Thank you for sharing this very interesting article. I knew a little of the Frankfurt School, but nothing of how they adapted and continued in the post-WWII world. They certainly put much thought and effort into how best to destroy the social and economic norms that have held society together for so long. It wasn’t perfect what we had (and took for granted), but in this imperfect world it truly was the best system yet a flawed humanity has come up with that allows the greatest opportunities for people of good intent to thrive.
Only knowing our enemies’s tools & the ideology behind it will give us the clarity to stiffen our collective spine and kick these ideas and their purveyors to the curb with a firm and unyielding “NO”.
There has to be some elements, maybe many elements, of Marx that are compelling and inspirational, and thus gather disciples in every generation since he put his ideas forward. But the proof is in the pudding, as they say, and it doesn't matter how you dress it up, adapt to the current age, or change the labels, there is something fundamental about it that leads to death, and death on a massive scale. We really shouldn't let little children play with loaded shotguns.
Marxism is the pornography of resentment, inciting its acolytes into a fever of cruelty. It appeals to those who want to give full vent to their vindictive impulses and be congratulated for doing so without any hindrance from their own consciences or external disapproval.
Before mass formation psychosis.....Bonhoeffer‘s Theory of Stupidity......Dietrich Bonhoeffer argued that stupid people are more dangerous than evil ones. This is because while we can protest against or fight evil people, against stupid ones we are defenseless — reasons fall on dead ears. Bonhoeffer's famous text, which we slightly edited for this video, serves any free society as a warning of what can happen when certain people gain too much power.......https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww47bR86wSc
Yes I'm familiar with Bonhoeffer - the stupidity he talks about, I feel, is a bit unkind given the incredible powers of propaganda that were at play in Germany at the time - I would conceptualize it as brainwashing in circumstances of great social pressure along with a propensity to easily give up morality for safety and acceptance. But totally agree such people are extremely dangerous and without such 'useful idiots' a totalitarian state would not last long.
As you have mentioned, I feel Americans are quick to give up rights for paternalistic government protection because they have never known true oppression. Their knowledge of history is poor and they think “it couldn’t happen here.”
I have raised this complaint w/ John Carter and now I'll have to raise it here. Why is Nazi Germany the go-to example for MPF or a Theory of Stupidity - a supposedly indelible example of a people hypnotized or collectively lacking in intelligence? I've seen this usage over and again from Substack truthers and anti-vaxxers as well. O'Brien spoke of Mao's Cultural Revolution which mobilized youth to act violently against tradition not just for one night (krystallnacht) but for years. Who's being defended by this uninformed example and who's being demonized? If you have understood who the enemy is both historically and contemporaneously, you shouldn't fall into such ideological traps. Please re-examine this position.
When I was in University we were exposed to postmodern theorists and to Marxist theories, I recognize Adorno, Gramsci, Marcuse and others. It helped me to think critically about Advanced Capitalism. I do not think Socialism is the enemy you are saying it is. In Canada, the UK and a number of countries in Europe And Australia, we have some form of Socialism I think we do better than the US at taking care of people. I think the fear of Socialism and the far left in the US only serves Advanced Capitalism which in turn only serves the very wealthy. I think the real enemy is authoritarian type systems like Russia and China that only serve the power elite. Neither Russia or China are Sociast or Communist they are authoritarian Autocracies.
I think Advanced Capitalism is evolving into authoritarianism where the government is bought and sold by the powerful and wealthy few. It is hard to clearly see this if you are embedded in it.
Yes I agree extremists of the far left or far right are both interested in destroying democracy but the evidence is showing that the far right is much more organized doing most of the damage and more lethal
I think semantics can confuse the issue here. The sort of socialism you are talking about is probably what I'd classify as classical liberalism and not the neo-Marxism O'Brien is talking about. Certainly the extreme right has been extremely lethal in the past, but I feel the extreme left is no less organised and lethal to democracy.
But I'm just a humble mental health professional like yourself, so I'm happy to leave the hot debates about left vs right to those who's careers have been about such analysis (unless it's about left vs right hemispheres of the brain - them I'm all in!).
Thank you for your reply. I think my point is that I disagree with your view that the neoMarxist far left is just as organized as the far right and just as much of a threat. From what I understand the far right wants to make out that it is the case however the evidence does not support that. You are right they tend to use Socialism as an enemy when it is more neo liberalism and not the same as the far left Marxist leaning. Antifa and other groups are loosely organized and not the threat that the right tries to present. Of course extremists tend to support destroying the status Quo and are dangerous in their rhetoric however the right has acted on their beliefs and that is the difference. White supremacy and domestic terrorism are far right movements and in my view lead to fascism. This is my understanding and I am open to investigating further.
very 'lite' if you ask me. There may have been up to 10,000 killed in Tienanmen Square in what is now referred to as 'that unfortunate incident' if it is acknowledged at all https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-42465516
I'm not arguing anything. Just expressing an opinion. And of course their actions have consequences. I'm not sure what you mean by "organizers". It seems to me that there were those who organized the protest and those who organized the trespass and vandalism.
Thank you for sharing this very interesting article. I knew a little of the Frankfurt School, but nothing of how they adapted and continued in the post-WWII world. They certainly put much thought and effort into how best to destroy the social and economic norms that have held society together for so long. It wasn’t perfect what we had (and took for granted), but in this imperfect world it truly was the best system yet a flawed humanity has come up with that allows the greatest opportunities for people of good intent to thrive.
