MOLLYMEW POLLS:

WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DEAL WITH NEO-FASCISTS AND NEO-NAZIS ?

This is to draw attention to the latest item on our sister site Molly's Polls. I have to be honest, the question 'What is the Best Way to Deal With Neo-fascists and Neo-nazis ?' is not one that I have given a tremendous amount of thought to. It is one, however, that a large number of anarchists think about quite a bit. A little bit too much in my opinion. Perhaps they run in social circles where they are more likely to encounter such people. There is also the fact that the collections of pathetic people nostalgic for the days of jackboots are much more common in some areas of the world than where I live.

What do you think ? Go on over to Molly's Polls to express your opinion. I'll probably comment further over there. This subject has come up because it has been an item in two posts and their comments in the past few days. No doubt it will sink to the bottom of my mental sea once more. There are certainly more important things in the world.

CANADIAN LABOUR/INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:

CAN STARBUCKS BE UNIONIZED?:

Since the recent certification of the Starbucks Union, a branch of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), as the official union for one Starbucks outlet in Québec City it appears that the coffee giant is not as invulnerable as was once thought. Previous attempts, on the part of the Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) in British Columbia failed back in the 1990s. As far as Molly can determine there is only one other unionized Starbucks in the world. This lone example is in Regina, Saskatchewan where the workers are represented by the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union- Saskatchewan(RWDSU). This particular RWDSU has no connection with the RWDSU International with whom it split back in the 1970s. Since that time the RWDSU has gained a reputation as one of the most progressive and militant unions in North America. In the past they have used workplace occupations as part of their strike tactics.

Both the RWDSU and the IWW ,which has spearheaded recent drives to unionize Starbucks, are small unions. The RWDSU has the advantage of geographical concentration over the dispersed IWW, and it is more effective for that. The major unions and union federations won't touch Starbucks, or any related workplace such as fast food joints, unionization with a ten foot pole. In the days when the CAW attempted their drive in BC they were a much different union then they are today. Having split from the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) they were willing to take on every possible organizational effort in what was a quest to become a multiindustry alternative to the CLC. They are a much quieter beast today, and it would be hard to imagine them attempting organization in such places as Starbucks at the present time.

Which leads us to the most recent question in Molly's Polls; "Is It Possible to Unionize Places Such as Starbucks?". See our sister site to register your opinion. There are immense difficulties that any union that attempts to organize in places such as Starbucks have to overcome. This is even more so in fast food joints such as McDonalds. If there are only two unionized Starbucks in the world that is still 200% better than the zero McDonalds that are organized. Molly is agnostic about the prospects insofar as I think that such organization is possible , but only in certain locations where both the laws and the local culture are such as to facilitate such efforts.

Québec today has a long standing tradition of militant unionism far greater than almost anywhere else on the continent. In Saskatchewan unions such as the RWWDSU thrive in the lengthening shadows of what was once the most left wing community on the continent. Saskatchewan socialism has, today, been corrupted beyond all recognition, but the populist tradition still lingers. Should young workers there be privileged to have known their grandparents or grand uncles/grand aunts about 50% of them would have had a family member who was a convinced socialist, one not shy of stating their views. Presented with the option of unionization- with a radical rhetoric thrown in- the old "lefty genes" have a tendency to reactivate. Perhaps many parts of Newfoundland, Minnesota and Wisconsin are the same.

One thing that I do think is that such vague radicalism is insufficient for unionization to take a general hold outside of isolated branches of such enterprises as Starbucks. In order for the efforts to expand beyond isolated instances a community as well as a workplace mobilization has to occur. The example of a large proportion of the population of a city, even one so small as Québec City (or even Regina-much smaller), organizing a boycott of recalcitrant companies would bring the bosses to heel much faster than simple organization of workplaces, one by one, could do. Such a campaign would also reverberate worldwide and make unionization much easier in other locations.

Am I too pessimistic in my assessment that unionization in places such as Starbucks will proceed very slowly in the foreseeable future ? Time will tell. In the meantime visit Molly's Polls to express your own opinion. I hope to comment more on this matter over there.

