Cornel West Talks With DSA/YDS

Since then, we've seen tremendous gains in terms of the black freedom movement, gains in the women's movement, gains in the LGBT movement, and growing concerns over impending ecological catastrophe. The latter issue was not really talked about at the March on Washington. At the same time, and this is a sad feature of our day, the big banks and the big corporations are in the saddle more than ever before, more than in 1963. Our trade unions were stronger, and therefore there was more of a social contract in the workplace. That's no longer the case. And you've got the financialization of the capitalist system since then, so you've got a much bigger percentage of the profits going into banks that don't generate anything of productive value. So in 1963 you have companies like American Motors producing cars with Mitt Romney's father George - now Mitt Romney produces deals, but no real jobs. Big money, but no productive value for the real economy and everyday people. And so on the one hand we've got some real progress and gains,but on the other, in terms of the core of the capitalist system and the big banks and corporations, they're more powerful than ever. What he thinks is following his interest group articulation model, singing a bit of Al Green, dropping some crumbs at black colleges, "OK, I've taken care of that interest group, let me go on to the next one." But that's not what it's about. Same is true when he goes to AIPAC. It's not about interest groups. The question is "What does it mean to have a just situation in the Middle East?" You've got to have security for Jewish brothers and sisters, and you've got to also make sure you've got fairness for Palestinians because any occupation needs to be called into question. It could be China occupying Tibet, Morocco occupying Western Sahara, it's about fairness you see. That would be the kind of language I would want to use coming out of the tradition I come out of. But you know, most black leaders don't use that kind of language anymore. We've got such shameful silence among black leaders, and such shameful capitulation to the neoliberal politics of the black president. It's also true that class politics was superseded among progressives as a whole. In DSA, we held on to our identities, but we were in no way in control of that broader shift. We've held on for so long, and one of the reasons why we're able to grow now is that we've been consistent, we really have. You always have the red Left, my brother Carl