[lbo-talk] blog post: a nation in decline, part 2: signs of distress

Wojtek S wsoko52 at gmail.com
Tue Sep 7 05:59:00 PDT 2010


Michael: "One thing I am pretty sure about. The imperial supremacy of the United States has conditioned the ways in which people think about the country and about their own lives. And these ways are obstructive of radical change. The question is--is US imperial supremacy in decline? If so, what is happening to people, both objectively and in terms of how they think about this."

[WS:] I am not sure if it is the function of imperialism, or at least imperialism alone. The "sun did not used to set over the British empire" for over a century - and yet Brits seemed to shed that imperial mentality rather quickly after WW2.

I think there is something more fundamental at work here. American are, in a way, a people without history but with never ending opportunities, a land where everything seems possible and striking it rich seems within reach.

Therefore, capitalism with its relentless pursuit to manufacture and remanufacture everything, leaving no stone unturned in search of profits - is at the very core of the American "soul" or collective consciousness.

This unshaken, taken-for-granted, belief in virtually unlimited potential of capitalist manufacturing is a common ideological factor that unites virtually the entire American society, from the capitalist elites to trade unionists (cf. Gompers) and to the vast masses of ordinary grunts. Richard Hofstadter (_The American Political Tradition_) made that point rather eloquently.

This unshaken "can do" attitude, a belief that anything can be manufactured or changed for the better by industrious effort, is grounded in the American experience of the nation of immigrants - people leaving their past and what was given to them behind, and going to the land of new and never ending opportunities. It does not mater whether these expectations hold anymore, or for that matter, whether they ever held. The point is that they form the core of the American mythology, and capitalism is only a natural extension of that mythology.

It will take many more sunsets after the sun will finally set over the American empire before this American "can do" mythology and its close affinity to capitalism will eventually die. I am afraid that none of us will be around anymore when this happens.

Wojtek

On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 7:51 PM, MICHAEL YATES <mikedjyates at msn.com> wrote:


>
> The United States is a big country, with a magnificent landscape and a
> diverse population. I like to focus
> on what Karen and I observe, put into an analytical perspective best
> described as Marxist. What are the
> contradictions? Openings for radical change? And so forth. I don't know
> that it does much good
> to compare different places in terms of this place does or doesn't have
> this or that.
>
> One thing I am pretty sure about. The imperial supremacy of the United
> States has conditioned the ways in which
> people think about the country and about their own lives. And these ways
> are obstructive of radical change.
> The question is--is US imperial supremacy in decline? If so, what is
> happening to people, both objectively and in terms
> of how they think about this.
>
> Now, in terms of culture, I love Project Runway, Chopped, True Blood, Teen
> Mom, Mad Men, and lots of others!
> I hate it when cheap motels don't have good cable!!!
>
>
>
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>



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