1/
60's Hippy activists: Make love not money! Fight the corporations man!
2020 Woke activists: That haircut is racist (sponsored by McDonald's)
These two groups are related, and knowing how is KEY to understanding where wokeness came from, and how it operates.
A thread🧵
60's Hippy activists: Make love not money! Fight the corporations man!
2020 Woke activists: That haircut is racist (sponsored by McDonald's)
These two groups are related, and knowing how is KEY to understanding where wokeness came from, and how it operates.
A thread🧵
2/
To understand how we get from one to another we need to understand what the 60's counterculture thought, and why that critique dominated for nearly 60 years. This will be an oversimplification, but it will give us enough to understand what is going on. Also...
To understand how we get from one to another we need to understand what the 60's counterculture thought, and why that critique dominated for nearly 60 years. This will be an oversimplification, but it will give us enough to understand what is going on. Also...
3/
When the counter culture uses academic ideas, it picks and chooses. It's not like a machine with each idea used exactly as designed. It's more like a stew, where activists cook up their ideology and flavor it to their liking with ideas from various intellectuals.
When the counter culture uses academic ideas, it picks and chooses. It's not like a machine with each idea used exactly as designed. It's more like a stew, where activists cook up their ideology and flavor it to their liking with ideas from various intellectuals.
4/
Lets begin with a look at the counter culture view of capitalism:
In 1967 Guy Debord argued in "The Society of the spectacle" that consumer capitalism has taken every authentic human experience, commodified it, and sold it back to us through advertising and mass media.
Lets begin with a look at the counter culture view of capitalism:
In 1967 Guy Debord argued in "The Society of the spectacle" that consumer capitalism has taken every authentic human experience, commodified it, and sold it back to us through advertising and mass media.
5/
Thus all our social relations are mediated by images that have been created and sold to us by mass media. Thus everything from Christmas (create the perfect Christmas moment, just like on T.V.) to dating (Gotta create the perfect date, like we see in the movies) is all part...
Thus all our social relations are mediated by images that have been created and sold to us by mass media. Thus everything from Christmas (create the perfect Christmas moment, just like on T.V.) to dating (Gotta create the perfect date, like we see in the movies) is all part...
6/
of "the system"
Think of the line from Fight Club: “We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like." Why do we do this? Because we've been brainwashed by society into pursuing a false image (invented by advertisers) of what we should be.
of "the system"
Think of the line from Fight Club: “We buy things we don't need with money we don't have to impress people we don't like." Why do we do this? Because we've been brainwashed by society into pursuing a false image (invented by advertisers) of what we should be.
7/
But how could literally all of society be brainwashed like this? Well, the activists created a theory of how "The system" worked by mixing two ideas:
1. Marx's idea of economic exploitation which said capitalists exploit the workers by taking advantage of them to get rich.
But how could literally all of society be brainwashed like this? Well, the activists created a theory of how "The system" worked by mixing two ideas:
1. Marx's idea of economic exploitation which said capitalists exploit the workers by taking advantage of them to get rich.
8/
2. Freuds psychoanalytic theory of "repression."
This theory said that certain desires we have that we might wish we didn't have (for example, the urge to do harm to someone when we are angry) do not "go away," they get repressed. They get stuffed deep down inside our minds...
2. Freuds psychoanalytic theory of "repression."
This theory said that certain desires we have that we might wish we didn't have (for example, the urge to do harm to someone when we are angry) do not "go away," they get repressed. They get stuffed deep down inside our minds...
9/
where they stay until something (perhaps a moment of anger) brings those feelings back up. Now, there is more to Freuds idea then that, and I am REALLY oversimplifying, but for us that is enough to understand how the counter culture used the idea of repression.
where they stay until something (perhaps a moment of anger) brings those feelings back up. Now, there is more to Freuds idea then that, and I am REALLY oversimplifying, but for us that is enough to understand how the counter culture used the idea of repression.
10/
The counter culture took the idea of exploitation, and mixed it with the idea of repression, and created from the alloy of those ideas a new understanding of OPPRESSION.
This new idea says the exploitation is NOT made possible via institutions like property rights or law.
The counter culture took the idea of exploitation, and mixed it with the idea of repression, and created from the alloy of those ideas a new understanding of OPPRESSION.
This new idea says the exploitation is NOT made possible via institutions like property rights or law.