Only knowing our enemies’s tools & the ideology behind it will give us the clarity to stiffen our collective spine and kick these ideas and their purveyors to the curb with a firm and unyielding “NO”.
There has to be some elements, maybe many elements, of Marx that are compelling and inspirational, and thus gather disciples in every generation since he put his ideas forward. But the proof is in the pudding, as they say, and it doesn't matter how you dress it up, adapt to the current age, or change the labels, there is something fundamental about it that leads to death, and death on a massive scale. We really shouldn't let little children play with loaded shotguns.
Marxism is the pornography of resentment, inciting its acolytes into a fever of cruelty. It appeals to those who want to give full vent to their vindictive impulses and be congratulated for doing so without any hindrance from their own consciences or external disapproval.
Before mass formation psychosis.....Bonhoeffer‘s Theory of Stupidity......Dietrich Bonhoeffer argued that stupid people are more dangerous than evil ones. This is because while we can protest against or fight evil people, against stupid ones we are defenseless — reasons fall on dead ears. Bonhoeffer's famous text, which we slightly edited for this video, serves any free society as a warning of what can happen when certain people gain too much power.......https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww47bR86wSc
Yes I'm familiar with Bonhoeffer - the stupidity he talks about, I feel, is a bit unkind given the incredible powers of propaganda that were at play in Germany at the time - I would conceptualize it as brainwashing in circumstances of great social pressure along with a propensity to easily give up morality for safety and acceptance. But totally agree such people are extremely dangerous and without such 'useful idiots' a totalitarian state would not last long.
As you have mentioned, I feel Americans are quick to give up rights for paternalistic government protection because they have never known true oppression. Their knowledge of history is poor and they think “it couldn’t happen here.”
I have raised this complaint w/ John Carter and now I'll have to raise it here. Why is Nazi Germany the go-to example for MPF or a Theory of Stupidity - a supposedly indelible example of a people hypnotized or collectively lacking in intelligence? I've seen this usage over and again from Substack truthers and anti-vaxxers as well. O'Brien spoke of Mao's Cultural Revolution which mobilized youth to act violently against tradition not just for one night (krystallnacht) but for years. Who's being defended by this uninformed example and who's being demonized? If you have understood who the enemy is both historically and contemporaneously, you shouldn't fall into such ideological traps. Please re-examine this position.
When I was in University we were exposed to postmodern theorists and to Marxist theories, I recognize Adorno, Gramsci, Marcuse and others. It helped me to think critically about Advanced Capitalism. I do not think Socialism is the enemy you are saying it is. In Canada, the UK and a number of countries in Europe And Australia, we have some form of Socialism I think we do better than the US at taking care of people. I think the fear of Socialism and the far left in the US only serves Advanced Capitalism which in turn only serves the very wealthy. I think the real enemy is authoritarian type systems like Russia and China that only serve the power elite. Neither Russia or China are Sociast or Communist they are authoritarian Autocracies.
I think Advanced Capitalism is evolving into authoritarianism where the government is bought and sold by the powerful and wealthy few. It is hard to clearly see this if you are embedded in it.
Yes I agree extremists of the far left or far right are both interested in destroying democracy but the evidence is showing that the far right is much more organized doing most of the damage and more lethal
I think semantics can confuse the issue here. The sort of socialism you are talking about is probably what I'd classify as classical liberalism and not the neo-Marxism O'Brien is talking about. Certainly the extreme right has been extremely lethal in the past, but I feel the extreme left is no less organised and lethal to democracy.
But I'm just a humble mental health professional like yourself, so I'm happy to leave the hot debates about left vs right to those who's careers have been about such analysis (unless it's about left vs right hemispheres of the brain - them I'm all in!).
Thank you for your reply. I think my point is that I disagree with your view that the neoMarxist far left is just as organized as the far right and just as much of a threat. From what I understand the far right wants to make out that it is the case however the evidence does not support that. You are right they tend to use Socialism as an enemy when it is more neo liberalism and not the same as the far left Marxist leaning. Antifa and other groups are loosely organized and not the threat that the right tries to present. Of course extremists tend to support destroying the status Quo and are dangerous in their rhetoric however the right has acted on their beliefs and that is the difference. White supremacy and domestic terrorism are far right movements and in my view lead to fascism. This is my understanding and I am open to investigating further.
Tienanmen Square lite = January 6
very 'lite' if you ask me. There may have been up to 10,000 killed in Tienanmen Square in what is now referred to as 'that unfortunate incident' if it is acknowledged at all https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-42465516
Yes. Probably an unfair comparison on my part. The concept was somewhat the same but in many ways not. I don't think China used agent provacatuers.
How was the concept similar?
A protest turns into violence and mass arrests.
Seems to me that Jan 6 organizers were pretty well planned, and got the desired result (minus the part of being arrested).
Or are you arguing their actions have no consequences?
I'm not arguing anything. Just expressing an opinion. And of course their actions have consequences. I'm not sure what you mean by "organizers". It seems to me that there were those who organized the protest and those who organized the trespass and vandalism.
You meant an 'assault, right?