[lbo-talk] RE: Lind

Michael Dawson -PSU mdawson at pdx.edu
Wed Oct 15 18:26:24 PDT 2003


Well, it's also erroneous to think cultural conservatism, even in the narrow sense Max means to use the term, is the answer. IMHO, cultural radicalism -- a demand for the extension of robust democracy over the institutions that supply the infrastructures and images of off-the-job life -- is the only possible way out of this whole "disappearance of childhood" phenomenon being pushed by the big corporations, who want us all to act like we're 19, whether we're 9, 39, or 69.

Cultural conservatives like Lind say next to nothing about the institutional origins of this deep problem, at most carping about the wildest fringes of movies and rock music. Instead of looking at the facts, they try to pretend it's all the outcome of 1960s radicalism and the creeping influence of dark people. Cultural conservatives are quite happy to sit by and let big businesses finish turning our sons and daughters into pimps and hos, because corporations and capitalism are "enterprise" and reflect the "Protestant work ethic," and, hence, by definition, good. These are today's true reactionaries, trading in pipe dreams about a glorious past that never was, while those for whom they perform and apologize literally fuck up the world.



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