RESPONSE TO “SEVEN STEPS TO REVOLUTION”

Feb 22, 2008

Sara Robinson's is an eloquent summary of the seething going on in today's American cauldron. However, to be really useful, we need also an analysis of the container in which this seething is occurring.

A pressure cooker is built to stand thermal activity beyond the boiling point, and over the years, plutocracy and militarism have built structures similarly thick and fortified. One can only imagine the ruthless power the corporate state can, and will

 be willing to bring to bear on a population in real revolt. New weapons of crowd control, pervasive spying, systemic brutality, concentration camps...all these are real options, currently at hand. Would even the revolutionary crowds of 1789, not to mention far softer current Americans, be able to withstand them and sustain a revolution?

So in addition to Robinson's analysis, we need also to analyze the chinks, if any, in the pervasive political, economic, and military armor of the state. This is now a crucial topic for incisive discussion and research, though it is also clear that the cauldron makers, alert to such threads, will move quickly to repair any noted flaws. Nevertheless, one can hope to stay an effective step ahead of a likely dinosaurish response. 

I encourage the brilliant Sara Robinson to help us along with such research.

Marc Estrin