As the 2020 presidential season heats up (way too early, it's still early 2019!), I am continually reminded how much the term "progressive" has been co-opted by neoliberal interests.
My frustration has grown to the point where I believe it is necessary to change how I identify myself. The "Progressive PGH" identity seems to have largely run its course, and change is in the air.
To be honest, I have experienced a transformation of my politics over the next 5-10 years anyway. While I still think of "progressive" as someone roughly around Bernie Sanders' set of politics and principles, I no longer personally identify with that system. Despite calling himself "democratic socialist", Bernie has, at least in the modern era, not been particularly critical of capitalism and neoliberalism. He has called for expanded social programs and "safety nets", which is by all means a great step that goes far beyond what most politicians call for, but falls short of the system change that I believe is needed to address climate change and poverty.
I wrestled a bit with exactly what sort of politics I want to see. Simply screaming negative criticism of every candidate isn't a political stance; I need a vision of the future that I can point to. Whenever someone tells me I have to pick the lesser between the two evils, I can point to that vision and say "No, there's another option".
The problem with progressivism is that it is too much of a capitalist apologist framework. It seeks to cover up the problems of capitalism by claiming that if only we have more social programs, and take a firm stand against government corruption, everything will be fine. This isn't true, because capitalism relies on exploitation, meaning it will always generate corruption, and always exploit poverty no matter how many social programs you have. You can't fix capitalism, you have to oppose it. Same can be said for the similar philosophy of social democracy.
The problem with democratic socialism is that relies too much on a top-down approach. Many of the people I've met that refer to themselves by some variant of this term are largely followers of Marx -- or at least today's interpretations of Marx -- who envisioned that the transition to a more communist society (a classless society) would first transition through a socialist phase, in which the state government would be used to smash capitalism. Once capitalism is broken up -- private property ended in particular -- the government would then be dissolved into more localized, democratic community ownership. Firstly, I've not heard many recent socialists talking about dissolving government -- the focus has been entirely on capitalism so far, which often segues people into politics and the idea that political parties like the Democratic Party are the platform with which to take control of government and smash capitalism. As the political party has been co-opted by capitalist forces, this idea seems wildly unrealistic. It puts the cart before the horse, in my opinion. Second, the transition of centralizing power into a state government first is a dangerous move, one that was taken advantage of by autocrats like Lenin. Concentrating power is never a good idea, and so while I generally agree with the long-term goals of democratic socialists, I'm not a fan of the methodology.
Lately I've been reading about a number of other philosophies. Anarchism is a different take on socialism, calling for a much more bottom-up social revolution against oppression by both capitalism and authoritarian government, which is much more appealing to me. Bakunin, Kropotokin, Rocker, are some good names to read about along this line of thought.
Even better were those that came later, around the 1960s, who looked fusing socialism (particularly anarchist thought) with environmentalism. Perhaps the biggest name along this path for me was Murray Bookchin and his philosophy of social ecology. Bookchin opposed capitalism as well as large government, similar to anarchism, but instead saw the world as confederation of municipalities, democratically-run communities that put ecology and human rights first.
Bookchin's philosophy more than most other people I read strongly appealed to me. Interestingly, Bookchin's philosophy played an important role in the early days of the foundation of the Green Party, which is one reason the Green Party has such strong "eco-socialist" roots.
Another interesting source of inspiration was the London Green Left Blog, which looks to authors from all of these philosophies to talk about eco-socialism, a fusion of ecology and environmentalism with anti-war and civil rights politics, taking the best ideas from socialism and even more anarchist-leaning thought such as Bookchin.
To me, the future seems to be some flavor of eco-socialism. We can't stay stuck on old ideologies; even if some are appealing, we have to recognize that today's circumstances -- a worldwide economy, connected by the Internet, facing the global threat of climate catastrophe -- are different than anything faced by past generations. By necessity, we need something new -- informed by old radical thought, but adapted to today.
So I've decided to more explicitly join that movement by renaming my account. I've decided to use the handle Pittsburgh Green Left instead. "Green" because of the focus on ecology, as well as a call-back to the Green Party's key values. "Left" because of a general support of leftist ideologies, socialism and anarchism. The whole name of course is also a nod to the influential London Green Left Blog.
