[lbo-talk] socially irresponsible investment

snitsnat snitilicious at tampabay.rr.com
Thu Apr 14 11:31:07 PDT 2005


At 01:46 PM 4/14/2005, Michael Dawson wrote:
>OK on the investment side, but how about Carrol's unconcern with product
>(a.k.a. "consumption") politics? Cigarettes don't bother him any more than
>MP3 players, he says. That must mean cars are as good as bikes. Fox News
>as good as Mike Leigh movies. Suburban McMansions as lovely medium-scale
>green condos. Etc. etc...
>
>Will we ever change capitalism if we confine ourselves to Cox's hidebound
>productionism? <...>

I'm not sure that the reason Carrol takes this position is that he's a productionist who thinks the realm of ideology is unimportant. (if that's your meaning.) I think it's a bit more strategic than this--though he can speak for himself. What I mean is: too much of this stuff has to do with judgmental moralizing on the part of individuals.

It's one thing to talk about SUVs in this forum, quite another to talk about what kind of clothes people should wear, what kind of toilet paper they use, if they should get pedicures, hire maids, etc. etc. When does it stop? Why is one thing _posed as a political issue_ and the others not? What is the _reason_ for drawing the line? Is there one? I'd like to see that question answered.

I hope Doug, Carrol, and others might speak to this issue because I've kind of lost track of why everyone takes different positions.



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