The Devil and Mr. Hicks

Dennis Perrin dperrin at comcast.net
Sun May 26 12:01:51 PDT 2002


Doug:


> I'm all for asking tough questions, and I'm a big fan of Cooper's,
> but really. This guy is hanging out with Horowitz, a really low form
> of life. To accuse the left of being thickheaded and then going to
> join Horowitz is like cutting out a chunk of your own brain.

I agree, and also wondered why Cooper was there. Was it for the piece? Probably. But there seems to be a perverse fascination with Horowitz by some lefties, and other than his carnival act (which has its raw appeal), I honestly don't see why that is.


> But that aside, this "victimization" thing is a bit of a canard.
> What, and whom, are we talking about exactly? If you believe that
> capitalist society is based on exploitation and systematic
> discrimination, is that a discourse of victimization? Most leftists I
> know believe the people who get the short end of those social
> processes should organize and fight back. Is that victimization too?
> Just what is the "dusty cant"? We give up talking about imperialism
> too because it lack appeal?

Of course not, but let's try to see where the past left has had success, and where it's affected and influenced the mainstream.

What I find absurd about the present left is the occasional carping about how we live in a "Nazi" state (which some list members seem to truly believe), a self-marginalizing "critique" to be sure. And all this brave talk about overthrowing capitalism -- to be replaced with *what* may I ask? Where is the working alternative model? In anti-globalization protests? If so, how do the anti-globies (like Chuck0, who seems quite impressed with al-Q's handiwork and sees it as an example of how to battle Empire) plan to dismantle corporations? The millions of small businesses which make up the majority of the system? And once this is done, how will the administration of services differ from our present state? Will there be money? Will we barter? I mean, what exactly is The Plan?

DP



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