Activists tend to exaggerate the extent to which there is a crisis of legitimacy of the class power of employers and the associated economic, political and social structures. Thus, John Clarke, a former major organizer of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP), wrote the following on August 21, 2024:
There is no question that Palestine, its oppression, its resistance and the international solidarity it generates, have created a crisis of legitimacy for the present world order that is only starting to play out.
A world dominated by the interests of small group of US led imperialist powers has been camouflaged by the myth of a law governed international order. The Gaza Genocide has undermined this pretence to a dangerous degree.
Countries fueling Israel’s Gaza war may be complicit in war crimes, experts warn
There are crises of legitimacies at various levels: geopolitical, economic, political, legal and social, among others. That there is, to a certain extent, a crisis of legitimacy at the geopolitical level, but probably less so at the political and legal levels.
It is noteworthy that despite all the protests against the genocide that has occurred in Gaza and the West Bank, they have been ineffective in preventing it. If there were indeed multiple crises of legitimacy at various levels, then it would be likely that opposition to the genocide would be more effective.
If there were a crisis of legitimacy at the legal level, there would be much more questioning of the legitimacy of the law at the domestic level at not just at the international level. Where is there proof of such an attitude?
Activists are closer to the ground and often in the thick of things, but they do need to gain a realistic view of situations by standing back somewhat and assessing the situation. Exaggerating their own or others’ efficacy when proof to the contrary presents itself does the radical left, workers, citizens, immigrants and migrant workers no good.
I come from a working-class background. My lost paid job was a teacher, substituting for a number of years before obtaining a permanent position. I obtained my doctorate in 2009. I am an unapologetic critic of capitalism and the way in which various institutions and ideologies reinforce it.
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