11/
What the activists thought is that psychological domination created by "the system" that represses behaviors, feelings, and urges which might be a threat to "the system"
We are almost home here, it's about the get VERY familiar....
What the activists thought is that psychological domination created by "the system" that represses behaviors, feelings, and urges which might be a threat to "the system"
We are almost home here, it's about the get VERY familiar....
12/
Because this new idea of oppression meant the Marxist idea of "class" with replaced the idea of "oppressed groups." Now, who is in the oppressed groups? Women, non-whites, and gay people. So instead of the exploitation of the working class, we have the oppression of groups...
Because this new idea of oppression meant the Marxist idea of "class" with replaced the idea of "oppressed groups." Now, who is in the oppressed groups? Women, non-whites, and gay people. So instead of the exploitation of the working class, we have the oppression of groups...
13/
And since oppression is psychological, according to the counter culture the root of injustice is thus PSYCHOLOGICAL. That means the way to end injustice is not institutional (like reforming the courts or the police) but psychological...You need to free peoples minds!
And since oppression is psychological, according to the counter culture the root of injustice is thus PSYCHOLOGICAL. That means the way to end injustice is not institutional (like reforming the courts or the police) but psychological...You need to free peoples minds!
14/
Institutional reform doesn't help if your mind is still enslaved to the system.
To quote the Beatles:
"You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well, you know
You better free you mind instead"
Institutional reform doesn't help if your mind is still enslaved to the system.
To quote the Beatles:
"You say you'll change the constitution
Well, you know
We all want to change your head
You tell me it's the institution
Well, you know
You better free you mind instead"
15/
One reason Marijuana and LSD were so popular at the time was the counterculture thought drugs could "free your mind" and help you think outside of "the system."
This is why they thought *hits bong*
"the mans gonna send the fuzz round to bust your stash man"
One reason Marijuana and LSD were so popular at the time was the counterculture thought drugs could "free your mind" and help you think outside of "the system."
This is why they thought *hits bong*
"the mans gonna send the fuzz round to bust your stash man"
16/
Are we beginning to see what they thought?
The whole of society is one great big capitalist machine which uses advertising and mass media to maintain control and oppress people. They way out is to fight "the system" after you free your mind.
How do you do "free your mind?"
Are we beginning to see what they thought?
The whole of society is one great big capitalist machine which uses advertising and mass media to maintain control and oppress people. They way out is to fight "the system" after you free your mind.
How do you do "free your mind?"
17/
The counterculture would say "cognitive dissonance."
A protest helps, guerilla art helps, graffiti with subversive messages helps. Anything that leads people to think "outside the system." Any acts of resistance which get peoples attention so the left can free their minds
The counterculture would say "cognitive dissonance."
A protest helps, guerilla art helps, graffiti with subversive messages helps. Anything that leads people to think "outside the system." Any acts of resistance which get peoples attention so the left can free their minds
18/ This sort of critique was the meat and potatoes of the far left for almost 60 years. It started in the 60's but it continued on up until about 2009, such was it's staying power.
19/
60's hippies had the beatles singing "revolution."
80's punks hated Reagan cause corporatism
the 90's saw Kurt Cobain wore a shirt that said "corporate magazines still suck" on the cover of Rolling Stone. (gotta free their minds, Rolling stone is co-opted by the system!)
60's hippies had the beatles singing "revolution."
80's punks hated Reagan cause corporatism
the 90's saw Kurt Cobain wore a shirt that said "corporate magazines still suck" on the cover of Rolling Stone. (gotta free their minds, Rolling stone is co-opted by the system!)
20/
Even Rage Against the machine was in on the act!
From their song "freedom":
We will not bow down to, uh huh, racism.
We will not bow down to injustice.
We will not bow down to exploitation.
I'm gon' stand.
Now, this is time for FREE YOUR MIND and your soul.
Even Rage Against the machine was in on the act!
From their song "freedom":
We will not bow down to, uh huh, racism.
We will not bow down to injustice.
We will not bow down to exploitation.
I'm gon' stand.
Now, this is time for FREE YOUR MIND and your soul.
21/
So what happened? How did this fade away?
Well it all begins with the shift to postmodernism which you can see illustrated right here, with this movie
So what happened? How did this fade away?
Well it all begins with the shift to postmodernism which you can see illustrated right here, with this movie
22/
The Matrix is an illustration of the ideas of Jean Baudrillard. Baudrillard took the ideas of Guy Debord a step further. What Baudrillard said was that it isn't just that "The system oppresses you and brainwashes you, it's that "the system" takes reality away from you...