Therefore, the new blog will also be Pittsburgh Green Left -- update your bookmarks! I may transfer some of the most relevant blogs from here to there, but new posts will go there specifically.
Showing posts with label progressivism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label progressivism. Show all posts
Friday, April 26, 2019
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth Still Guides Us
With efforts to turn a bit more local, I have been looking for more ways to learn about Pittsburgh's history and present day. Recently I found a copy of the autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, the steel "robber baron" based in Pittsburgh during the Gilded Age. While I haven't read the main text itself, it includes a reprint of Carnegie's short essay "The Gospel of Wealth" at the end.
I recommend everyone read it as a good way to "get inside the mind" of others. I found that Carnegie's words articulate many of the same objections and talking points that I hear today when I talk with others about progressive or Green causes. It seems likely that Carnegie, being such a big name in the city even to today, had a much larger influence on the political thought of the area than I at first realized.
Carnegie essentially makes an argument for capitalism, and why it is good that capitalism results in money concentrating in the hands of the wealthy. Carnegie was under no misconception of "trickle down economics" -- he specifically admitted that he knew this economy would fundamentally push more wealth to the wealthy. Carnegie's purpose was explaining why he thought that was the best idea.
In a nutshell, he argues that concentrating wealth is a good idea, and that the role of the wealthy in society is to give away most of the fortune to the greater civic good:
...thus becoming the mere agent and trustee for his poorer brethren, bringing to their service his superior wisdom, experience and ability to administer, doing for them better than they would or could do for themselves.
What's interesting here is the implicit sense of superiority, that somehow the wealthy, just by virtue of having money, are smarter and could make better decisions than the poor. Carnegie even calls out Communism in his essay, with the typical attack of putting too much decision power into the poor that cannot handle it.
This is a refrain I've heard a lot recently, even from high school students that I spoke to -- that democracy, leaving decisions to the "common rabble", cannot be trusted. I see now this is an attitude Carnegie rubbed off on people, and honestly even Carnegie was likely influenced by earlier generations including the Founders that believed only the educated wealthy landowners should be able to vote. I don't know how people can argue against themselves having greater political power, but I have heard it with my own ears. I suppose this mindset convinces people they are special, and so many people experience no cognitive dissonance because they believe they are part of that special wealthy or at least middle class that makes the decisions, despite evidence being to the contrary. We obviously need to make a better case for expanded democratic rule as a way of equalizing political power. Convincing people to stop working against themselves and stop supporting this type of philosophy that puts more power into the hands of the few is part of our struggle.
Carnegie also argues against public spending for the poor in what can easily be described as social darwinism. After acknowledging the downsides of the "law of competition" (capitalism and concentration of wealth), he says:
...while the law may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it insures the survival of the fittest in every department.
This is that typical callous, utilitarian business view of people -- you are only useful or "fit to survive" if you fit in with the business world to make profits. Anyone not generating profit is at a minimum lazy, and perhaps not even fit to survive. In his view, the poor get lazy under social programs, and only by requiring them to work harder will they get out of their situation. Specifically:
In bestowing charity, the main consideration should be to help those who will help themselves...
Carnegie then goes on to describe how giving charity to the poor that don't work hard enough and don't deserve it actually hurts them more than being poor. There's hints of the modern "they need to pull themselves up by their bootstraps" saying in his writing.
I found interesting his attack on alternative economic systems and distribution. For example, he makes an implicit argument that Native Americans are somehow less civilized because they didn't shower their leaders in wealth the way Europeans did, everyone was more equal:
The Indians are to-day where civilized man then was. When visiting the Sioux, I was led to the wigwam of the chief. It was just like the others in external appearance, and even within the difference was trifling between it and those of the poorest of his braves.
While trying to argue that concentration of wealth is natural and a foundation of our society as a whole, he criticizes Communists and others calling for different systems:
Objections to the foundations upon which society is based are not in order, because the condition of the race is better with these than it has been with any others which have been tried.
