Mickey Z – What’s the use of consciousness without action

[alanjjohnstone]

For those of you who have followed my and Janet Surman's links to the Countercurrent website you may have come across the frequent contributions of Mickey Z on it. I cannot endorse everything he writes but i do usually find he is thought-provoking in his posts. His latest has also had me thinking again.

Quote:

Everywhere we hear about the need to raise "awareness." So much so, that awareness and consciousness appear to have become the goals: ends in and of themselves….

My sincere question: When exactly does all this goddamned awareness translate into authentic solidarity, productive action, and tangible change?….

….We’ve raised our consciousness but where are the results? We’re aware of climate change, factory farms, war crimes, police brutality, political corruption, fixed elections, the health care crisis, ubiquitous oppression/repression/depression… etc. etc. etc. We know about it. We talk about it. We write about it. We complain about it. We hold meetings, talks, seminars, and classes about it. We march about it. We make signs about it. We post about it endlessly on our social media echo chambers. Nothing changes….

…Until our tactics evolve and much bigger connections (between concepts and comrades) are made, we remain accomplices to the perpetual global crime we call civilization…

http://www.countercurrents.org/mickeyz081014.htm

 

[rodshaw]

Nothing changes because the real increase in awareness – socialist consciousness – hasn't happened yet. The question is, can tactics be evolved and 'bigger connections' be made that will increase socialist consciousness, rather than consist of reformist or 'single issue' activity?

[ALB]

I think he was talking about "raising consciousness" about the existence of or the facts about some problem which plenty of groups are into. In which case he's got a point. What is also required is what we are into — trying to raise consciousness as to what the framework for solving the problem is.

[Author]

Posts