Maurice, there is something you need to understand about Miriam. She is
very dismissive of what she calls Marxist theory without really ever
bothering to learn what Marxist theory actually is. For example, I
personally have a distaste for the phrase middle class. I won't get into
exactly why I have that distaste right now, but I have explained it
repeatedly to Miriam and she has continued to dismiss it as Marxist
theory. She never has explained what she thinks it has to do with
Marxist theory though.
___
Carl Sagan “Why do we put up with it? Do we like to be criticized? No,
no scientist enjoys it. Every scientist feels a proprietary affection
for his or her ideas and findings. Even so, you don’t reply to critics,
Wait a minute; this is a really good idea; I’m very fond of it; it’s
done you no harm; please leave it alone. Instead, the hard but just rule
is that if the ideas don’t work, you must throw them away.” ― Carl
Sagan, The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark
On 12/8/2020 8:56 AM, Maurice Peret wrote:
Dearest Miriam,
Where is this place called a point of no return? Do you mean to
suggest some sort of Armageddon?
A strenuous discussion and even rigorous debate about politics is a
fine and welcome thing without resorting to condescension to suggest
that one could not possibly grasp the complexity of a subject. AS I
have stated before, I am well-read on Chris Hedges and have spent many
hours listening to his speeches, podcasts, and interviews on his
weekly RT News show, On Contact. But to my points you never bothered
to address directly. It amounts to dismissive at best and avoidance at
worse the pure and simple indisputable fact that we live in a class
divided society. More divided, as statistical evidence of staggering
economic and social inequality persistently demonstrates. To
articulate where we are and how we got here is an important historic
matter and Hedges is a fine thinker in this regard. And yes, I was
aware of his position as New York Times Middle East Bureau Chief. My
assertion stands, however, since I read nothing in Hedges writings
that indicate the dynamic part of this social equation, that is the
demonstrated capacity and power of the working class to transform
society in our own interests. It is as though slavery was ended by the
enlightened Commander in Chief, Honest Abe Lincoln, in a sweeping
edict called the Emancipation Proclamation; that New Deal concessions
from Social Security protections to the WPA programs were somehow
charitably gifted by New York’s own aristocrat, FDR; that civil rights
were won by LBJ’s signature legislation; or that imperialist backed
colonial regimes underwent a “peaceful transition of power.” This is
the stuff of revisionist propaganda disguised as history. Hence the
sentimental shock of liberals and intellectual radicals opining the
disintegration of democracy, as if in some golden age, such a thing
existed as a benevolent liberal class who saw to the universal good of
the people. Certainly, Hedges and his ilk spare no criticism of this
bankrupt meritocracy, but their focus remains neck strainingly upon
the rulers and their government. I have been around a while, myself,
and know intimately what a proletarian led movement can accomplish. To
be sure, Hedges possesses at least a cursory understanding of Marxism
but contrary to utilizing Marxist theoretical approaches in his world
analysis, he, in fact, completely disavows Marxism as a viable
movement, as is its true character, rather than a static theory. Folks
like this tend to dismiss the example of the Bolshevik revolution,
choosing instead to buy into the Stalinist fraud that misrepresented
itself as communist until the disintegration of the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics. Hedges has nothing to say about the living,
breathing, and thriving Cuban revolution which ranks head and
shoulders above the most so-called advanced nations in education,
medicine, culture, and rates of infant mortality and life expectancy.
How much more complicated must it be to implore that we, in our vast
majority, recognize that we are a class, that we should act in our own
class interests and organize our own class defense? To view the world
in these terms is neither simplistic nor static. I dare to state that
this is seeing the world as it is, in all its horrific eternal wars,
genocidal abuse of human and natural resources, and utter irrational
logic of a system that has outlived its historic purpose. That there
will come massive class struggles cannot be in doubt. How those
battles will come out, that cannot be for certain known. Trust me, I
have considered numerous philosophical approaches to existence and of
social forces. I do not, as you might condescend to suggest, come to
this conversation ill equipped of alternate ways of viewing things.
Challenge my assertions, I invite you. But save the condescension to
suggest that the complexities of the world are out of reach for a
younger, perhaps more naive body. :) Hedges concludes doom and gloom
and neglects the most powerful class in history to advance humanity
forward. There can be no alternative.