MOLLY'S POLLS:

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF MARXISM ?:

Marxism has had considerable "historical traction", though, outside of South America, its appeal today is pretty well limited to the academy (and an aging set of professors at that). As a model of radical historical change it has been a demonstrable failure. many anarchists think that there is much to admire in Marxism, and the major modern anarchist criticism of Marxism has been restricted to the very restricted idea that it doesn't accommodate new movements against hierarchy such as feminism, the ecology movement and anti-racism (amongst others). All this is, of course, merely sniping at the edges of the ideology of Marxism, and none of it explains the failure of Marxism in its real world political incarnations. Some of it is grossly !!! beside the point, such as the anti-racist position. At its best such a position would advocate nothing more than a diluted version of the "proletarian internationalism"-minus the "proletarian" part, of course, system of propaganda that was practiced with a "vengeance"(and I do mean vengeance) in the former Soviet Empire and even in the old Yugoslavia. The historical results, after the collapse of communism. show the limitations of this propaganda model.

Molly is of the opinion that "fashionable leftism" ie a demand to incorporate anything and everything that is the shared belief of a small leftist subculture is not a reasonable alternative to the Marxist "God that failed". Molly is also of the opinion that anarchism can provide a much better guide to action than Marxism ever did. This guide, however, is still very much in the making, and it demands that anarchists abandon the superstitions of the past. Parts of Marxism are very much such crude superstitions.

Please go over to our sister site Molly's Polls to express your opinion on Marxism. Molly will soon conduct her own post-mortem on the decaying corpse of Marxism over there.

PERSONAL:

HERE AT MOLLY'S BLOG:

I am long delayed in announcing the following, but "I didn't win" in the contest over at the Canadian Blog Awards for "best political blog". I came last of the five finalists. The winner was the Liberal blog Calgary Grit. The runner up was the Conservative Small Dead Animals. Others in third and fourth place were the non-partisan Bond Papers and Nunc Scio. Molly was actually amazed that she was nominated at all, let alone making it to the second round of voting, and she'd like to thank all who voted for her now. It is not surprising that a Liberal blog came in number one, and it is only slightly less surprising that a Conservative blog came in number 2 (though Molly wonders about whether many Conservative supporters have evolved enough to have opposable thumbs to type with). I'm sad that a non-partisan blog didn't win. yet it is totally amazing that an anarchist blog was in the running. Well, thank you once more.

I'm continuing my editing, though it may not be apparent on the surface. See later for more details.

Finally, don't forget to check out the latest at Molly's Polls...'Steven Harper Is...'. It's more or less for fun, but it has a biting point as well.

BLOGGING:

LAST CHANCE FOR MOLLY'S POLLS #S 1 AND 2:

The week of polling is almost over for Molly's Polls Numbers 1and 2. As expected the feature got off to a slow start. Question # 1-"How do you describe yourself politically ?" received a total of 21 votes. Multiple answers were allowed. Of those who replied the winner so far is "anarchocommunist" with 11 votes. Others were "anarchist" with 8, "anarcho-syndicalist" with three and "socialist" with two. "mutualist", "individualist anarchist" and "other" each received one vote. Molly knows that the vast majority of those who visit this site are not anarchists, but I guess some are reluctant to go there. The question will be represented some other time in the future.

The second question, 'What country is the biggest threat to world peace today ?' received 22 votes, and the overwhelming winner was- no surprise- the USA with 16 votes. Once more multiple answers were allowed. Runners up included Russia (3), Israel (3), All of the above (3) and China (2). Every one of the long list of countries received at least one vote. It seems like the readers of Molly's Blog share the general world opinion on this one, a realistic view in my perspective.

THERE IS STILL ONE MORE DAY TO VOTE ON THESE QUESTIONS BEFORE THE POLLS CLOSE. GET IN NOW AND GET YOUR SAY AT MOLLY'S POLLS.

BLOGGING:

INTRODUCING "MOLLY'S POLLS":

If you look to the left of this page you will see a new heading..."Molly's Polls". This is the public opinion research centre of that gigantic international conglomerate Mollymew Inc.. It's also a lot of fun. Each poll there will last a week, but popular ones will be reset to keep on going. The first one is 'How do you describe yourself politically ?". I don't know if this will get much response, but toddle on over if you want you two bits worth.

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In the same vein I'll be doing my "Best Anarchist Websites of the Year" feature again this January. This time around there will be two categories, my personal choices and the public favourites. This is to announce the opening of nominations for the public choice. Please leave your ideas as a comment here. Also, I'd like to do a "Best 2008 Anarchist Story/Headline". The first choice is obvious, the events in Greece, but, once more, leave your suggestions here. I'll be bugging the readership for suggestions at regular intervals.

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One more housecleaning matter. I have finally finished separating the general links section into Canadian and other links, but there is still a long way to go before I am done the necessary editing. This is obviously going to be a very long term project.

Keep smiling, and don't forget to vote.