Firstly, this isn't a very sound argument since he assumed that capitalistic wealth distribution is an integral part of "civilized" society. But more simply, his argument is essentially "well, it's good enough, could be worse!" While it could indeed be worse, this sort of statement also lacks imagination -- is current day really the best we could ever hope for? Even if it is true that we are better than in the past, shouldn't we try to improve further? Well, Carnegie has an objection to us seeking better alternatives:
...even if it were good to change it, which we cannot know. It is not practicable in our day or in our age. ... Our duty is with what is practicable now; with the next step possible in our day and generation. It is criminal to waste our energies in endeavoring to uproot, when all we can profitably or possibly accomplish is to bend the universal tree of humanity a little in the direction most favorable to the production of good fruit under existing circumstances.
This strikes me as almost exactly word-for-word objections we hear from Democratic leaders on why we can't have things like single payer healthcare, free college tuition, and other social programs. "What a noble goal!" they say "It's just not practical." During Bernie's campaign, very commonly we heard "Why waste energy setting up single payer healthcare system when you can just protect the ACA and expand it?" Carnegie is saying exactly that here -- while more socialist economies might very well be more noble and efficient, why put energy into changing things when we can just make tweaks to what we have now? What we have now is practical. I wonder how many of the factories and technological advancements of Carnegie's era, much less today, would have been seen not as "practical" but "pie-in-the-sky" dreams a few hundred years ago. That's the flaw with these arguments, that somehow it's too difficult to advance when advancement has been exactly the story of humanity. Perhaps out of pride and conceit, we convince ourselves that we are today at the peak of human evolution, and nothing could ever possibly change at any point in the future. In reality, we will likely be the "cavemen" for some distant generation, much like we look at people during the Revolutionary War, the Middle Ages, or even further back.
Interestingly, Carnegie does support one fairly progressive reform: he argues that wealthy people sitting on money is not good for the economy, and that simply gifting that money to descendants is giving money to people that haven't earned it yet in the name of creating a dynasty. Carnegie actually argues for a high estate tax in order to encourage the wealthy to spend that money within their lifetimes rather than sit on it for inheritances, even going so far to say that he'd prefer to see that type of tax than most others. While this almost sounds like a good idea, Carnegie's point is that with a high tax rate, very little would get taxed and the government still wouldn't spend much -- instead, the wealthy themselves would act as "trustee" and spend that money on civic needs they deem worthy. Again, rather than democratic, public spending, he'd rather the wealthy act as oligarchs, deciding what the people need and don't need for them -- obviously, the wealthy are better than us and we should just trust them to make the best decisions on their own! Surprisingly, I've known poor people that defend this however; Republican family members of mine repeat talking points similar to this to explain why tax cuts for the wealthy are somehow good. They'll spend it on good things, obviously, and will definitely give good paying jobs and amenities to them in return.
Having heard these arguments from middle class and even working class people around Pittsburgh, seeing how much the arguments are intertwined with the city's history through Carnegie gives me new perspective on cultural inertia. While easy to imagine today's Republicans preaching the Gospel of Wealth, many of these statements sound a lot like Democratic leaders too, further emphasizing the fact that our two-party system has evolved to be an effectively one-party pro-corporate pro-capitalist system. While there is certainly difference and disagreement between the parties on some issues, they both have a fundamentally neoliberal outlook on society and economics.
We need more alternative visions and arguments, we need more diversity of thought, and we need to be prepared with counters to these arguments as we grow and get our message out to the public. Today's generations now live 100+ years after Carnegie's heyday; his influence, as well as the influence of many other capitalists, has long had a grip over our country's economic system. It will take a very sustained effort to get people to open up to alternatives, but knowing how they think by reading things like Carnegie's essay helps us understand the filter through which they see the world, and helps us devise new ways of presenting our argument.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
A Break for Work
Social media is a very powerful force, allowing people from various geographic locations and cultural backgrounds to find each other and communicate. We can learn so much from each other. I truly think it is moving us toward a more peaceful and just world, as we learn more about each other and that we have much more in common -- even across continents and cultures -- than we do differences.
However, social media is a double-edged sword and can also be used to reinforce "bubbles". Rather than seeking out new ideas, people can block anyone different from themselves, and create an "echo chamber" of thought. By following only people you agree with, you get exposed only to reinforcement, never disagreement, and it's easy to begin to think you are correct and that "everyone" agrees with you.
