think things like last year's concerted crackdown of Occupy protests across the country and the even more recent revelation about the government's PRISM spying program illustrates one of the downsides of legal positivism, where laws are considered valid because they're enacted by 'legitimate authority' (i.e., the ruling regime), and the ruled are unconditionally obligated to obey them/are subject to their authority. As Leo Strauss argues in his essay on Plato in History of Political Philosophy, when "the just is the same as the lawful or legal," there's nothing higher to which one can appeal (37). Moreover, when justice is nothing but the advantage of the stronger (the idea essentially underlying legal positivism), and the will of the ruling class becomes the sole source of justice since they create and enact the laws that the rest of us, as citizens, must follow and are subject to (even without our knowledge or consent), we become trapped within a system where justice doesn't exist for the state since each regime "lays down the laws with a view to its own preservation and well-being" (38). In essence, the Establishment is above the law as we conceive of it. They play by an entirely different set of rules; and the only truly effective check and balance on state power is a vigilant citizenry that's willing to stand up and say enough's enough. To rephrase a line from John Stuart Mills, which I think apt: "[The Establishment] need nothing more to compass [its] ends than [the people] should look on and do nothing."

moving in the right direction

Reading Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States, I'm not only impressed by the way it examines US history from the standpoint of the people, emphasizing "the commonality of the 99 percent" and helping keep alive the memory of people's resistance in a medium (history books) that's traditional favoured the point of view of governments and political leaders versus people's movements, but by the way he foresaw the rise of movements like the Tea Party and Occupy.

In the 2003 revised edition, for example, Zinn writes:

There is evidence of growing dissatisfaction among the guards [those helping to keep the system going like soldiers, police, teachers, ministers, administrators, social workers, technicians, production workers, doctors, lawyers, nurses, transportation workers, communication workers, sanitation workers, firefighters, etc.]. We have known for some time that the poor and ignored were the nonvoters, alienated from a political system they felt didn't care about them, and about which they could do little. Now alienation has spread upward into families above the poverty line. These are white workers [which make up the majority of many Tea Party and Occupy groups], neither rich nor poor, but angry over economic insecurity, unhappy with their work, worried about their neighborhoods, hostile to government—combing elements of racism with elements of class consciousness, contempt for the lower classes along with distrust for the elites, and this open to solutions from any direction, right or left.

In the twenties there was a similar estrangement in the middle classes, which could have gone in various directions—the Ku Klux Klan had millions of members at that time—but in the thirties the work of an organized left wing mobilized much of this feeling into trade unions, farmer's unions, socialist movements. We may, in the coming years, be in a race for the mobilization of middle-class discontent.

The fact of that discontent is clear. The surveys since the early seventies show 70 to 80 percent of Americans distrustful of government, business, the military. This means the distrust goes beyond blacks, the poor, the radicals. It has spread among skilled workers, white-collar workers, professionals; for the first time in the nation's history, perhaps, both the lower and the middle classes, the prisoners and the guards, were disillusioned with the system. (636)

And this, I think, not only illustrates the real, underlying discontent felt by a growing number of people — privileged and non-privileged alike — that's not being given a voice at the political (i.e., electoral) level, but the need for the left to get its shit together and organize people's energies away from solutions involving elements like austerity, classism, nationalism, racism, etc. (such as in Greece) and towards creating a truly egalitarian, post-capitalist society.