On 12/7/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Maurice,
I kind of agree with Carl's point which is that he wonders, as do I, if
there are any solutions, at this point. I think that I was trying to say
that these issues are incredibly complex and we are moving toward a point of
no return, very quickly. And I was also trying to say that I know that
people who use Marxist theory as the way in which to see and analyze the
world, believe that the theory is a science that holds the answers. The
interesting thing about Chris Hedges is that his way of seeing the world is
very complicated. He uses Marxist theory, but he is also very well read so
he's read a great deal of philosophy and he's also an ordained minister. He
was, in case you weren't aware of it, a foreign bureau chief for the New
York Times for many years. Again, my point is only that things are a lot
more complicated than we would wish them to be.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Maurice Peret
Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 6:48 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Chris Hedges: The Collective Suicide of the
Liberal Class
Hi Miriam,
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I respect and appreciate your point of
view as very well articulated. From your own description of your past
experiences, I am surprised that you would tag my reference to the working
class as somehow abstract. as a matter of practical fact, all of the
variations that you described of various levels of servitude or near slavery
conditions, do not obscure the definition of working class. insofar as
respecting intellectuals such as Chris Hedges and Cornell West for their
proposed solutions, I would prevail upon you to define exactly what their
solutions are. You might well justifiably characterize my comments as being
from a narrow lens, just as I would not dismiss your opinion as without
merit, it should also be noted that my perspective is based upon historical
evidence and scientific analyses. history cannot be reduced to subjectivity.
For example, the so called “woke culture” cannot represent itself and its
revisionist worldview, as a replacement for objective reality of a class
divided society. The facts are indisputable. I am here to assert that we
are a society divided by those who produce the massive wealth upon which
the parasitic ruling class exist. Until these social relations are
fundamentally replaced, we cannot begin to deal with injustices such as
racism, sexism, and gender biases.
Peace, Maurice
OOn Dec 7, 2020, at 17:31, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Maurice,
I understand that you see the world through a particular lens and tend to
be critical of anyone who does not see the world precisely as you do. My
position has always been that anyone who cares about humanity, and who is
willing to offer thoughts and possible solutions, particularly people with
the intellect and ethical stature of Chris Hedges and Cornell West,
deserve our respect, not our criticism. I've been around for a long time,
long enough to know that terms like, "the working class" are abstractions,
used to make a point. Certainly, society is stratified with a power elite
on top and powerless people on the bottom. When I was a child, back in the
1940's, my father was a factory worker who never graduated from high
school. College in New York City was free back then. But I remember that
when I was very small, for a short time, my parents paid an African
American woman to clean our one bedroom apartment once a week. And now
that I am in my eighties with several disabilities and health problems, I
have had a part-time home health aid who has an I phone, just got a new
car, and tells me with pride, that back in Jamaica, her family owns
property. Perhaps the working class to which people refer, are the slave
laborers in some Asian countries or the farmers in India who are commiting
suicide or going on strike in order to survive.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Maurice Peret
Sent: Monday, December 7, 2020 3:19 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Chris Hedges: The Collective Suicide of
the Liberal Class
I have read several books authored by Chris Hedges and find him quite wise
in his take-no-prisoners critique of capitalism. He even advocates some
form of revolution. The trouble with Hedges is in his utter lack of
confidence in the working class to assume its historic role in seizing
power from the parasitic ruling class and wielding it as a vehicle for
genuine progressive societal change and the transformation of human
beings. Hedges is clear about the disintegration of capital but falls
short of action-based revolutionary clarity and confidence. He sits
somewhere in the ecumenical anarcho-intellectual towers along with Cornell
West and his ilk. When the chips fall, they tend to fall in with the
Democratic Socialists who historically played a treacherous anti working
class role, which opened the door to fascism in Italy, Germany, and
Spain.
What we require are disciplined proletarian organizations who
study and understand a line of march that recognizes that the initiative
belongs to the oppressed in society. It cannot be overstated the extent to
which those who control every institution from education to production,
dominate the narrative in their exaggerated role in society, most grossly
expressed in ideas like American exceptionalism, rather more like
imperialist hubris. But make no mistake, the conditions are fast being
readied for struggles that will realize the fear by the rulers of the
working class. Those of us who are blind, whether among the vast army of
the unemployed or super-exploited in a network of sheltered workshops,
have a great stake in joining in these battles.
MSP
On 12/7/20, Carl Jarvis <carjar82@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Prophet Cris Hedges speaks with straight tongue. Can we dub him, The
Grim Speaker?
Carl Jarvis
On 12/7/20, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Chris Hedges: The Collective Suicide of the Liberal Class
BIDEN ADMIN CHRIS HEDGES ORIGINAL
Chris Hedges: The Collective Suicide of the Liberal Class December
7,
2020
3 Commentson Chris Hedges: The Collective Suicide of the Liberal
Class No one can, or should, take them seriously. They stand for
nothing. They fight for nothing.
