tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post6598980686506621130..comments2023-12-29T18:13:21.495-06:00Comments on pink scare: Is the Problem the 1% or the System?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-59058282550467602342012-01-16T17:45:12.873-06:002012-01-16T17:45:12.873-06:00I agree that the news media--and the culture indus...I agree that the news media--and the culture industry--tend to exert a strongly conservative force on contemporary societies. See recent posts for more on that. But I would disagree that the matrix is seamless. <br /><br />There are cracks, contradictions, and fissures everywhere. What's more, the daily experiences of ordinary people falsify and conflict with dominant ideologies all the time. The Occupy movement has proven that millions of people are dissatisfied with a political/economic system dominated by the 1%. They want to fight back. People are not too deluded to see what's wrong--on the contrary, people are radicalizing right now at a rate unseen since the 1960s (and, before then, the 1930s). <br /><br />The task of Leftists right now is to deepen that radicalization and bring developed politics and a knowledge of the history of past struggles to bear on contemporary movements. We have to engage with new folks and win them to the idea that our strength against the 1% lies in our numbers, that the working class--because of its power to shut down the whole system--must be at the heart of the struggle, and that the 99% has to see its role as fighting together against all forms of oppression (e.g. racism, sexism, homophobia, etc.).thttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05268192967377248928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6058072377999486184.post-88852105368699516002012-01-11T11:20:15.178-06:002012-01-11T11:20:15.178-06:00Excellent analysis. This is a very clear descripti...Excellent analysis. This is a very clear description of the roles of capitalists and government. However, a bit more should be said about the role of the public. A dominant mythology, a "false consciousness," is perpetuated by the way that the corporate-owned news media frame all the issues -- The Matrix is seamless. The public must be persuaded that "greed is good," and that "the invisible hand of the market works for the good of all." Thus greed is not just an emotion in individuals, but an ideology that is crucial to the perpetuation of the system. Greed, the mechanism of the market, and the ideology all perpetuate each other. Like the chicken and the egg, neither came first.<br /><br />However, I am inclined to describe a worldview of separateness as the root cause of the ideology. "Our interests are separate -- your loss is not my loss, and might even be my gain." I would focus on this, because I think it may be the element that can be changed most easily. The bureaucracy of brutality will fall without a shot when its workers awaken and walk out. Or at least, I hope so.Eric Schechterhttp://leftymathprof.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com