Social media also has the effect of sapping time away. While a powerful force for quick organizing, mobilization, and information sharing, it also becomes a black hole quickly, into which energy is spent just hitting "refresh" so you have up-to-date news. Sharing posts and quick thoughts on the news become more of a task than actually doing things that make the news in the first place. Having previously criticized others for exactly that problem, I feel myself slipping a bit into that addictive cycle. I'm not a reporter or journalist, and if I'm not going to be those things, what do I accomplish other than taking up my time and filling others' feeds?
Therefore, I have decided to -- at least, temporarily -- suspend the Progressive Pittsburgh twitter and this blog. However, I am not stepping away from politics, but rather, gearing up for the next phase of involvement.
I have more directly joined my local Green Party and am actively working toward growing the party. I encourage any followers I have to instead follow the Green Party of Allegheny County on twitter and facebook (@AlleghenyGreens) to keep up to date with party announcements. That will be a much better source of progressive news in Pittsburgh than I am alone, and you'll be learning how to get more directly involved in bringing the Green New Deal to Pittsburgh.
Recent experiences have shown me the strong need for Pittsburgh and the surrounding region to get some new, progressive leadership and for many reasons I don't expect the Democratic party to be a leader. The Democratic establishment continues to focus on fundraising more than people's needs, and still challenge progressives every chance they get -- even going so far as to back an independent candidate in the District 8 special election because their hand-chosen person didn't get the Democratic nomination!
But I don't want Greens to be "leaders" handing down dictates either. I am a Green because I want communities to decide for themselves. We've had enough top-down decision making; it's time for bottom-up. It's time to empower communities and give them the tools and resources to make their own destinies. It's time to break up "good ol' boys" organizations and parties that feel entitled to make decisions on their own on your behalf while simultaneous ignoring your opinions or even becoming downright hostile to outsiders (often with excuses like: "I've lived in this neighborhood longer than you, I know better", or "That's how we've always done it, you just don't know," or the ever-popular "Do you even own property here? Because I do" that implies you don't matter if you don't own a house).
In lieu of social media, I will be focusing my attention on taking this message to others and building the party. Look for Green blog posts, pamphlets, events, and more, over the coming months; there will be a good chance that I wrote or contributed to some of it! I hope you will join me in the Green movement.
However, social media is a double-edged sword and can also be used to reinforce "bubbles". Rather than seeking out new ideas, people can block anyone different from themselves, and create an "echo chamber" of thought. By following only people you agree with, you get exposed only to reinforcement, never disagreement, and it's easy to begin to think you are correct and that "everyone" agrees with you.
Social media also has the effect of sapping time away. While a powerful force for quick organizing, mobilization, and information sharing, it also becomes a black hole quickly, into which energy is spent just hitting "refresh" so you have up-to-date news. Sharing posts and quick thoughts on the news become more of a task than actually doing things that make the news in the first place. Having previously criticized others for exactly that problem, I feel myself slipping a bit into that addictive cycle. I'm not a reporter or journalist, and if I'm not going to be those things, what do I accomplish other than taking up my time and filling others' feeds?
Therefore, I have decided to -- at least, temporarily -- suspend the Progressive Pittsburgh twitter and this blog. However, I am not stepping away from politics, but rather, gearing up for the next phase of involvement.
I have more directly joined my local Green Party and am actively working toward growing the party. I encourage any followers I have to instead follow the Green Party of Allegheny County on twitter and facebook (@AlleghenyGreens) to keep up to date with party announcements. That will be a much better source of progressive news in Pittsburgh than I am alone, and you'll be learning how to get more directly involved in bringing the Green New Deal to Pittsburgh.
Recent experiences have shown me the strong need for Pittsburgh and the surrounding region to get some new, progressive leadership and for many reasons I don't expect the Democratic party to be a leader. The Democratic establishment continues to focus on fundraising more than people's needs, and still challenge progressives every chance they get -- even going so far as to back an independent candidate in the District 8 special election because their hand-chosen person didn't get the Democratic nomination!
But I don't want Greens to be "leaders" handing down dictates either. I am a Green because I want communities to decide for themselves. We've had enough top-down decision making; it's time for bottom-up. It's time to empower communities and give them the tools and resources to make their own destinies. It's time to break up "good ol' boys" organizations and parties that feel entitled to make decisions on their own on your behalf while simultaneous ignoring your opinions or even becoming downright hostile to outsiders (often with excuses like: "I've lived in this neighborhood longer than you, I know better", or "That's how we've always done it, you just don't know," or the ever-popular "Do you even own property here? Because I do" that implies you don't matter if you don't own a house).
