tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post5774947793018959724..comments2024-03-28T00:11:33.489-04:00Comments on bensozia: Two Books Calling for a Populist Revolt, Left and RightJohnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-56114328543402625392015-07-01T07:27:38.919-04:002015-07-01T07:27:38.919-04:00What I see is a lot of discontent with the current...What I see is a lot of discontent with the current system, but so far it is less powerful for most people than fear of turmoil. To get even his modest health care reform plan passed, Obama had to promise that it would not hurt anybody who already has insurance. So, yes, because things are basically ok for most Americans, their political disgust turns more toward apathy than revolution.Johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01037215533094998996noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8304928500646903522.post-62367216897538386862015-06-30T20:00:34.239-04:002015-06-30T20:00:34.239-04:00I also see little sign that we live in a genuinely...I also see little sign that we live in a genuinely revolutionary moment. As far as I can tell, a substantial portion, I suspect a majority, of Americans still basically believe in the system, revere the founding documents and slogans, and expect the basic procedures to work in their own case--all this even if they actually disagree in their interpretation about what the founding documents and slogans mean, even if they want the government to do very different things, etc. Disaffected types are loud, but I believe still a minority.<br /><br />Yes, there's plenty of apathy, but I believe it is largely the apathy of contentment rather than disgust. People may tell a pollster that they don't care about politics because they feel their voice won't be heard and money is what counts, but talk to a politically apathetic person for a while and you're likely to discover that they dislike people who really care about politics and issues even more than they dislike corrupt politicians.<br /><br />On the other hand, I would disagree with the implication in Packer's piece that the division and incoherence among the discontented is a hindrance to revolution. Revolutions tend to lack coherent programs and to bring with them more political conflict than existed before, most of it not between the old order and the new but between different visions of the new. And revolutions are often based more on rhetoric and conspiracy fantasies than anything else. So either Hedges or Murray might make a fine revolutionary agitator. It's the revolutionary historical context that's lacking.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08993570411881726772noreply@blogger.com