Gregory Elich Guest
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Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 3:44 pm Post subject: No Individualist Solution to Foundations |
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What's Left
April 16, 2008
No individualist solution to foundations
By Stephen Gowans
A number of articles published here and elsewhere have been critical of
progressives who have become entangled with foundations sponsored by
corporations, imperialist governments and wealthy individuals. These
progressives have been criticized by some for being willing to accept
foundation support and by others for presenting themselves and other
foundation-connected leftists as "independent" left voices. The first group
of critics complains that progressives undermine their credibility by taking
foundation grants and accepting foundation positions or unjustifiably
enhance the credibility of the foundations they take money and jobs from.
This group has no basic disagreement with the political positions of the
foundation-connected progressives. The criticism of the second group, on the
other hand, originates in disagreement over fundamental political positions.
It defines the political position of foundation-connected progressives as
pro-imperialist, not in intentions but in its effects, and argues that it is
this basic political position which makes these progressives attractive to
foundations. They appear to be credibly progressive - even radical - but in
fact promote views that pose no real threat to corporate domination and
indeed even buttress the ideological foundations of that domination. They
are independent in the sense that they are not told to what to do or say,
but their views considerably overlap in important ways those of their
foundation sponsors.
Continued at
http://gowans.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/no-individualist-solution-to-foundations/ |
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