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The extremely effective general strike that happened in Italy of a few days ago didn't start from academia, but dock workers in Genoa. Grumpy, robust, very left

The extremely effective general strike that happened in Italy of a few days ago didn't start from academia, but dock workers in Genoa. Grumpy, robust, very left-wing dock workers. The biggest issue of most "performative", as you call it, left wing movements is the lack of direct experience with everyday politics. Real-world politics are extremely messy, often in direct conflict with our ideals. Stuff like, How far you can push your message, how far can you pull the strings of the people and the institutions around you. Those workers have a very good understanding of working both with strong forces and delicate equilibriums (...equilibria?). Both in their everyday work and their contractual situation. Otherwise people die, for real. They knew exactly what they were doing to get their end goals. I see the same approach in people like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Interestingly enough, she has too a working class background in a field where power balance is paramount. On the other hand I can't think of a single well-known British Labour politician who shares the same.

School-Cotton 1y ago
AOC does not come from a working-class background. Her father was an architect and the family owned a house in Westchester.
- easyThrowaway 1y ago
  But she worked as bartender[1] - which is one of those jobs that teaches you how "Fuck Around, Find Out" works in real life, very quickly. Again, it's not matter of social or economic status, but coming to understand extremely diverse social dynamics outside of the academic field. Both her and the dock workers were pretty effective in their causes because they have experienced first-hand how going for an half-assed or whimsical approach even in everyday politics bites you hard. [1]Also wikipedia says that her mother was a house cleaner and school bus driver?
  - _9ptr 1y ago
    Bartending does not give you a "working-class background"
  - School-Cotton 1y ago
    Someone who spends most of their career working in bars and restaurants could be called working class. Not someone who does it as a temporary job for a few years after their university degree while waiting to find something better.

School-Cotton 1y ago

AOC does not come from a working-class background. Her father was an architect and the family owned a house in Westchester.

easyThrowaway 1y ago
But she worked as bartender[1] - which is one of those jobs that teaches you how "Fuck Around, Find Out" works in real life, very quickly. Again, it's not matter of social or economic status, but coming to understand extremely diverse social dynamics outside of the academic field. Both her and the dock workers were pretty effective in their causes because they have experienced first-hand how going for an half-assed or whimsical approach even in everyday politics bites you hard. [1]Also wikipedia says that her mother was a house cleaner and school bus driver?
- _9ptr 1y ago
  Bartending does not give you a "working-class background"
- School-Cotton 1y ago
  Someone who spends most of their career working in bars and restaurants could be called working class. Not someone who does it as a temporary job for a few years after their university degree while waiting to find something better.