Since the publication of this Open Review edition of the first draft of this book manuscript, the manuscript has been significantly revised and has now entered production with Columbia University Press. Please search here soon for information on the publication of the book, Critique & Praxis.
Part IV: What Is To Be Done?
September 1, 2018. New York, New York, United States.
In the wake of decades of neoliberal government policies since the 1970s and the fallout of a global war on terror since 9/11, the United States has entered a new historical epoch: the American Counterrevolution. It is characterized by a new style of governing abroad and at home modeled on a counterinsurgency paradigm of warfare. It is accompanied at the domestic and international level by growing inequalities and a global grab for the commons.
Our current crises were precipitated by a number of illusions, three in particular: first, the belief in the efficiency and superiority of “free markets”; second, and increasingly, the creation out of whole cloth of a phantom internal enemy composed of Muslim-Americans, Mexicans-Americans, African-American protesters, undocumented persons, and other minorities; and third, the faith in the neutrality of the rule of law that has allowed our leaders to legalize intolerable practices in the global war on terror.
The current political situation calls for short, medium, and long-term praxis tailored specifically to the critical times. First and immediately, President Trump must be stopped in his tracks, through a combination of litigating his executive orders, supporting swing-district candidates in the 2018 midterms, exposing Trumps’ political corruption, and delaying his Supreme Court nominations. Second, a Left groundswell movement for the 2020 presidential elections needs to be nurtured and supported, with the most deference to the younger generations and the disenfranchised. Third, we need to seize the upper hand in cultural, social, and political interpretations. For the long-term, the critical Left must better instill and reinforce its core values of equity, compassion, and respect among all generations, especially the youngest. This part will articulate the critical praxis we need in the United States on September 1, 2018.
