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
cor****ations, imperialist governments and wealthy individuals. These
progressives have been criticized by some for being willing to accept
foundation sup****t 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 cor****ate 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 im****tant ways those of their
foundation sponsors.
Continued at
http://gowans.wordpress.com/2008/04/16/no-individualist-solution-to-foundations/
