--- On Thu, 7/16/09, mart <media314159 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> . i did suspect this was written to counter
> reperations arguments of the time, which are still somewhat
> popular.
[WS:] Conspiracy, huh? I think this misses the main point of the essay - namely that the 'Murikan society is so brainwashed with the ideology of individual achievement that people are simply incapable of comprehending anything that fits that narrative.
Incidentally, the polar opposite of that narrative - the ideology of fatalism spread in many eastern societies (individual effort is futile as everything is pre-ordained by god or the system) provides a cognitive framework that serves the same function as the framework of individual achievement - it stops people from questioning and challenging power relations in their societies.
While we are at that - culture is mental slavery and canned food for thought that prevents people from thinking critically.
Wojtek