> I remember reading Kevin Phillips a while back and finding it interesting
> that someone had actually moved left as they aged instead of the other way,
> which is the norm I take it. For instance: the "New York Intellectuals",
> various sixties radicals, Shroeder, Jospin. Often the reason for the
> rightward movement is that when young, these folks had little money and once
> they became "successful" they wanted to hold on to their wealth and
> rationalize it. Others witnessed revolutionary prospects diminish or
> vanish. Besides Lind, can anyone name anyone else who has moved sorta left?
My mother has moved left (getting arrested at the Nevada Test Site in the 80s, for example) as my father has moved right. I think this is probably somwehat typical. Naturally greater material success will have the kind of effects you point out, but there are other factors at work, and I'd wager that they move in opposite directions for MOST men and women.
In fact, during the past 30 years I think the emergence of the womens movement -- and its intellectual expression -- has obviously contributed to the rightward movement of male intellectuals. It's part of their group turf-protection strategy.
The so-called "Independent Women's Forum" is, among other things, a cultural constellation that's intended to further a rightward shift in women intellectuals by saturation bombing. But if one looks around at women artists, say, well Joanie Mitchell seems to be more overtly political her last decade or so & she's like automatic on the list of influences for just about any women in pop music. I think this is a kind of bellweather, which also adds another wrinkle to the ongoing rightwing war on the arts.
A final thought about aging people moving to the right: As you age you lose millions of brain cells. What's to explain?
-- Paul Rosenberg Reason and Democracy rad at gte.net
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