Why conservatives lose: Part 1
The problem conservatives find for themselves in the modern world is that identity has been rendered a consequence of performance. This is a concept which is primarily championed by members of academia, like Judith Butler, and has since been adopted by the rising ruling elite that is now beginning to seize the institutions of our society, from tech giants to government institutions. As a consequence of the atomizing effects of modernity, conservatives are finding it much more difficult to find people who are willing to perform the identity of conservative, as it was defined 50 years ago, or even 15 years ago. This is perhaps a chief cause of conservative left-ward drift. This tendency of conservatives to increasingly adopt the culture generated by the left.
Being that the left dominates the culture industry, and thus, the range of identities people are willing to adopt for themselves, is there any wonder that conservatism is rapidly becoming obsolete? It has completely ceded ground on what is and isn't perceived to be normal in the secular realm, and is even beginning to cede ground on what is and isn't considered morally normal with the rise of "liberal Christians" and "liberal Churches".
One of the consequences of capitalism and the explosion of mass production which has come as a result is this radical increase in human choice. One the face of it, this could be seen as a good thing. Afterall, the ability to choose from a wider assortment of possibilities is a good thing, right? Well perhaps. but if you're a conservative, and you believe that the morality of society is absolute, then fundamentally you should be opposed to this explosion in human choice. After all, if the morality of society yesterday was correct, but today people are presented with ten new choices in what could be considered moral or not, then all that means is that people will be ten times more likely to choose the wrong choice than the right one.
For all of their condemnations of radical leftist groups like antifa, the truth is antifa wouldn't exist if not for the advent of capitalism and our inability to restrain its excesses. Capitalism is inherently anarchistic and so too are the identities it manufactures for society. When you look at the explosion of identities like the transgenders, the gender fluids, the non-binaries, the antifa types, these are not identities manufactured from a hierarchical structure. This are not orderly, well thought out identities which arose from centuries of cultivation and tradition. This are identities which could only arise due to the abundance of choice capitalism has provided for us. The advent of capitalism and the inability for conservatives to restrain its excesses is making the conservative identity itself an obsolete identity for individuals in society to perform. After all, why be a conservative if you can safely choose to be something else? Why not live in a cosmopolitan, polyglot coastal city instead of a small town in Iowa? It's certainly looking more appealing, given that the conservative dedication to protecting capitalism is leading to the hollowing out of middle-America.
Given that capitalism has rendered identity as mere performance, is it any wonder that conservatives are now resorting to embracing libertarianism as their dominant political identity? In other words, socially left-wing and economically right-wing, as defined in the American context. There's no room for social conservatism or Christianity in the "conservative" movement or the Republican party, anymore. And those Christians that will be embraced will be the liberal Christians. In other words, what we're seeing is the republican party, conservatives, and even Christians and Christianity itself contorting to best appeal to the anarchistic whims or Capitalism, and more particularly, international finance capital.
With this being the case, it perhaps should be obvious that the leftward drift of what we call conservatism is in part, if not primarily, a result of the leftist domination of the culture industry and the right-wing adoption of free market capitalism as a sacrament. The reality is, we can either have free markets or conservatism. We cannot have both, especially in an environment where leftists are the primary produces of culture.
-All of the world is a stage, and we are its actors.
Being that the left dominates the culture industry, and thus, the range of identities people are willing to adopt for themselves, is there any wonder that conservatism is rapidly becoming obsolete? It has completely ceded ground on what is and isn't perceived to be normal in the secular realm, and is even beginning to cede ground on what is and isn't considered morally normal with the rise of "liberal Christians" and "liberal Churches".
One of the consequences of capitalism and the explosion of mass production which has come as a result is this radical increase in human choice. One the face of it, this could be seen as a good thing. Afterall, the ability to choose from a wider assortment of possibilities is a good thing, right? Well perhaps. but if you're a conservative, and you believe that the morality of society is absolute, then fundamentally you should be opposed to this explosion in human choice. After all, if the morality of society yesterday was correct, but today people are presented with ten new choices in what could be considered moral or not, then all that means is that people will be ten times more likely to choose the wrong choice than the right one.
For all of their condemnations of radical leftist groups like antifa, the truth is antifa wouldn't exist if not for the advent of capitalism and our inability to restrain its excesses. Capitalism is inherently anarchistic and so too are the identities it manufactures for society. When you look at the explosion of identities like the transgenders, the gender fluids, the non-binaries, the antifa types, these are not identities manufactured from a hierarchical structure. This are not orderly, well thought out identities which arose from centuries of cultivation and tradition. This are identities which could only arise due to the abundance of choice capitalism has provided for us. The advent of capitalism and the inability for conservatives to restrain its excesses is making the conservative identity itself an obsolete identity for individuals in society to perform. After all, why be a conservative if you can safely choose to be something else? Why not live in a cosmopolitan, polyglot coastal city instead of a small town in Iowa? It's certainly looking more appealing, given that the conservative dedication to protecting capitalism is leading to the hollowing out of middle-America.
Given that capitalism has rendered identity as mere performance, is it any wonder that conservatives are now resorting to embracing libertarianism as their dominant political identity? In other words, socially left-wing and economically right-wing, as defined in the American context. There's no room for social conservatism or Christianity in the "conservative" movement or the Republican party, anymore. And those Christians that will be embraced will be the liberal Christians. In other words, what we're seeing is the republican party, conservatives, and even Christians and Christianity itself contorting to best appeal to the anarchistic whims or Capitalism, and more particularly, international finance capital.
With this being the case, it perhaps should be obvious that the leftward drift of what we call conservatism is in part, if not primarily, a result of the leftist domination of the culture industry and the right-wing adoption of free market capitalism as a sacrament. The reality is, we can either have free markets or conservatism. We cannot have both, especially in an environment where leftists are the primary produces of culture.
-All of the world is a stage, and we are its actors.
Comments
Post a Comment