"When philosophy paints its grey in grey then has a shape of life grown old. By philosophy's grey in grey it cannot be rejuvenated but only understood. The owl of Minerva spreads its wings only with the falling of dusk." -- G.W.F. Hegel, 'Preface', Philosophy of Right.
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'Constant revolutionizing of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social conditions, everlasting uncertainity and agitation distinquish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones ... All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned.' Marx
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progressives losing their way?
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August 18, 2007
Some paragraphs from the Preface of the Rockridge Institute's recent Thinking Points text that apply to Australia. The text says:
America today is in danger. It faces the threat of domination by a radical, authoritarian right wing that refers to itself as “conservative,” as if it were preserving and promoting American values. In fact, it has been trampling on them. American values are inherently progressive, but progressives have lost their way. As traditional Americans, that is, as progressive Americans, we are beginning to lose our identity, the very values that have made America a great and free country—a country where tolerance has led us to unity, where diversity has given us strength, where acting for the common good has brought our dreams to fruition, and where respect for human dignityhas increased opportunity, released creativity, and generated wealth.
This situation, which also describes contemporary Australia, has deteriorated for progressive liberals:
But progressives have so taken these values for granted that we no longer have the ability to articulate a progressive vision. We have lost hold of the terms of political debate, and even eded the language of progressive ideals—like “freedom” and “liberty”—to redefinition by an extremist right wing. The radical right understands its values and knows its agenda. It has imposed its ideas and its language on America. It has dominated public debate, which has allowed it to seize power.
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Lakoff's linguistic ear is terrific, and his description of the archetypes of liberal and conservative temperament is very strong -- but his political sense is naive.
Before the 2004 election he spoke at more than one Democratic party leadership retreat, and possibly consulted ad hoc for one or two campaigns. The result was a slightly inflated level of progressive rhetoric, which rung absolutely hollow.
Many of Lakoff's enthusiasts, including me, felt that if we could just "re-frame" the discourse, we could change Democratic politics. We overlooked the fundamental economic factors that have moved American voters toward the middle and toward apathy.