The French fight back
Joe Cohen, writing in the Boston Globe about the celebration in France after the victory of the 'non' vote against the European Constitution, has this poignant comment about French versus American politics:
The reference to May, 1968 is a powerful one. In that fateful month, the people of France came oh so close to creating something truly revolutionary in the Western world. That month represented throughout the world what we now realize was the high point of the left within the twentieth century, when everything seemed possible. It wasn't obvious until later that this was the case, and, alas, the right has been in ascendancy every since that moment. But in May of 1968, the French, God bless them, took the world to the brink of possibility.
That was not the first time that France took the world close to a radically new vision. In 1871, revolution took hold in the city of Paris, when the Paris Commune was founded. Unfortunately, the Commune was ultimately crushed by the reactionaries in France.
The defeat of the EU Constitution at the ballot box isn't exactly the same as manning the barricades in May, 1968. But it does represent a significant clash, a reaction to the neoliberal globalization that has enveloped the industrialized West. The French said, "enough is enough". This clash of visions and economic futures must come to a head, and where it will end up is anyone's guess. Perhaps the French will take respond to this clash between a morally bankrupt neoliberal capitalism and the "social Europe" that market forces are seeking to destroy, and ask themselves if perhaps a new, better world is possible.
I was impressed by the peacefulness, conviviality, and civility of the process -- how people in normally impersonal Paris would talk freely with each other, sharing their thoughts and feelings. An echo of May 1968.
It also seemed that I was observing a genuinely democratic process, not far from the spirit of ancient Athens. It struck me that the French, not for the first time, were collectively rejecting their rulers. The rulers, understandably, are not amused. Perhaps the elite does know some things better than the common folk. Nonetheless, I still think I saw a magnificent process in motion -- a people asserting their own intrinsic and inalienable sovereignty.
All this made me think about the recent history of the United States. What would have happened if, like the French, Americans had risen up after the falsified election and judicial coup d'etat of 2000? Or before the deceitful run-up to the Iraq war? Why did we go along instead of standing up for simple justice?
Maybe the quarrelsome, arrogant, petulant French do get touched now and then by divine inspiration. Maybe the human spirit continues to live, despite many efforts to the contrary.
The reference to May, 1968 is a powerful one. In that fateful month, the people of France came oh so close to creating something truly revolutionary in the Western world. That month represented throughout the world what we now realize was the high point of the left within the twentieth century, when everything seemed possible. It wasn't obvious until later that this was the case, and, alas, the right has been in ascendancy every since that moment. But in May of 1968, the French, God bless them, took the world to the brink of possibility.
That was not the first time that France took the world close to a radically new vision. In 1871, revolution took hold in the city of Paris, when the Paris Commune was founded. Unfortunately, the Commune was ultimately crushed by the reactionaries in France.
The defeat of the EU Constitution at the ballot box isn't exactly the same as manning the barricades in May, 1968. But it does represent a significant clash, a reaction to the neoliberal globalization that has enveloped the industrialized West. The French said, "enough is enough". This clash of visions and economic futures must come to a head, and where it will end up is anyone's guess. Perhaps the French will take respond to this clash between a morally bankrupt neoliberal capitalism and the "social Europe" that market forces are seeking to destroy, and ask themselves if perhaps a new, better world is possible.
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