It's the Economy Stupid - Concept Sketch
Our country was founded on bourgeois principles, by a bourgeois people. As such, we define ourselves by consumption. We can see this all across our history, from the protests over taxation without representation to Manifest Destiny, to today's politicking.
It is worthy of note that, as many people pointed out, the drama over the Stamp act was not that the tax was inappropriate into and of itself, but that it was levied without representation. They wanted to participate in, to consume, the politics of their day. Today we are taught that it is our civil responsibility to participate in politics and the running of our country.
Why?
To go back to the Classes of Marx, we have;
The Prole, who is dependent on production, but does not control it
The Bourgeois, who is dependent on production, but does control it
and the Aristocrat, who is not dependent on production.
When we see people telling us we must engage in the act of controlling production, (not merely helping them to control it) we see people pushing the bourgeois class desires on us.
We live in a country where we encourage the apathetic to vote. This is obviously a poor decision if we care about informed and intelligent votes being cast. The only logic I can see for this, is not that we care about what the result of the vote is, but rather that voting as a process happens, that the product of government is consumed.
It is advertised, pushed at us, and we are encouraged to consume it or be labeled traitors to our nation and to our brothers and sisters.
If you wish to be truly diabolical in the eyes of Americans today, I would suggest that, while seeking to uplift the people, preserve the historic buildings, and the like, you seek to encourage people to disengage from the consumption of politics unless it be their will to study and do politics. This suggestion that politics not be consumed by every possible person, regardless of aptitude is truly antithesis to American values.
I'm going to try and put together something in the next few weeks looking at trends in American consumerism over the years and seeing if I can draw any meaningful parallels with our government at the time.
Results coming soon.
It is worthy of note that, as many people pointed out, the drama over the Stamp act was not that the tax was inappropriate into and of itself, but that it was levied without representation. They wanted to participate in, to consume, the politics of their day. Today we are taught that it is our civil responsibility to participate in politics and the running of our country.
Why?
To go back to the Classes of Marx, we have;
The Prole, who is dependent on production, but does not control it
The Bourgeois, who is dependent on production, but does control it
and the Aristocrat, who is not dependent on production.
When we see people telling us we must engage in the act of controlling production, (not merely helping them to control it) we see people pushing the bourgeois class desires on us.
We live in a country where we encourage the apathetic to vote. This is obviously a poor decision if we care about informed and intelligent votes being cast. The only logic I can see for this, is not that we care about what the result of the vote is, but rather that voting as a process happens, that the product of government is consumed.
It is advertised, pushed at us, and we are encouraged to consume it or be labeled traitors to our nation and to our brothers and sisters.
If you wish to be truly diabolical in the eyes of Americans today, I would suggest that, while seeking to uplift the people, preserve the historic buildings, and the like, you seek to encourage people to disengage from the consumption of politics unless it be their will to study and do politics. This suggestion that politics not be consumed by every possible person, regardless of aptitude is truly antithesis to American values.
I'm going to try and put together something in the next few weeks looking at trends in American consumerism over the years and seeing if I can draw any meaningful parallels with our government at the time.
Results coming soon.