‘what are your thoughts on Chavez… does this make you happy there is hope. or sad that your doomsday prophecy is lessy doomy?’

An interesting question. I believe that Marx once commented on the fact that the existence of trade unions – while being the emancipating agent – actually prolonged capitalism because they reduced the shocking conditions of the workers making them less angry and therefore less revolutionary.

Admittedly I am a little under read on Chavez but my basic understanding is that in 2002 a US lead military coupe over threw the democratically elected leader of Venezuela (Chavez). Shortly after the people of Venezuela made their opposition to this known, reinstating their democratically elected leader.

The important thing about Chavez is his mobilisation of the grass roots. Despite a massive media campaign against him and staunch opposition from corporations and the US government he still manages to get elected time and time again in referendum and elections. He actively involves the people in budgetary matters and has had success because he appeals to the massive Venezuelan underclass which is mostly ethnically different from the minority of the people who, as always, hold the majority of the power (you guessed it, they’re white.)

Don’t hate me if the above is wrong in anyway – it could well be.

So Chavez is a people’s man and certainly the left is looking to the Venezuelan model as the great democratic emancipation. I too am quite excited at the prospects that this offers.

Does this mean that it has to get worse before it gets better?

As I have mentioned before it seems to me that it is all a matter of consciousness. I would imagine that historically most of South America are fairly politically aware, much more so than in Australia. They have also certainly had it a lot worse than Australia on many fronts. So perhaps, relative to Australia, it did get worse before it got better. Moreover, the people of Venezuela had the foresight to look beyond their corporate driven media’s smear campaign against Chavez – something largely lacking in Australia.

So I guess my response is that, with a bit of political (or class) consciousness, we don’t have to get worse to get better. We can put an end to this economic (ir)rationalism before it gets even further out of hand.

I guess underlying all of my assumptions is two things. Firstly, an overriding faith in humanity. Secondly that times will change (and I believe are changing now) for the better – history makes this inevitable – the question is ‘when?’ So I don’t think my prophecy is ‘doomy’ only in the short term – and the shorter the better. Ultimately I’m quite the optimist.