Ibrahim wrote:Colonel Sun wrote:Cultural Marxism is actually an appropriate description, regardless of its history, given that the Regressive-Progressive Left in the Anglosphere frames all of human experience in terms of dialectics and power hierarchies along with the belief that a utopia can be established on here on earth.
How does this differ from Marxism? What does the "Cultural" prefix add to anyone's understanding, particularly in light of the historical origin and use of the term?
Marxism is based on the belief of oppression, power structures, and class struggle as the key aspects of capitalist societies.
Cultural Marxism extends these beliefs to race, gender, religion, and ethnicity.
Ibrahim wrote:
A rejection of general tolerance in favour of repressive tolerance is clearly a mode of operation of the Left today.
What would be some examples of leftist politics that were "generally tolerant" and opposed to "repressively tolerant?"
Harassment, both online and physical, loss of livelihood, and social isolation of anyone who openly expresses a view that deviates from the Left's doctrines regarding race, gender, religion, and ethnicity.
Offhand, a specific example is James Damore, formerly of Google.
Ibrahim wrote:
Marxism-Communism had considerable appeal to Jewish intellectuals in Europe, and the surviving expats in the USA, with its promise to supplant the combination of Christian dogma and extreme nationalism, the experience of which had understandably made them a very nervous people, with a new areligious internationalism.
Many Jewish intellectuals continued to cling to this belief even as events proved them wrong.
So it is really about the Jews, but not in an antisemitic way, just in the way that "Jews" are "nervous" and naturally drawn to Marxism.
You raised the issue of Jews in European intellectual life, not I.
I'm noting some historical realities. The Jews have made a disproportionately large contribution to Western civilization.
As for the Jews being a nervous people, I'm paraphrasing the Jewish writer Zangwill, if memory serves,
The Jews are a nervous people, two thousand years of Christian love has made them so.
Ibrahim wrote:
However, one should not overlook the significant French contribution to the current postmodern - poststructuralist nonsense.
Barthes, Derrida, and Foucault come to mind.
Derrida's writing, in particular, are best described as purposely obscure drivel. A spunk artiste of the highest order.
Almost no one has read, and fewer still understood, the writings of Jacques Derrida. It seems absurd to tie his work to what you seem to be saying is the dominant form of leftist political theory today. Again, why not just say Marxist?
Few people have read Marx's work, yet many unknowingly base their beliefs on his diagnosis of and prescriptions for capitalist society.
The same with Derrida.
As Keynes so aptly put it
Practical men who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist.
Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back.
with regards to economic theorists applies to the humanities in academia.
And now, general public life, as people indoctrinated in these beliefs enter managerial positions in government and business.
May the gods preserve and defend me from self-righteous altruists; I can defend myself from my enemies and my friends.
Very succinct summary SM. I propose elevating it to a divine command. Oh but wait... people in the past did kind of figure out the same, and there even wasn't Internet yet! "Do not judge, or be judged". The heresy part is also very old. So little is new under the sun. Scary. I might reconsider my view of the Internet as a terrible source of misinformation and mob-mentality. It is more like a security wall that keeps us from physical proximity and hence from skull smashing.