Original illustration by Mr. Fish
By Chris Hedges / Original to ScheerPost
Liberals who express dismay, or more bizarrely a fevered hope, about
the corporatists and imperialists selected to fill the positions in
the Biden administration are the court jesters of our political
burlesque. They long ago sold their soul and abandoned their most
basic principles to line up behind a bankrupt Democratic Party. They
chant, with every election cycle, the mantra of the least worst and
sit placidly on the sidelines as a Bill Clinton or a Barack Obama
and the Democratic Party leadership betray every issue they claim to
support.
The only thing that mattered to liberals in the presidential race,
once again, was removing a Republican, this time Donald Trump, from
office.
This,
the liberals achieved. But their Faustian bargain, in election after
election, has shredded their credibility. They are ridiculed, not
only among right-wing Trump supporters but by the hierarchy of the
Democratic Party that has been captured by corporate power. No one
can, or should, take liberals seriously. They stand for nothing.
They fight for nothing. The cost is too onerous. And so, the
liberals do what they always do, chatter endlessly about political
and moral positions they refuse to make any sacrifices to achieve.
Liberals, largely comprised of the professional managerial-class
that dutifully recycles and shops for organic produce and is
concentrated on the two coasts, have profited from the ravages of
neoliberalism.
They seek to endow it with a patina of civility. But their routine
and public humiliation has ominous consequences. It not only exposes
the liberal class as hollow and empty, it discredits the liberal
democratic values they claim to uphold.
Liberals should have abandoned the Democratic Party when Bill
Clinton and political hacks such as Biden transformed the Democratic
Party into the Republican Party and launched a war on traditional
liberal values and left-wing populism. They should have defected by
the millions to support Ralph Nader and other Green Party candidates.
This defection, as Nader understood, was the only tactic that could
force the Democrats to adopt parts of a liberal and left-wing agenda
and save us from the slow-motion corporate coup d’état. Fear is the
real force behind political change, not oily promises of mutual
goodwill. Short of this pressure, this fear, especially with labor
unions destroyed, there is no hope. Now we will reap the
consequences of the liberal class’s moral and political cowardice.
The Democratic Party elites revel in taunting liberals as well as
the left-wing populists who preach class warfare and supported
Bernie Sanders.
How are we supposed to interpret the appointment of Antony Blinken,
one of the architects of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and
supporter of the apartheid state of Israel, as Secretary of State?
Or John Kerry, who championed the massive expansion of domestic oil
and gas production, largely through fracking, and, according to
Barack Obama’s memoir, worked doggedly to convince those concerned
about the climate crisis to “offer up concessions on subsidies for
the nuclear power industry and the opening of additional U.S.
coastlines to offshore oil drilling” as the new climate policy czar?
Or Brian Deese, the executive who was in charge of the “climate
portfolio” at BlackRock, which invests heavily in fossil fuels,
including coal, and who served as a former Obama economic adviser
who advocated austerity measures, to run the White House’s economic
policy? Or Neera Tanden, for director of the Office of Management
and Budget, who as president of the Center for American Progress
raised millions in dark money from Silicon Valley and Wall Street
while relentlessly ridiculing Bernie Sanders and his supporters on
cable news and social media and who proposed a plank in the
Democratic platform calling for bombing Iran?
The Biden administration resembles the ineffectual German government
formed by Franz von Papen in 1932 that sought to recreate the ancien
régime, a utopian conservatism that ensured Germany’s drift into
fascism. Biden, bereft like von Papen of new ideas and programs,
will eventually be forced to employ the brutal tools Biden as a
senator was so prominent in creating to maintain social control –
wholesale surveillance, a corrupt judicial system, the world’s
largest prison system and police that have been transformed into
lethal paramilitary units of internal occupation. Those that resist
as social unrest mounts will be attacked as agents of a foreign
power and censored, as many already are being censored, including
through algorithms and deplatforming on social media. The most
ardent and successful dissidents, such as Julian Assange, will be
criminalized.
The shock troops of the state, already ideologically bonded with the
neofascists on the right, will hunt down and wipe out an enfeebled
and often phantom left, as we saw in the chilling state
assassination by U.S.
Marshals
of the antifa activist Michael Reinoehl, who was unarmed and
standing outside an apartment complex in Lacey, Washington, in
September when he was shot multiple times. I witnessed this kind of
routine state terror during the war in El Salvador. Reinoehl
allegedly killed Aaron Danielson, a member of the far-right group
Patriot Prayer during a pro-Trump rally in Portland, Oregon in August.
Compare the gunning down of Reinoehl by federal agents to the
coddling of Kyle Rittenhouse, the 17-year-old accused of killing two
protesters and injuring a third on August 25 in Kenosha, Wisconsin.