In lieu of social media, I will be focusing my attention on taking this message to others and building the party. Look for Green blog posts, pamphlets, events, and more, over the coming months; there will be a good chance that I wrote or contributed to some of it! I hope you will join me in the Green movement.
Monday, January 15, 2018
Race Matters and the Neoliberal Dilemma
In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, I was interested in reading more about racism and race relations in America. Recently Dr. Cornel West's book "Race Matters" was re-issued as a 25th anniversary edition with a new introduction, so it seemed an appropriate book to read for the occasion. I had heard of Cornel West in the past but only became more familiar with him as he campaigned for Bernie Sanders and then Jill Stein in the 2016 elections. I was impressed that, despite his affection for Bernie, West decided to back the Greens and Jill Stein rather than assist Bernie in campaigning for Clinton and the Democratic Party in order to keep with his values and resist neoliberal policy that enabled someone like Trump to be a serious competitor. I've been looking forward to reading more about his thoughts and finally did so with "Race Matters."
"Race Matters" is a short book at about 100 pages long, but it is a well-written and interesting read. It is divided into a few sections on different topics that need to be addressed to lift the Black American out of poverty: the spreading of nihilism, racial reasoning that covers up real problems with identity politics, and the lack of Black leadership and general support of neoliberal policies that lead to a Black conservative counter-culture instead of more progressive policy that would address the problems.
While the entire book was interesting, the first few chapters on nihilism really resonated with me. Nihilism is the philosophy that life is essentially meaningless and without hope, that all actions are pointless in the grand scheme of things. West describes a Black culture that in recent years has been attacked by a capitalist mentality of consumption and pleasure, that the most important thing in life is making money. This has caused the Black community to begin to abandon its sense of community and seek out a more "rugged individualism" that is glamorized by the corporate media and neoliberal politics. Rather than working together to build communities to help each other through tough times, we have fallen apart into individuals working alone against an unfair and unjust racist system, further pushing individuals into depression and nihilism.
West points out the flaws of those on both the left and the right at tackling the problem of nihilism. The left, he says, is too quick to say social programs like welfare and education will fix everything, whereas the right is too quick to dismiss the need for social programs and call on the Black community to simply "work harder" toward a better goal. Both sides are fundamentally focused on the economic status of the Black community, and while there is a kernel of truth to both sides in order to defeat nihilism, a missing component is the psychological and emotional. West argues we don't do enough to remind ourselves that we are humans, that we need love, companionship, encouragement, and a sense of purpose in our communities beyond simply climbing the corporate ladder and making money.
This has been an idea I've been playing around with for a while in my head, but West really made the idea clear. Those of us in the political arena sometimes become too "wonkish", focused on "crunching the numbers" to find solutions. That in itself is a focus on "the numbers" -- really, money -- that is exactly what West is commenting on. Not all of our problems can be solved just with money, although that is an important aspect; we also need a change in our cultural attitudes to what it means to live and work. Again, we've lost a sense of purpose in our lives, lost a sense of meaning and pride, which has been replaced by the capitalist corporate work ethic of "if you're not always working and making money, you are a loser". Government and politics can play a strong role in setting the cultural tone and the priorities of our society, but today's politics is focused on neoliberalism and putting businesses' needs and profits before anything else. Rather than defending our need to have strong communities based on principles like peace and love, our political leaders continually harp on the need for the "free market" to fix all problems.
Throughout my life I have struggled with exactly this problem, becoming very unsatisfied with my "career path" as one that doesn't feel intrinsically rewarding. I often feel like the work isn't useful to anyone, it's just what management expects to be done to make a buck, and in that sense I get angry that my precious time on Earth is wasted all in the name of management getting a bonus. While West was speaking about the Black community specifically, I think this sense of nihilism has spread to all Americans, because it is an effect of the capitalist mindset as a whole. Most people I know are dissatisfied with their careers and lives; they're not lazy, they want to work and do more, but feel defeated in this profit-seeking-above-all-else culture. West calls for more community, for us to love each other and help each other more to break the effects of nihilism and depression that prevent us from rising up to achieve more. Specifically, he calls for the Black community to embrace its own culture, love its own culture and history, and stop trying to fit into the White mold.
