Monday, December 27, 2004
How Nonprofit Careerism Derailed the "Revolution"
I thought this Counterpunch piece by someone named Michael Donnelly was a little harsh but thought-provoking and probably correct. Donnelly argues that because privileged college graduates can now have reasonably well-paying careers in the nonprofit sector the American left has lost much of its momentum and power, given that the biggest nonprofits seldom do more than greenwash corporations or shill for the Democratic party.
Donnelly's criticism of bigtime nonprofits reminds me of one of the favorite talking points of Znet's Michael Albert: when you stucture left institutions like corporations you inevitably reproduce negative aspects of corporations in left institutions; for instance, see this old debate between Albert and The Nation's Katha Pollitt in which he touches on this point. Actually, there're many Albert essays that better make this point that I could have linked to, but the fight with Pollitt is pretty funny, so, you know, sue me.
Curious what other people thought...
Donnelly's criticism of bigtime nonprofits reminds me of one of the favorite talking points of Znet's Michael Albert: when you stucture left institutions like corporations you inevitably reproduce negative aspects of corporations in left institutions; for instance, see this old debate between Albert and The Nation's Katha Pollitt in which he touches on this point. Actually, there're many Albert essays that better make this point that I could have linked to, but the fight with Pollitt is pretty funny, so, you know, sue me.
Curious what other people thought...
