> On Thu, Jul 21, 2011 at 1:19 PM, <123hop at comcast.net> wrote:
>
> > 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."
>
> True, but that belief wasn't completely irrational - it was backed by
> the jobs spun off by a vast military-industrial complex, and by
> neoliberalism's 30-year credit bubble.
Isn't it just the pernicious idea that people always get what they deserve? I think this is maybe where Joanna's use of the term, "belief," is so perfect. That is, there is something religious or at least quasi-religious in the refusal of people to recognize that the world is not fundamentally just, that people don't necessarily get what they deserve. Gates gets what he deserves, for his innovation or boldness or "entrepreneurial spirit" or what-the-fuck-ever, while the homeless guy down the street, well, it's sad, but he also clearly just didn't work hard enough. otherwise, why would he be there?
j