----- Original Message ----- From: "Eric Beck" <ersatzdog at gmail.com>
But it seems to me that legitimation-crisis theories revolve around meaning and belief, so that the state has a legitimation crisis when it can no longer do the main part of its job, i.e., to smooth out the striations of capital and give solidity and something like a stable meaning to social life, which in turn engenders faith, or at least enough faith, for people to believe in the status quo. I certainly agree with the diagnosis of the state's job, but I don't think meaning and belief are relevant categories. Capitalist social life doesn't require us to believe in it, just to obey it. Witness today: nearly everyone agrees that "the system" sucks, but it still lumbers on, defining existence even though it's outmoded, ineffective, and brutal. ___________________________________
The difference between a system that's obeyed and a system that's believed in is productivity.
Despite the decline of living standards for the vast majority of Americans in the last thirty years, it is still the case that a great number of them think that Gates has earned his money, that the poor are lazy and stupid, and that govt support undermines creativity and enterprise. That's "belief."
Joanna