Aside from nihilism, West also calls out the lack of leadership among the Black community. Specifically, he laments the lack of leaders since the powerhouses of the 1960s (Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X among many others). While MLK and Malcolm X were passionate about the plight of their brothers and sisters, West points out that today's leaders are very quick to endorse and support the establishment and act as the "spokesperson" for the entire Black community. In other words, the emphasis is more on the "leaders" themselves and self-interest than pushing for a movement to grow. As such, West expresses disappointment as the "leaders" basically sell-out the Black community to the neoliberal establishment, support policies that hurt the community or at least downplaying the impacts. West also describes how their support for these policies has caused frustration, anger, and the nihilism he mentions earlier by convincing the Black community that corruption cannot be beaten. The few that rise up against the Democratic establishment therefore do so to counteract neoliberal policy, and unfortunately often end up in the right-wing conservative camp (perhaps because of our two-party system that makes learning about other options more difficult?), arguing against the very social programs and progressive reform necessary to reverse the neoliberal policy. As West says, a desperate population will sometimes accept ideologies that do not make sense because they have nowhere else to turn. He therefore cautions greatly against teaming up with neoliberal policy as it will only push more people toward "extreme" values; we instead need to raise the progressive cause and give people hope. In fact, the new anniversary introduction discusses the 2016 election and how Obama's continued neoliberal policies and Clinton's domination of the political machine were huge contributions to Trump's win, and the Black "leaders" let down the community by rallying to Clinton early in the process rather than considering Bernie Sanders' ideas that were much more in tune with the needs of the Black community. The emphasis was on cozying up to the Democratic establishment to ask for favors, rather than speaking truthfully about the Democratic party's failures to address issues important to the Black community, and that backfired drastically in the election of Trump. Given this, it makes sense why he decided to campaign for Jill Stein in 2016, and I hope he continues to speak about the need for a Green Party and third-party movement in general.
West ends with a short epilogue on democracy. He states that democracies in history tend to fail for two reasons, poverty and paranoia. Poverty leads to despair and nihilism, while paranoia generates mistrust that prevents cooperation required in a democracy. When much of the population is too depressed or overworked to be involved in the system, and those that are active mistrust each other to the point of considering each other mortal enemies, we are set up for a collapse of our government system. West says we need to quickly move toward fighting against racial hierarchies and wealth inequality to restore hope to those in poverty, and regain trust between sides that are deeply paranoid of an economic and political system that doesn't listen to them.
Altogether it's a great read and very short so I encourage you to read it if you'd like to see another take on how racism, poverty, and militarism are all inter-linked problems that must be solved together.
"Race Matters" is a short book at about 100 pages long, but it is a well-written and interesting read. It is divided into a few sections on different topics that need to be addressed to lift the Black American out of poverty: the spreading of nihilism, racial reasoning that covers up real problems with identity politics, and the lack of Black leadership and general support of neoliberal policies that lead to a Black conservative counter-culture instead of more progressive policy that would address the problems.
While the entire book was interesting, the first few chapters on nihilism really resonated with me. Nihilism is the philosophy that life is essentially meaningless and without hope, that all actions are pointless in the grand scheme of things. West describes a Black culture that in recent years has been attacked by a capitalist mentality of consumption and pleasure, that the most important thing in life is making money. This has caused the Black community to begin to abandon its sense of community and seek out a more "rugged individualism" that is glamorized by the corporate media and neoliberal politics. Rather than working together to build communities to help each other through tough times, we have fallen apart into individuals working alone against an unfair and unjust racist system, further pushing individuals into depression and nihilism.
West points out the flaws of those on both the left and the right at tackling the problem of nihilism. The left, he says, is too quick to say social programs like welfare and education will fix everything, whereas the right is too quick to dismiss the need for social programs and call on the Black community to simply "work harder" toward a better goal. Both sides are fundamentally focused on the economic status of the Black community, and while there is a kernel of truth to both sides in order to defeat nihilism, a missing component is the psychological and emotional. West argues we don't do enough to remind ourselves that we are humans, that we need love, companionship, encouragement, and a sense of purpose in our communities beyond simply climbing the corporate ladder and making money.
