-------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: fighting ideology Date: Sat, 10 Apr 1999 13:08:24 -0400 From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> Reply-To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com To: lbo-talk at lists.panix.com References: <58207360 at toto.iv>
William S. Lear wrote:
>On Saturday, April 10, 1999 at 00:41:44 (-0400) Doug Henwood writes:
>>
>>In his New York Press column this week, Chris Caldwell quotes "French art
>>scholar and political scientist Alain Besancon," in his book Le Malheur Du
>>Siecle, as saying:
>>
>>"In battling ideological regimes, the main thing is to refuse - without
>>discussion - the description of reality that it proposes. You have to stick
>>to this line until the bitter end. Once you put your finger into the
>>gearworks and grant that their description has an 'element of
>>truth'...you're lost, and your political will can only respond with a
>>falsified intelligence.... In ideology, the 'element of truth' that
>>provides the seductive power is precisely the place of falsification - and
>>the biggest falsehood of all."
>
>In other words we must retain a Manichean model of reality, with
>Absolute Evil on one side (theirs) and Absolute Good on our side
>(ours).
I don't see that at all. I accept Angela's observation that there is no way to exist outside of ideology. That concession made, however, I can think of a very practical example of why this is such an appealing analysis: lesser evil politics. The Democrats are in no way the lesser evil. But liberal ideologists - Nathan, you here? - can make some pseudo-credible arguments to the contrary. The moment you accept that there's an element of truth to lesser evilism, you're lost. In fact, it's precisely at those moments of appeal that the power of ideology is at its most sinister: that's precisely the lure that seduces even people who should know better into the vortex of compromise and betrayal.
Doug