Barack Obama and Twenty-First-Century Politics A Revolutionary Moment in the USA Horace G. Campbell К\л\ PlutoPress www.plutobooks.com
CONTENTS Preface and aknowledgments xi Revolutionary Moments and Ruptures 1 Revolutionary Moments: Lessons from the French and Cuban Revolutions 3 New Concept of Shared Humanity 6 Ubuntu 8 Elements of the Revolutionary Moment 10 Beyond Vanguardism in the Twenty-First Century 15 Classical Music meets Jazz 20 Reparations and Revolution 23 New Militants and Sites of Politics 25 Conclusion 26 The Political Training of Barack Obama 29 Ubuntu and Non-Racial Democracy 34 Lessons in Ubuntu 36 Toots and the Dignity of Work 38 Training as a Community Organizer in Chicago 40 Searching for Life Purpose and Healing in Kenya 48 Redemption 50 Michelle Robinson: The Personal is Political 52 Conclusion 55 Confronting Racism and Sexism in US Politics 58 Phase I: The Electoral College and "Three-Fifths of a Human" 63 Phase II: The Civil War and the Struggle for Democracy 67 Phase III: Autonomous Organizing and the Harriet Tubman Principles 69 Reconstruction and the Third Phase 71 Counter-Revolution 72 Benjamin Tillman, Sexualized Violence and the Consolidation of Racism 73 Long-Term Legacies of the Third Phase 76
VIII CONTENTS Eugenics and the Ideological Victory of the South 77 Eugenics and Technological Singularity 80 Conclusion: Democratization as a Process 82 Racism and the Old Left 84 Beyond the Limitations of Liberal Thought 85 4 Grassroots Organizing Confronts the Machine 88 Revolutions by Ordinary People - the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party 94 Obama's Learning from the Ella Baker Principles 95 Beyond Vanguardism 100 The Conservative Counter-offensive in the US before the Rise of the Obama Phenomenon 101 The Attempted Intervention of Jesse Jackson 104 The Democratic Party and the Hierarchy of Power 106 Leaderism, Vanguardism, and the Party Boss 111 Technocrats, Bosses, and Political Advantage 112 From Bosses to Political Consultants 113 The Clintons Inherit the Party Machinery 114 Conclusion 118 5 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 153 Burdens of the Past 153 New and Old Forces at the Convention 155 Shadows of the Past and the Denver setting 156
CONTENTS IX The Promise of a Green Convention 158 T. Boone Pickens and Forgiveness 160 Insiders and Outsiders in Denver 164 The Clinton Brigade in Denver 166 Michelle Obama and the Caucuses 169 The Latino/Hispanic Caucus at the Convention 172 Who are the Latinos? 173 Roll Call and Nomination 174 Acceptance Speech and Marketing the Candidate 175 Conclusion 176 7 Ground Operation for Victory: Challenging the Ruthlessness of the Wounded Corporate Bankers 179 The Moment of September 186 Ruthlessness and Recklessness 188 The World of Derivatives, Politics, and Ruthlessness 190 Financialization as Economic Terrorism 193 Henry Paulson and the Drama of the Moment of September 195 Elements of the Coup 196 Speechless and Politics 197 Obama and the Presidential Campaign 199 The Legacies of Jesse Helms in North Carolina 202 Respect, Empower, Include - Observing the Ground Operation at First Hand 205 Youth Activists and the Wall of Hope 205 Tolerance and the Networks 206 Rowan County and Salisbury Town 208 Mecklenburg County and Crossing into South Carolina 209 The Nerve Center in Raleigh-Durham 210 A Divided Military 211 Conclusion 212 8 Beyond Messiahs: Networks for Peace and Transformation in the Twenty-First Century 215 Introduction 215 The Trap of Messianism and Militarism 219 Liberalism, Missionism, and the Long War 224 War as Peace 226 Would Obama End Up Like Toussaint? 227 Networking and Solidarity 229 The Peace, Anti-Racist, and Reparations Nodes of the Revolutionary Process 232 Peace and the Meaning of Work 234
X CONTENTS Revolution and the Tipping Point 239 Peace and the Inheritance of Black Liberation 241 Progressive Women and the Peace Movement 243 Building a New Democracy 244 Conclusion 247 9 Ubuntu and Twenty-First-Century Revolution 249 The Setting and the Challenges 249 Ubuntu, Quantum Politics, and the Revolutionary Moment 255 Environmental Justice, a Fractal Outlook, and Quantum Leaps 259 Ubuntu, Self-Organization, and Self-Mobilization 263 Abraham Lincoln and the Second Revolution in the United States 265 Ubuntu, Self-Organization, and New Leadership 268 New Leadership and Optimism in Society 269 Optimism as a Political Act 272 Notes 276 Further reading 302 Index 309