Posted by Justin Jeffre

Photo courtesy of here.

The Cincinnati Beacon interviews author Dan La Botz about Up-Coming Lecture this Tuesday

Beacon: In “Who Rules Cincinnati?”, published earlier this year, you argued that seven large corporations ruled Cincinnati—Procter & Gamble, Kroger, Macy’s/Federated Department Stores, Fifth Third Bancorp, Western and Southern Financial, American Financial Corp, and, E.W. Scripps—dominate the economic and political life in the city. Has anything change since you wrote Who Rules?

La Botz: No, those corporations remain very much in control of the city. They can be held largely responsible for decades of misrule here, for the legacy of racism and poverty we have in this city. In the recently released census data, Cincinnati is the 10th poorest large city in the nation, with 23.5 percent of our population living in poverty. The system and the problems I described in Who Rules? remain the same, but I want to do a few other things in this talk.

What I want to do in this lecture is to briefly describe the role of the corporations here, relate that to the current economic crisis, and talk about what can be done to create a different kind of economic and political system in this country.

Beacon: Do Cincinnati corporations play a significant role in this current crisis?

La Botz: Well, the crisis, that is, the collapse of Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the American International Group or AIG, together with the fall in the stock market, are events that affect the entire American economy, so of course they also threaten Cincinnati. Many economists are talking about the possibility of another Great Depression.

At the same time, we see at the national level, the same control of the economy by the banks, insurance companies, and corporations that we do here. When those institutions—left unregulated, left to run roughshod over the economy—finally collapsed, then they called on the government to save them.

What we are seeing is the creation of a kind of state capitalism or state socialism, but the American people—who will be paying the bills—have no control over these institutions that they now bankroll. What we have to talk about is how to create a different sort of economy, one not dominated by a handful of corporate boards and CEOs, but democratically controlled by the American people.

Beacon: You sound a lot like Ralph Nader who was here in Cincinnati a week ago.

La Botz: I believe that Nader has clearly identified the problem with American government, that is, it’s domination by corporations. I would differ with him, however, on his strategy for changing American society.

Beacon: In what way?

La Botz: I believe that Nader is right to talk about involving citizens in the electoral process and building a political alternative to the left of the Democratic Party. But I also think we’re going to need militant social movements inspired by a radical philosophy, groups prepared to use their economic and social power—protests, marches, strikes, and direct action to challenge the power of the corporations.

We have to rebuild movements as large and powerful as the civil rights and anti-war movements of the 1960s, more power, more focused on economic and political change, if we want to end corporate domination.

Beacon: Do you think that third party or Independent candidates have helped to spark these movements throughout our history? And if so, could Nader’s campaign help fuel these movements for the future as well-like his idea for a Congress Watch where 1-2,000 people watchdog their Congress members in each district? If not, how do we rebuild these movements?

La Botz: I think that third party movement and independent candidates have been central to advancing democracy and social justice in the United States, from the abolitionists, to the socialists, to the Greens and Nader. Equally important have been non-electoral social movements such as the militant labor movement of the 1930s, the civil rights, anti-war and women’s movements.

Yes, it would be good to have watch-dog groups in every congressional district, but the tendency is for citizens groups to become dominated by wealthy citizens and corporations. That’s why it is so important to rebuild movements of workers and poor people.

Beacon: What’s your take on those “progressives” that are arguing that we can build these movements through Obama’s campaign, the Democratic Party, or we should at least vote for him/them as the lesser evil? Can we build these movements through this strategy?

La Botz:  I think many people have been attracted to Obama’s campaign promise of change. The Democratic Party, however, is owned by powerful corporations and wealthy individuals and dominated by an apparatus of fund raisers, media consultants and professional political operators. Where is the power to change it?

During the 1960s when the unions and progressive social movements had a lot more weight, power and presence than they do now, Michael Harrington of the Democratic Socialists of America advocated working to “realign” the Democrats by driving out the Southern racists and corrupt big city machines. Harrington and the DSA failed and meanwhile the old Democratic Party changed around them.

Today labor and social movements are weaker, white southern Democrats left for the Republican Party, and the big city machines died off mostly and ward-healers were replaced by focus groups and advertising copy writers.

Realignment didn’t work then and it is less likely to work today. We need to rebuild from the grassroots up on the basis of a program to take power back from the corporations.

Given the Bush record and McCain’s and Palin’s politics, people understandably see this as a terribly important election. Many will be afraid to vote for a third party candidate, feeling they must contribute to burying Bush under a mandate for Obama and the Democrats. At the same time, those who vote for their principles and their politics, for Ralph Nader or Cynthia McKinney of the Greens, should be respected for defending the left end of the political spectrum.

Many who vote for Obama today will be disappointed tomorrow. The important thing is that coming out of this election we begin to build an independent political movement to the left of the Democrats, it may be the Greens, or the Labor Party, or call it a Working People’s Party, or whatever. What is important is that we build a party that rejects corporate power and calls for democratizing politics and the economy. To do that, we will need a powerful new movement of working people.

Beacon: Good luck with your lecture.

La Botz: Good of you to talk with me.

Dan La Botz – Who Rules Cincinnati?

Cincinnati Public Library, Main Branch, 800 Vine Street, Sep 23 2008 - 7:00 p.m.

Who Rules Cincinnati? Who are the city’s elite? The fat cats? The powers-that-be? What has the domination of seven corporations over politics and policy meant for the life of the city? How might Cincinnati be better organized for the benefit of all of its citizens?

Dan La Botz, teacher, author, and activist asks these questions and poses some answers to them at The Public Library of Cincinnati & Hamilton Co., Main Library - Huenefeld Tower Room, 800 Vine Street in Cincinnati.  Call 513.369.6900 for more information. 

The text of La Botz’s informative and controversial booklet can be found at: http://www.CincinnatiStudies.org

Thank you for reading (and printing from) The Cincinnati Beacon.