On Feb 2, 2010, at 6:38 PM, Lenin's Tomb wrote:
> You're all taking this stuff far too seriously, in my unAmerican
> opinion.
> Most of those answering the poll probably haven't even thought about
> it for
> more than a few seconds, and all they have done is reflect the
> impact of a
> successful propaganda campaign. It's superficial, a snapshot of the
> prevailing ideological breeze, and it tells you that the majority
> prefer the
> policy flavour that has been most successfully advertised. If you
> asked
> more detailed, qualitative questions about what people actually
> want, I
> expect you'd find they favour far more 'regulation', and more
> socialization,
> than presently exists. Those in power treat such polls as material
> to be
> worked with, because those answering polling questions are highly
> liable to
> change their minds given ideological leadership. We should take the
> same
> approach.
You're right on the specific vs. general, up to a point, but I think this underestimates the deep conservative streak of much of the American population, and the degree to which it's very easy to appeal to that general instinct whenever a specific instance comes up. As I often say to James, you really have to spend some time here to appreciate how fucking crazy it is.
Doug