Police officers, moments before the shooting, are seen on video
thanking Rittenhouse and other armed right-wing militia member for
coming to the city and handing them bottles of water. Rittenhouse is
also seen in a video walking toward police with his hands up after
his shooting spree as protesters yell that he had shot several
people. Police, nevertheless, allow him to leave.
Rittenhouse’s killings have been defended by the right, including
Trump.
Rittenhouse, who has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in
donations for his legal fees, has been released on $2 million bail.
We stand on the cusp of a frightening authoritarianism. Social
unrest, given a continuation of neoliberalism, the climate crisis,
the siphoning off of diminishing resources to the bloated war
machine, political stagnation and the failure to contain the
pandemic and its economic fallout, is almost certain. Absent a
left-wing populism, a disenfranchised working class will line up, as
it did with Trump, behind its counterfeit, a right-wing populism.
The liberal elites will, if history is any guide, justify state
repression as a response to social chaos in the name of law and order.
That
they, too, are on the Christian Right and the corporate state’s long
list of groups to be neutralized will become evident to them when it
is too late.
It was Friedrich Ebert and the Social Democratic Party of Germany,
siding with the conservatives and nationalists, that created the
Freikorps, private paramilitary groups composed of demobilized
soldiers and malcontents. The Freikorps ruthlessly crushed left-wing
uprisings in Berlin, Bremen, Brunswick, Hamburg, Halle, Leipzig,
Silesia, Thuringia and the Ruhr. When the Freikorps was not gunning
down left-wing populists in the streets and carrying out hundreds of
political assassinations, including the murder of Walther Rathenau,
the foreign minister, it was terrorizing civilians, looting and
pillaging. The Freikorps became the antecedent of the Nazi
Brownshirts, led by Ernst Röhm, a former Freikorps commander.
All the pieces are in place for our own descent into what I suspect
will be a militarized Christianized fascism. Political dysfunction,
a bankrupt and discredited liberal class, massive and growing social
inequality, a grotesquely rich and tone-deaf oligarchic elite, the
fragmentation of the public into warring tribes, widespread food
insecurity and hunger, chronic underemployment and unemployment and
misery, all exacerbated by the failure of the state to cope with the
crisis of the pandemic, combine with the rot of civil and political
life to create a familiar cocktail leading to authoritarianism and
fascism.
Trump and the Republican Party, along with the shrill incendiary
voices on right-wing media, play the role the antisemitic parties
played in Europe during the late 19th and early 20th century. The
infusion of anti-Semitism into the political debate in Europe
destroyed the political decorum and civility that is vital to
maintaining a democracy. Racist tropes and hate speech, as in Weimar
Germany, now poison our political discourse.
Ridicule
and cruel taunts are hurled back and forth. Lies are interchangeable
with fact. Those who oppose us are demonized as human embodiments of
evil.
This poisonous discourse is only going to get worse, especially with
millions of Trump supporters convinced the election was rigged and
stolen.
The German Social Democrat Kurt Schumacher in the 1930s said that
fascism “is a constant appeal to the inner swine in human beings”
and succeeds by “mobilizing human stupidity.” This mobilized
stupidity, accompanied by what Rainer Maria Rilke called “the evil
effluvium from the human swamp,” is being amplified and intensified
in the siloed media chambers of the right.
This hate-filled rhetoric eschews reality to cater to the desperate
desire for emotional catharsis, for renewed glory and prosperity and
for acts of savage vengeance against the phantom enemies blamed for
our national debacle.
The constant barrage of vitriol and fabulist conspiracy theories
will, I fear, embolden extremists to carry out political murder, not
only of mainstream Democrats, Republicans Trump has accused of
betrayal such as Georgia governor Brian Kemp and those targeted as
part of the deep state, but also those at media outlets such as CNN
or The New York Times that serve as propaganda arms of the
Democratic Party. Once the Pandora’s box of violence is opened it is
almost impossible to close. Martyrs on one side of the divide demand
martyrs on the other side. Violence becomes the primary form of
communication. And, as Sabastian Haffner wrote, “once the violence
and readiness to kill that lies beneath the surface of human nature
has been awakened and turned against other humans, and even made
into a duty, it is a simple matter to change the target.”
This, I suspect, is what is coming. The blame lies not only with the
goons and racists on the right, the corporatists who pillage the
country and the corrupt ruling elite that does their bidding, but a
feckless liberal class that found standing up for its beliefs too
costly. The liberals will pay for their timidity and cowardice, but
so will we.
--
Maurice Peret
MOBILE/TEXT: 804.928.4015
