Horace Campbell - whom do you write for?
I've finished reading Prof. Campbell's comments [http://www.pambazuka.org/en/category/features/46809], and I can see that he is enthusiastic, encouraged, and hopeful regarding the candidacy of Barack Obama. But I had to wade through way too many words to find his actual points, and many of those words were confusing. I long to read clearly expressed incisive thought, and this just doesn't qualify. Perhaps there is an in-crowd who shares a common understanding of some of the terms that are opaque to me, and I'm not part of that group.
I'm left wondering, what are "new self-organizing tools for self-emancipation" (is this a reference to robotics?), and "self-similar processes being developed in spaces of peace, spaces of hope and non-racialized spaces"? Not only what, but where, are such spaces found?
And this statement: "Decent Christians are now seeking the gospel of peace and love instead of hate and religious fundamentalism." Is that "decent Christians" as opposed to "indecent" Christians? I've met some Christians, as well as non-Christians, who've been seeking the gospel of peace and love for a long time now. If this is a change, is Prof. Campbell suggesting that it's been brought about by Barack Obama?
What is "this methodical organizing like the repetition of self-similarity"? What is the "scaling pattern of Obama"?
"This leap has been reinforced by the nested loops of new social networks wired through the spaces of the information revolution". Perhaps I'm to understand this as poetry.
"Safe and clean neighborhoods, children who are reared to respect all human beings and a society that support (sic) repair of the planet earth awaits these new self-organizing forces." Exactly which forces are those? In my view, these requirements wait for no politician or political force, but are the direct responsibility of individual citizens. No parent can put off teaching respect for all humanity until the right politician appears on the scene. If our neighborhoods are unclean and/or unsafe, it's our fault, not the fault of "politics". In my view, each individual is responsible for the space s/he occupies.
My message: reading this piece was largely a frustrating experience.