[lbo-talk] infrastructure

[// ravi]

On Jul 21, 2011, at 12:20 AM, Carrol Cox wrote:
> A phoney painting: the name on it does not correspond to its "true" creator. A phoney Van Gogh was not painted by Van Gogh. A phoney 20 dollar bill was not issued by the Federal Reserve. What in the hell is a phoney person; is he or she not a person; a member of some other species pretending to be homo sapiens. What is the "real" which presents the phoney appearance. What does it mean to be a "real" human being rather than a fake human being? As soon as the concept is subjected to any analysis whatever  it simply dissolves.
> 
> Incidentally, the same is true of other inventions of Time/Life, such as "Hippy" and "Yuppie." Equally empty of content when examined. They fail to identify any actual persons, but seem to give some sort of comfort to those who toss the terms about.
> 

Yes, these terms are mostly invented and used for their sneer value: to achieve simultaneously a cursory dismissal of the person’s ideas as well as to display one’s own sophistication (‘unphoniness’, ‘authenticity’, etc). A tactic, from what I can tell, that is central to right-wing argumentation/propaganda (“bleeding heart”, “political correctness”, so on) but unfortunately adopted too often by those of a left persuasion.

	—ravi