We had a lunch lecture where this environmental scientist gave a talk about critical materials and how big of a problem our reliance on these are. He links the whole thing up with politics pretty well, explaining how various political actors are involved and benefit from this or that.
At some point, he even mentions how in the netherlands, policy doesn’t get passed without a buy-in from industry. It means quite a lot, cause this guy is government hired in recommending policies.
Then he contradicts himself in the next paragraph by saying that this is the curse of democracy that people make stupid decisions.
I ask this guy about the contradiction. How you simultaneously harp about profits over needs, the evils of consultancy firms, and the inability of the Dutch government to do anything but pursue corporate interests, while also talking about the problems of “democracy”?
He just tells me “we are a democracy that’s why the Dutch government listens to industry”. Well not exactly that, but at least that’s the message I get when he talks about all the corporate controlled parties winning the elections and how that’s what the people chose.
Dude is this close to realising that the definition of liberal democracy is “legitimised rule by corporations” .
Of course, the lecture ends with a book recommendation for a book about the collapse of human civilisation. And a recommendation to go vote and participate in political parties.
Unlimited death upon elections.
100% agree. Most people wont look at how their position fits in with the larger picture. They are haplessly self-absorbed in their own story-line, which I can only fault them for so much, I am a miserable sad-sack because of my inability to do this.
Sounds like we are around the same age and I can say that I had a very similar shortsighted worldview at the time. Especially because I grew up in a very privileged bubble with a conservative family. It wasn’t really until I went to college in a major city that I started to see and experience what the world was really like, both good and bad. I became way more progressive and had my Obama arc as well. Then I had my Bernie arc, which started to really push me away from the centrist liberal ideations. My full radicalization came in 2020, COVID and the piss poor reactions/response to it is what got me to the point I’m at today. Watching as the world around me did everything it could to fake normalcy for the sake of “the economy” was extremely eye-opening and made me extremely resentful of the establishment and everyone’s unfeathered support of the capitalist machine.
All that said, back to the initial response, I think at this point its very hard for the adult liberals of our generation to make the turn anymore. They have established themselves, started families, are in the middle of their careers, all within the confines of the current system. I think we are seeing them slowly become part of the “fuck you, got mine” demographic that for a long time has been reserved for boomers and genX. Not to say that’s everyone, I am definitely making a few broad strokes with some of this, but by and large its what I have seen from people in my life.
To add to this: liberalism is more of a lifestyle brand. Deviating from the narrow cultural acceptance of what constitutes liberalism is heavily frowned upon. Just like where I’m from, everyone drives a truck owns guns and camo, drinks beer out of a yeti cooler and has at least one dead animal on the wall.
That’s a great point as well. The reluctance to look inward and question their beliefs is at odds with the… dare I say… identity politics.