Theory and Practice

At A Green State of Mind, Darin Robbins posts the text of a thought provoking presentation he gave at New York's 2009 Green Fest earlier this month on 'The Importance of Theory in Independent Progressive Politics.' Some excerpts:

Those who engage in progressive activism and electoral politics can take up what others have already studied in order to find new applications of theory. This theoretical background and application can work in tandem in order to promote an understanding of power, meaning, and production as well as a self-awareness of the human role in these systems. In other words, the immediate goal of theory is to advance knowledge, and that is a very important factor in political action . . .

It goes without saying that the old adage “knowledge is power” is as true today as it ever was. Incorporating theory into action is something that is more of a necessity for our goals than just a slight supplement to the Green Party . . .

Political action is the ability to practice a transformation of the social, political, cultural, and economic fields of reality. A successful transformation requires the interaction of theory and practice . . .

The vital aspect to point out is that action without a theoretical foundation can be disbursed into isolated things by the structure of power, and theory without its expression into concrete action can be seen simply as academic conversation . . .

the fact that the anti-globalization movement grew outside of the two-party system is significant. It demonstrated that theory and practice can find fertile ground, and this is a characteristic which the Green Party can handily emulate . . .

Robbins goes on to summarize the work of three prominent French philosophers of the twentieth century, Michel Foucault, Alain Badiou and Gilles Deleuze, concluding:

Because these theorists deal specifically with issues of power, meaning, and production, they are just as important in our work as running candidates in elections, staging protests, and addressing our grievances to democratically elected governments that is supposedly insured by our Constitution. It can be said that our melding of theory and action is an implementation of populism in a more progressive and radical fashion.