Just who are these lefty intelletuals who glorify misery? You have anyone in mind, or is this just another one of your feelings?
[WS:] I have something rather specific in mind, which I have been telling time and again on this and other forums - that the left (this list and general) is pretty much reactionary in the literal sense of the word - it mainly reacts to the mainstream institutions by criticizing and kvetching about them, but not offering any viable alternatives. All serious political initiatives come form the center-right, the neoliberals and less frequently from social democrats. Anything left of the soc-dems has nothing positive to say except angry diatribes how anything right of them sucks. It is like listening to Rush Limbaugh in reverse.
Of course, there are some positive proposals on this list. Yoshie is ahead of most of the left in her peddling Islamist nationalism as an alternative - it may not be an attractive alternative to someone like myself, but certainly a positive one, that offers a possibility of popular support. James Heartfield also offers something positive - the 1950s style industrialization and land development program. Again, I’d rather pass, but that proposal has a good chance of gaining a popular momentum.
But aside that, all that bickering about imperialism, racism, neoliberalism, capitalism, the IMF, the police, the middle class, and white people in general, shedding crocodile tears over rogue elements of society, inmates and criminals etc. is nothing but hot air that appeals only to losers and blasé intellectuals, but has zero chance of attracting any popular support. In my view, the left needs to abandon those tropes if it wants to regain popularity and be seen as a serious alternative to the status quo rather than a bunch of chronic complainers and crackpots.
Wojtek