There's an academic by the name of Morris Berman who believes that the US defines itself by a "negative" identity, that is, to identify yourself by what you oppose. i.e: "savage native" vs. civilized Christian pioneer, master vs slave, black vs white, free world vs. iron curtain, etc.
Because it lacks a positive identity, an identity with affirmative values of its own, when the subject introspects into its own character and finds a void, it reacts violently.
That sounds suspiciously a lot like how Neo-Conservatives interact with their negative or anti-politics.
Literally just listed to a podcast today about Phyllis Schlafly and her involvement in the rise of the modern far-right, Qanon type of conservative that helped trump come into power.
Her whole purpose, in her mind, was to be soo Anti-Communist that she spun and re-branded anything considered even remotely progressive, or anti-nuclear family as being communist and tried to put a stop to it.
With this type of rhetoric we're already too progressive, so being regressive and against anything libs are doing is the only way to fight the threat of communism.
We can thank her in large part to the election of Trump
This is literally just a continual trend of republican ideas of the polity, there's always a group outside of it that is a threat. One of the key insights of Marx is to overcome that and get a polity that is truly inclusive with all human beings equally in the demos.
There's an academic by the name of Morris Berman who believes that the US defines itself by a "negative" identity, that is, to identify yourself by what you oppose. i.e: "savage native" vs. civilized Christian pioneer, master vs slave, black vs white, free world vs. iron curtain, etc.
Because it lacks a positive identity, an identity with affirmative values of its own, when the subject introspects into its own character and finds a void, it reacts violently.
Or so Berman claims.
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That sounds suspiciously a lot like how Neo-Conservatives interact with their negative or anti-politics.
Literally just listed to a podcast today about Phyllis Schlafly and her involvement in the rise of the modern far-right, Qanon type of conservative that helped trump come into power. Her whole purpose, in her mind, was to be soo Anti-Communist that she spun and re-branded anything considered even remotely progressive, or anti-nuclear family as being communist and tried to put a stop to it.
With this type of rhetoric we're already too progressive, so being regressive and against anything libs are doing is the only way to fight the threat of communism.
We can thank her in large part to the election of Trump
This is literally just a continual trend of republican ideas of the polity, there's always a group outside of it that is a threat. One of the key insights of Marx is to overcome that and get a polity that is truly inclusive with all human beings equally in the demos.