[lbo-talk] Depression always precedes ice breaking (was, OK, Nathan)

Michael Hoover hooverm at scc-fl.edu
Tue Feb 7 10:56:49 PST 2006



>>> jdevine03 at gmail.com 02/03/06 4:06 PM >>>
FWIW, in 1964 Herbert Marcuse wrote "One-Dimensional Man," which said (if I remember correctly) that the cores of both capitalist and Soviet societies were locked up tight, so that no change would come, except for "marginal" populations pushing it. He wasn't optimistic about the latter, either. The book was pretty popular among the small left of the time. But in 1968, there were major mass movements in the cores of Czechoslovakia, France, and the US. with the first two involving the working class in a major way. Jim Devine <<<<<>>>>>

worth quite a bit, imo...

_odm_ themes had appeared in marcuse's writing for sometime prior to publication of that book, while presenting both cold war blocs as anti-revolutionary (and antagonistic to socialism), marcuse's claims that liberal-democracy was - on one hand - being destroyed *and* - on the other - was being absorbed into established mode of domination *should* resonate still, providing a framework for understanding 'dialetical trap' of last couple of decades...

while marcuse never completely abandoned the totalizing conception of domination that permeates _odm_, he moved away to some degree pretty quickly in pointing to potential for change emanating from new social movements/opposition, unfortunately, one-sided *pessimissm* of _odm_ moved towards one-sided *optimism* in likes of _essay on liberation_ and _counter-revolution and revolt_... mh



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