I am not sure where I read that. It was a Marxist I think. Either Douglas Rushkoff or Slajov Zizek I think.
A criticism of Marxist criticism of capitalism is that the people who verbalize it are subjected to the capitalistic rules/logic of the system. And it s a criticism about a system from which they themselves profit from. They are allegedly hypocrites. I think one very popular criticism of Bernie Sanders in the US is the following. I watched it in a television show I think it was Fox. The host: "So Sanders is a millionaire and now he wants to sell a book for 30 bucks about how capitalism sucks." Well one could say that's an easy ad hominem attack. By saying that there is no need to challenge his ideas in a free and fair way. Undermining the person who raises his voice who to criticise capitalism. I am a little bit scared to become an angry, old lefty when I am an old man. If I live that long. I also have this cynicsm. But it is more when someone posture him or herself in debates as morally completely superior. When it is not about the core issues of capitalism but more a virtue signaling. I am very much pro trans, And I find the anti woke talking points ridiculous. I am glad Zizek changed a little bit his tone on this issue. I think the way he talked about it only gives ammunition to right-wingers and a trans haters. It helped the rise of Trump. The whole anti woke culture war. I think the new culture war could be on artificial intelligence by the way. It is already extremely heated. And well I am a hypocrite I am using it helping billionaires to get richer. But I think this isn't the main point for this thread. But I am skeptical of extreme critics of eurocentrism. This is self-denial. And I get the feeling some people who hate their culture for the sake of hating their culture.
You know when I am reading leftwing newspapers I am reading sometimes smart analyses. But the way the media reports about an issues is often within a certain window. There are things allowed to say and things you get laughed at when you explain them. This is an issue. There is a huge discussion whether the window for allowed opinions is closing or widening. My answer would be both at the same time. But the details are very complex, depend on the country, toics, media ecosystem, gatekeepers, plattform etc. And the opinions on it vary. You will heard a lot of diametrical takes when you talk to a different people. My problem is: In our world nowadays its about appearances. You have to appear to be a lefty. You have to appear to be morally superior. Most of us have identities on the internet. And actions count less than maybe a good sounding tweet. You can appear to be a revolutionary. There are code words for that. But many many people express opinions just to get money and influence. Creating a certain brand. In a world where everything is about money the motives of lefties are easier to be be questioned. There is even a general suspicion. I think Bernie Sander is a good one. But for example are many journalists from the NYT on the good side who defend the US health care system as it currently functions? This is what makes Americans cynical. The way the American the party system works, the way funding of election campaigns works, e.g. extremely expensive ads, the way primaries are carried out. This is massively favoring the wealthy/the establishment. This is what rigs the interests of average Americans against the way US politics is acted out. It is extremely unlikely that a not completely corrupt candidate makes his way into the office. I heard a lot of good things about Zorhan Mamdani. In a world were it is about appearances. Where candidates are subjected to the attention economy and have to folllow the logic of the system they act in, the will to be an outsider/to change something is broken pretty early. Obama was such a candidate. He promised change and delivered close to nothing. He was a disappointment for the working class. Theer is a great risk the criticism of capitalism remains just a cosmetic one. Enough changes so that the system isn't collapsing but close to no changes that make a difference concerning the systemic inequality.
Not only is capitalism depriving the fundament of revolutionary ideas by incorporating it into the system. (subjecting it to the capitalistic logic) It also distorts the reality about the motives of different candidates. In a world where Bloomberg is considered a leftwing progressive canddiate, we know there is something off. But is mainstream media talking about it? And the alternatives presented by right-wing independent media are even worse. Capitalism and its inherent logic (for example within large media companies) is brainwashing the voter in order to rig the system in favor of the wealthy elites.
A criticism of Marxist criticism of capitalism is that the people who verbalize it are subjected to the capitalistic rules/logic of the system. And it s a criticism about a system from which they themselves profit from. They are allegedly hypocrites. I think one very popular criticism of Bernie Sanders in the US is the following. I watched it in a television show I think it was Fox. The host: "So Sanders is a millionaire and now he wants to sell a book for 30 bucks about how capitalism sucks." Well one could say that's an easy ad hominem attack. By saying that there is no need to challenge his ideas in a free and fair way. Undermining the person who raises his voice who to criticise capitalism. I am a little bit scared to become an angry, old lefty when I am an old man. If I live that long. I also have this cynicsm. But it is more when someone posture him or herself in debates as morally completely superior. When it is not about the core issues of capitalism but more a virtue signaling. I am very much pro trans, And I find the anti woke talking points ridiculous. I am glad Zizek changed a little bit his tone on this issue. I think the way he talked about it only gives ammunition to right-wingers and a trans haters. It helped the rise of Trump. The whole anti woke culture war. I think the new culture war could be on artificial intelligence by the way. It is already extremely heated. And well I am a hypocrite I am using it helping billionaires to get richer. But I think this isn't the main point for this thread. But I am skeptical of extreme critics of eurocentrism. This is self-denial. And I get the feeling some people who hate their culture for the sake of hating their culture.
You know when I am reading leftwing newspapers I am reading sometimes smart analyses. But the way the media reports about an issues is often within a certain window. There are things allowed to say and things you get laughed at when you explain them. This is an issue. There is a huge discussion whether the window for allowed opinions is closing or widening. My answer would be both at the same time. But the details are very complex, depend on the country, toics, media ecosystem, gatekeepers, plattform etc. And the opinions on it vary. You will heard a lot of diametrical takes when you talk to a different people. My problem is: In our world nowadays its about appearances. You have to appear to be a lefty. You have to appear to be morally superior. Most of us have identities on the internet. And actions count less than maybe a good sounding tweet. You can appear to be a revolutionary. There are code words for that. But many many people express opinions just to get money and influence. Creating a certain brand. In a world where everything is about money the motives of lefties are easier to be be questioned. There is even a general suspicion. I think Bernie Sander is a good one. But for example are many journalists from the NYT on the good side who defend the US health care system as it currently functions? This is what makes Americans cynical. The way the American the party system works, the way funding of election campaigns works, e.g. extremely expensive ads, the way primaries are carried out. This is massively favoring the wealthy/the establishment. This is what rigs the interests of average Americans against the way US politics is acted out. It is extremely unlikely that a not completely corrupt candidate makes his way into the office. I heard a lot of good things about Zorhan Mamdani. In a world were it is about appearances. Where candidates are subjected to the attention economy and have to folllow the logic of the system they act in, the will to be an outsider/to change something is broken pretty early. Obama was such a candidate. He promised change and delivered close to nothing. He was a disappointment for the working class. Theer is a great risk the criticism of capitalism remains just a cosmetic one. Enough changes so that the system isn't collapsing but close to no changes that make a difference concerning the systemic inequality.
Not only is capitalism depriving the fundament of revolutionary ideas by incorporating it into the system. (subjecting it to the capitalistic logic) It also distorts the reality about the motives of different candidates. In a world where Bloomberg is considered a leftwing progressive canddiate, we know there is something off. But is mainstream media talking about it? And the alternatives presented by right-wing independent media are even worse. Capitalism and its inherent logic (for example within large media companies) is brainwashing the voter in order to rig the system in favor of the wealthy elites.
