In the early 20th century, just after the Mexican revolution against Porfirio Diaz, a tyrant capitalist, the Mexican elites (Carranza, Madero, Obregon, Villa, Zapata, etc.) tried for two decades to set up a stable foundation for the Mexican state. They all foundered. It wasn't until President Cardenas saw fit to genuinely address the demands of labor and the agrarians (campesinos) that the state became truly stable. How did Cardenas succeed? He reorganized his predecessor's party into the PRM (Party of the Mexican Revolution). What was different about the PRM was that it incorporated labor and the agrarians into the party structure. It also incorporated a group called the "popular sector" which was composed of government employees and other non-labor urban associations. Each sectoral organization was completely parallel, with no structural overlap or structural cooperation. At the head of each was a single man. Lastly, the PRM was a top-down organization, with the President of Mexico at the helm. At the time, this sounded like a great idea to labor and the peasants. Cardenas seemed genuinely interested in the progress of Mexico as well as the plight of its neediest citizens (e.g., he encouraged unions to strike and yielded peasant land redistribution programs to local control where they were accomplished at a much higher rate). But the victory was short-lived. Cardenas' chosen successor, Avila Comacho, was an avowed conservative. He was chosen to assuage capitalists who feared expansion of Cardenas' programs and who might otherwise stage a coup. Cardenas himself also scaled back some of his reforms at the end of his term. But that's not the worst of it. Incorporation plus a top-down flow of power meant that unions and peasants could be divided and their policies watered down through patronage (e.g., buying leaders off with short-term goods) and repression (e.g., removing radicals from positions of power and replacing them with party loyalists). So, labor and peasants had the option of working through a "fixed" system or joining radical groups (Americans will surely be reminded of that anti-democratic, anti-third-party slogan "go ahead, throw your vote away"). This is what I fear about the NomCom and about ICANN in general, the coalescing of power and supposed concensus in such a way that it marginalize voices outside of Big Business and Big Government. So, even if you take the Dyson-esque position that NomCom is better than nothing, you've still got a very real threat of cooptation. ... I wish I could volunteer more time, but I'm a single parent, I work full-time, and I'm finishing my degree. After I graduate in May, I plan on helping the Internet out more than just venting now and then... but until then, I'll help as I am able. (E.g., this is why while I drafted a Mission/Vision, I didn't join the Charter list). Let's keep the ball rolling: . I don't care where we incorporate, though I think it should be in a democratic country. . Let's keep polling and get election stuff going. . I wouldn't mind a smaller Panel of 5 or 7, with the option of growing itself if that'll get more done. . Regularly scheduled IRC Panel meetings might be a good idea. . Please please please if there's a Poll or Election, I want a reminder mail sent to *me* not just to the list. List mail is filtered into a separate folder which I don't look at unless I've got time. Cheers, -s
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