Nice Little Article By Chris Hedges

[Rakhmetov]

The Greeks Get It.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_greeks_get_it_20100524/

[The Vegan Marxist]

The Greeks Get It.

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_greeks_get_it_20100524/

I agree, that's why I posted this same article on the "Situation At Greece" section already. ;)

[RadioRaheem84]

Why is it that Greeks, Nepalese, rural Indians, Venezuelans and others get it but not Americans? Can we blame it all on propaganda? I am sure Greece has its share of major propaganda, even worse; complacent social democratic moral center chauvinism. But the Greeks are rising up and demanding more. Some Americans, here, are calling them parasites, welfare queens, etc. Has the mentality of the businessman been ingrained into the average American working class psyche? It seems like common sense in America is simply the common sense of the ruling class when dealing with workers.


*Side note. Isn't that just a bad ass photo posted beside the article? Reminds me of the Lonely Island song about the bad asses that don't look back at explosions.

[RadioRaheem84]

Gosh, read the comments for this article. I am convinced that the problem isn't that the opposing side isn't rational or logical, the problem is almost religious (in the sense of belief, presupposition). The facts are out, banks pillaged and plundered around the world, companies neo-colonized the third world, the world ran on debt finance, we pay for bankers mistakes and the problem is still the workers according to some people, a lot of people.

It's not a matter of the mind anymore but of the heart. Convincing people is the least of our worries, as far as I have seen. We should concentrate on mobilizing those who want change. If others care to join, so be it. But proselytizing Marxism likes it's some Gospel is making me grow tiresome. People have unfettered access to his works and can see daily the raping and looting by major corporations and the States that support them. Every time I open my mouth and reiterate what's going on in the world, literally word for word what's even said in the press, I get told that I am preaching Marxism, "oh that's Marxism", "that's socialist talk". Well damn, Marx didn't write specifically about financial giants using debt finance to leverage the world in this manner or about monopoly capitalism of the post war boom, but I am glad that they can see that it as Marxism. Maybe because reality just happens to be Marxist.

Lets focus on lending our support on people who get it and help those who want to get it. Debating with opponents and engaging in evangelism on forums, boards and open forums in public has really grown tiresome. Let them come to us and we'll debate them, help them open their eyes, but lets not look for fights.

[x359594]

...Lets focus on lending our support on people who get it and help those who want to get it. Debating with opponents and engaging in evangelism on forums, boards and open forums in public has really grown tiresome. Let them come to us and we'll debate them, help them open their eyes, but lets not look for fights.

I couldn't agree more comrade. We need to bring our energy and our communication skills to bear where they will prove most effective.

[KurtFF8]

Why is it that Greeks, Nepalese, rural Indians, Venezuelans and others get it but not Americans? Can we blame it all on propaganda? I am sure Greece has its share of major propaganda, even worse; complacent social democratic moral center chauvinism. But the Greeks are rising up and demanding more. Some Americans, here, are calling them parasites, welfare queens, etc. Has the mentality of the businessman been ingrained into the average American working class psyche? It seems like common sense in America is simply the common sense of the ruling class when dealing with workers.


*Side note. Isn't that just a bad ass photo posted beside the article? Reminds me of the Lonely Island song about the bad asses that don't look back at explosions.

No, comrade, it isn't just about propaganda. Class consciousness is a complicated thing and there is quite a bit of disagreement about it. Gramsci wrote about it indirectly when talking about the complex structure of hegemony (Chomsky of course also talks about this).

But as for "popular conservativism" there's an amazing article that's quite old at this point, but still quite relevant, by Suart Hall titled "The Toad in the Garden: Thatcherism among the Theorists" that appears in the Marxism and the Interpretation of Culture book that does an excellent job explaining how conservatives were able to essentially play on class consciousness (albeit false consciousness)