Sunday, May 20, 2007

More on Moore

From Salon's review of Michael Moore's "Sicko."

When Moore interviews Tony Benn, a leading figure on the British left, his larger concerns come into focus. Benn argues that for-profit healthcare and the other instruments of the corporate state, like student loans and bottomless credit-card debt, perform a crucial function for that state. They undermine democracy by creating a docile and hardworking population that is addicted to constant debt and an essentially unsustainable lifestyle, that literally cannot afford to quit jobs or take time off, that is more interested in maintaining high incomes than in social or political change.

Benn just misses one of the ironies of American life. We have a "docile and hardworking population" that is little interested in large-scale "social or political change." However, we also have an enormous amount of personal aggression in the United States. There are much higher rates for murder, rape, violent crime, and other kinds of interpersonal violence in the U. S. than in comparable countries. If Americans are docile toward social, economic, and political authority, we are extremely and destructively aggressive toward our families, friends, girlfriends, co-workers, and acquaintances. The only legitimate social targets for our aggression are those who complain about or criticize the reigning political-economic system--those on the left who complain about economic injustice, blacks who criticize racism, feminists, and gay rights activists. Americans certainly are docile in many ways but we're also sitting on a volcano of anger.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I wonder if all the personal aggression stems from feelings of ignorance and helplesness? As you point out, the only legitimate targets for docile and hardworking Americans are those of us who promote social and economic justice. Barring that, the targets are those closest too us. Loved ones. Given that ignorance breeds fear and fearful people instictively resist change, are we not seeing what happens to a people after decades of the upper classes telling us that all is well and change is bad, learning is bad, different is bad? Is this not what the right wing has sought for? This very sad irony of American life?

Ric Caric said...

I can see your point, but I also think it's important to emphasize the inculcation of "individualism" in children through schooling and the media. Teachers and school administrators--the majority of whom would be liberals of one kind of another--work overtime to inculcate "individual" approaches to everything.