Barack Obama and Twenty-First-Century Politics

Horace G. Campbell

Description

Barack Obama has been called a transformative and transcendental political figure, this book shows us just how significant the movement behind him was in reshaping the politics of the United States.



Horace Campbell examines the networks that made the 2009 electoral victory possible and discusses the importance of self-organization and self-emancipation in politics. Developing a theory of politics that starts with the humanist principles of Ubuntu, and draws in ecological, spiritual, anti-racist and anti-sexist principles, Campbell suggests we move away from old forms of vanguardism, reconceptualising political organisation, and recognising that new social forces are at play.
Acknowledgements

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

1. Revolutionary Moments and Ruptures

2. The Political Training of Barack Obama

3 Confronting Racism and Sexism in US Politics

4. Grassroots Organizing Confronts the Machine

5. Fractal Wisdom and Optimism in the Primary Campaign of 2008

6. Between the Past and the Future: The Democratic National Convention

7. Ground Operation for Victory: Challenging the Ruthlessness of the Wounded Corporate Bankers

8 Beyond Messiahs: Networks for Peace and Transformation in the 21st Century

9. Ubuntu and 21st Century Revolution

Notes

Index

Sujets

• American Government
• Political Science
• USA
• United States of America
• Central
• États-Unis
• National

Informations

• Publié par: Pluto Press
• Date de parution: 06 août 2010
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9781849645577
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

BARACK OBAMA AND TWENTYFIRSTCENTURY POLITICS

Barack Obama and TwentyFirstCentury Politics

A Revolutionary Moment in the USA

Horace G. Campbell

First published 2010 by Pluto Press 345 Archway Road, London N6 5AA and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010

Distributed in the United States of America exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010

www.plutobooks.com

Copyright © Horace G. Campbell 2010

The right of Horace G. Campbell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN ISBN

978 0 7453 3007 5 978 0 7453 3006 8

Hardback Paperback

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data applied for

This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and manufactur ing processes are expected to conform to the environmental standards of the country of origin.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Designed and produced for Pluto Press by Curran Publishing Services, Norwich

Simultaneously printed digitally by CPI Antony Rowe in England, UK and Edwards Bros in the United States of America.

This book is dedicated to my wife Zaline Makini RoyCampbell and all of the offsprings of Hannah Wimbish who have struggled for a better world in the USA since 1828.

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CONTENTS

Preface and aknowledgments

Revolutionary Moments and Ruptures Revolutionary Moments: Lessons from the French and Cuban Revolutions New Concept of Shared Humanity Ubuntu Elements of the Revolutionary Moment Beyond Vanguardism in the TwentyFirst Century Classical Music meets Jazz Reparations and Revolution New Militants and Sites of Politics Conclusion

The Political Training of Barack Obama Ubuntu and NonRacial Democracy Lessons in Ubuntu Toots and the Dignity of Work Training as a Community Organizer in Chicago Searching for Life Purpose and Healing in Kenya Redemption Michelle Robinson: The Personal is Political Conclusion

Confronting Racism and Sexism in US Politics Phase I: The Electoral College and “ThreeFifths of a Human” Phase II: The Civil War and the Struggle for Democracy Phase III: Autonomous Organizing and the Harriet Tubman Principles Reconstruction and the Third Phase CounterRevolution Benjamin Tillman, Sexualized Violence and the Consolidation of Racism LongTerm Legacies of the Third Phase

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3 6 8 10 15 20 23 25 26

29 34 36 38 40 48 50 52 55

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69 71 72

73 76

V I I I

C ONT E NT S

Eugenics and the Ideological Victory of the South Eugenics and Technological Singularity Conclusion: Democratization as a Process Racism and the Old Left Beyond the Limitations of Liberal Thought

4 Grassroots Organizing Confronts the Machine  Revolutions by Ordinary People – the Mississippi  Freedom Democratic Party  Obama’s Learning from the Ella Baker Principles  Beyond Vanguardism  The Conservative Counteroffensive in the US before  the Rise of the Obama Phenomenon  The Attempted Intervention of Jesse Jackson  The Democratic Party and the Hierarchy of Power  Leaderism, Vanguardism, and the Party Boss  Technocrats, Bosses, and Political Advantage  From Bosses to Political Consultants  The Clintons Inherit the Party Machinery  Conclusion

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77 80 82 84 85

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94 95 100

101 104 106 111 112 113 114 118

Fractal Wisdom and Optimism in the Primary Campaign of 2008 120 Campaigning as a Human Being, not a Black Candidate 121 Hope and Change 123 Scaling, SelfSimilarity, and Recursion in the Campaign 125 Ubuntu meets Ubuntu 126 Proving Ground in South Carolina 130 Building a National Presence and BottomUp Fundraising 135 Obama’s Amazing Money Machine 136 The Struggles in the Primaries 138 The Centrality of Economics and Politics 139 The Intervention of the Youth Vote and the Grassroots 141 The Iowa Caucus 142 The Centrality of Racism in US Politics 144 Internal Collapse of the Vast Clinton Apparatus 147 Conclusion 148

6 Between the Past and the Future: The Democratic  National Convention  Burdens of the Past  New and Old Forces at the Convention  Shadows of the Past and the Denver setting

153 153 155 156

C ONT E NT S

The Promise of a Green Convention T. Boone Pickens and Forgiveness Insiders and Outsiders in Denver The Clinton Brigade in Denver Michelle Obama and the Caucuses The Latino/Hispanic Caucus at the Convention Who are the Latinos? Roll Call and Nomination Acceptance Speech and Marketing the Candidate Conclusion

7 Ground Operation for Victory: Challenging the  Ruthlessness of the Wounded Corporate Bankers  The Moment of September  Ruthlessness and Recklessness  The World of Derivatives, Politics, and Ruthlessness  Financialization as Economic Terrorism  Henry Paulson and the Drama of the Moment of  September  Elements of the Coup  Speechless and Politics  Obama and the Presidential Campaign  The Legacies of Jesse Helms in North Carolina  Respect, Empower, Include – Observing the Ground  Operation at First Hand  Youth Activists and theWall of Hope  Tolerance and the Networks  Rowan County and Salisbury Town  Mecklenburg County and Crossing into South Carolina  The Nerve Center in RaleighDurham  A Divided Military  Conclusion

8 Beyond Messiahs: Networks for Peace and  Transformation in the TwentyFirst Century  Introduction  The Trap of Messianism and Militarism  Liberalism, Missionism, and the Long War  War as Peace  Would Obama End Up Like Toussaint?  Networking and Solidarity  The Peace, AntiRacist, and Reparations Nodes of the  Revolutionary Process  Peace and the Meaning of Work

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158 160 164 166 169 172 173 174 175 176

179 186 188 190 193

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215 215 219 224 226 227 229

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