This has been an idea I've been playing around with for a while in my head, but West really made the idea clear. Those of us in the political arena sometimes become too "wonkish", focused on "crunching the numbers" to find solutions. That in itself is a focus on "the numbers" -- really, money -- that is exactly what West is commenting on. Not all of our problems can be solved just with money, although that is an important aspect; we also need a change in our cultural attitudes to what it means to live and work. Again, we've lost a sense of purpose in our lives, lost a sense of meaning and pride, which has been replaced by the capitalist corporate work ethic of "if you're not always working and making money, you are a loser". Government and politics can play a strong role in setting the cultural tone and the priorities of our society, but today's politics is focused on neoliberalism and putting businesses' needs and profits before anything else. Rather than defending our need to have strong communities based on principles like peace and love, our political leaders continually harp on the need for the "free market" to fix all problems.
Throughout my life I have struggled with exactly this problem, becoming very unsatisfied with my "career path" as one that doesn't feel intrinsically rewarding. I often feel like the work isn't useful to anyone, it's just what management expects to be done to make a buck, and in that sense I get angry that my precious time on Earth is wasted all in the name of management getting a bonus. While West was speaking about the Black community specifically, I think this sense of nihilism has spread to all Americans, because it is an effect of the capitalist mindset as a whole. Most people I know are dissatisfied with their careers and lives; they're not lazy, they want to work and do more, but feel defeated in this profit-seeking-above-all-else culture. West calls for more community, for us to love each other and help each other more to break the effects of nihilism and depression that prevent us from rising up to achieve more. Specifically, he calls for the Black community to embrace its own culture, love its own culture and history, and stop trying to fit into the White mold.
Aside from nihilism, West also calls out the lack of leadership among the Black community. Specifically, he laments the lack of leaders since the powerhouses of the 1960s (Martin Luther King, Jr., and Malcolm X among many others). While MLK and Malcolm X were passionate about the plight of their brothers and sisters, West points out that today's leaders are very quick to endorse and support the establishment and act as the "spokesperson" for the entire Black community. In other words, the emphasis is more on the "leaders" themselves and self-interest than pushing for a movement to grow. As such, West expresses disappointment as the "leaders" basically sell-out the Black community to the neoliberal establishment, support policies that hurt the community or at least downplaying the impacts. West also describes how their support for these policies has caused frustration, anger, and the nihilism he mentions earlier by convincing the Black community that corruption cannot be beaten. The few that rise up against the Democratic establishment therefore do so to counteract neoliberal policy, and unfortunately often end up in the right-wing conservative camp (perhaps because of our two-party system that makes learning about other options more difficult?), arguing against the very social programs and progressive reform necessary to reverse the neoliberal policy. As West says, a desperate population will sometimes accept ideologies that do not make sense because they have nowhere else to turn. He therefore cautions greatly against teaming up with neoliberal policy as it will only push more people toward "extreme" values; we instead need to raise the progressive cause and give people hope. In fact, the new anniversary introduction discusses the 2016 election and how Obama's continued neoliberal policies and Clinton's domination of the political machine were huge contributions to Trump's win, and the Black "leaders" let down the community by rallying to Clinton early in the process rather than considering Bernie Sanders' ideas that were much more in tune with the needs of the Black community. The emphasis was on cozying up to the Democratic establishment to ask for favors, rather than speaking truthfully about the Democratic party's failures to address issues important to the Black community, and that backfired drastically in the election of Trump. Given this, it makes sense why he decided to campaign for Jill Stein in 2016, and I hope he continues to speak about the need for a Green Party and third-party movement in general.
West ends with a short epilogue on democracy. He states that democracies in history tend to fail for two reasons, poverty and paranoia. Poverty leads to despair and nihilism, while paranoia generates mistrust that prevents cooperation required in a democracy. When much of the population is too depressed or overworked to be involved in the system, and those that are active mistrust each other to the point of considering each other mortal enemies, we are set up for a collapse of our government system. West says we need to quickly move toward fighting against racial hierarchies and wealth inequality to restore hope to those in poverty, and regain trust between sides that are deeply paranoid of an economic and political system that doesn't listen to them.
Altogether it's a great read and very short so I encourage you to read it if you'd like to see another take on how racism, poverty, and militarism are all inter-linked problems that must be solved together.
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