Cindy Sheehan: A “Class” Act
Gold Star Mother and nationally known peace activist, Cindy Sheehan, addressed a full house at the Regent Theatre in Arlington, Massachusetts in late June. In her plain speaking manner, she called attention to the fact that with the Obama administration it appears we have a “new coat of paint over the same old crap!” She stressed that hating one leader and adoring another misses the point that the whole system is the problem. Ours is a “class” system, she emphasized, and most people are getting poorer.
There might not be much for many of us to disagree with here, yet it is not altogether clear exactly what “system” Sheehan is talking about: a “class” system of rich and poor? It has been that way since the beginning. The fact that many middle and some upper middle class people are joining the ranks of the low income is also not new - its been part of the “systemic” solution to every economic depression in the history of capitalism - along with the much more important remedy of lowering the consumption of working class people through inflation, cuts in wages/benefits/hours, and lay-offs.
Cindy’s solutions of “don’t buy anything new,” and “shop at Good Will” are also not new ideas. Some of us have been doing this for decades, and the poorer regulars now are reportedly complaining about the large increase in the number of “middle class” customers crowding the aisles of Salvation Army stores.
“Class,” in an analysis of capitalism, refers to the world population of exploited wageworkers who are the source of profits - not because of what they consume, but because of what they produce in “surplus” beyond their limited consumption. During economic crises, the challenge for the system (and the “ruling class”) is to redistribute or transfer as much of our national (and global) wealth and resources as possible away from workers’ consumption and into the production process of the largest capitalist producers of industrial equipment, technology, and infrastructure. So, if buying at a second hand store and growing your own veggies is still an option for you, do it. But don’t kid yourself that this is going to have a significant impact on “the system.”
I admire Cindy Sheehan for her courage and tenacity in confronting President George Bush and challenging Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi. With her “down-home” way of talking truth to power, and educating the public on the costs (and lies) of the US war on Iraq, Sheehan has been a recognized anti-war leader. As a Gold Star Mother and a voice for anti-war veterans and their families, she has become their heroine. Now, if we are going to enlarge the focus to include an understanding of how to change the system—and Sheehan’s talking SYSTEM here; “not (she says) electoral politics” - we will have to go beyond petty bourgeoisie plans to withdraw our purchasing power. Lowering our personal consumption is what “the System” crisis requires particularly during economic crises; and, consequently, for most of us, consuming less is not (or soon wont be) a matter of choice, but a matter of survival. As a “veteran” of Depression Era backyard vegetable patches and Victory Gardens, Salvation Army sweaters, and stomping on tin cans for the war effort, I can tell you that cooperating in the systematic process of lowering your personal consumption will have no more impact on this all-consuming system than did our participation in “back to the land” communes and coop houses in the 60s and 70s.
Cindy Sheehan has shown remarkable growth in her knowledge and understanding over the past years of the anti-war struggle. She has not only demonstrated intelligence and integrity in speaking truth to power, she also has a voice people across the nation have heard, understood, and apparently like listening too. I hope to hear what I am sure will be her deeper understanding and articulation of “class” and system change in the very near future. In the meantime, as Cindy says, hoping some one else will do it for us is disempowering. We have to do it for ourselves!
Mary Lynn Cramer is a peace activist and supporter of justice for Palestine, who has dedicated twenty-five years to low paying "applied economics," working as a bilingual social worker with families and children. She has degrees in economic history, economic theory and social work. She can be reached atmllynn2@yahoo.com.