The Matrix is an illustration of the ideas of Jean Baudrillard. Baudrillard took the ideas of Guy Debord a step further. What Baudrillard said was that it isn't just that "The system oppresses you and brainwashes you, it's that "the system" takes reality away from you...
23/
Baudrillard said the ideas, symbols, signifiers, and ideology of our capitalist system hold so much sway that you can only interpret the world through the lens the system gives you. Society forms an inescapable mental "matrix" which pervades all of your thinking...
Baudrillard said the ideas, symbols, signifiers, and ideology of our capitalist system hold so much sway that you can only interpret the world through the lens the system gives you. Society forms an inescapable mental "matrix" which pervades all of your thinking...
24/
Thus this critique goes further then the original 60's critique. It is no longer that you are being repressed or brainwashed, but now, according to Baudrillard, you have literally lost contact with what is actually real and you only see through the lens of the system...
Thus this critique goes further then the original 60's critique. It is no longer that you are being repressed or brainwashed, but now, according to Baudrillard, you have literally lost contact with what is actually real and you only see through the lens of the system...
25/
Which is why Baudrillard's book "Simulacrum and Simuation" makes an appearance in the movie in the opening scene when Neo has to get a hidden disk for someone:
Which is why Baudrillard's book "Simulacrum and Simuation" makes an appearance in the movie in the opening scene when Neo has to get a hidden disk for someone:
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Now Baudrillard was not the first Postmodern Philosopher, nor was he the most influential; that title goes to either Jacques Derrida or Michael Foucault.
What ties them together was that they all thought, for various reasons, that reality was not objectively knowable...
Now Baudrillard was not the first Postmodern Philosopher, nor was he the most influential; that title goes to either Jacques Derrida or Michael Foucault.
What ties them together was that they all thought, for various reasons, that reality was not objectively knowable...
27/
Baudrillard thought society replaced all reality via symbols and signs: A human simulation of reality.
Deridda thought language could never be clear enough to express anything as objectively true cause it could always be reinterpreted.
Baudrillard thought society replaced all reality via symbols and signs: A human simulation of reality.
Deridda thought language could never be clear enough to express anything as objectively true cause it could always be reinterpreted.
28/
Foucault thought power and knowledge were hopelessly intertwined and because of the way they are connected getting an objective truth, free from bias, was impossible.
If they're right, we are in a "matrix" where our lens to interpret reality is constructed by society...
Foucault thought power and knowledge were hopelessly intertwined and because of the way they are connected getting an objective truth, free from bias, was impossible.
If they're right, we are in a "matrix" where our lens to interpret reality is constructed by society...
29/
and we have no ability to directly access the world to see if that lens is correct.
The postmodern thinkers had a number of tools for analyzing language and power and they did invent a new way of thinking about language and about how power in society works.
and we have no ability to directly access the world to see if that lens is correct.
The postmodern thinkers had a number of tools for analyzing language and power and they did invent a new way of thinking about language and about how power in society works.
30/
IN 1989 Kimberely Crenshaw wrote "mapping the margins" where she said she wanted to use "intersectionality"to tie postmodern theory to progressive politics so she could use those tools to analyze society.
This made the jump from the 60's counterculture to wokeness easy.
IN 1989 Kimberely Crenshaw wrote "mapping the margins" where she said she wanted to use "intersectionality"to tie postmodern theory to progressive politics so she could use those tools to analyze society.
This made the jump from the 60's counterculture to wokeness easy.
31/
Remember intersectionality analyzes people in terms of group identity (Race, gender, disability status etc) and the counterculture had already made the move to think about oppression in terms of groups and that made the adoption of intersectionality easier.
Remember intersectionality analyzes people in terms of group identity (Race, gender, disability status etc) and the counterculture had already made the move to think about oppression in terms of groups and that made the adoption of intersectionality easier.
32/
And the counterculture was already perfectly positioned to move from "the system brainwashes us" to "the social constructs mean we cant touch reality." No, those are not the same thing, but once you think we are in a system that brainwashes your every thought...
And the counterculture was already perfectly positioned to move from "the system brainwashes us" to "the social constructs mean we cant touch reality." No, those are not the same thing, but once you think we are in a system that brainwashes your every thought...
33/
The idea that everything you might us to interpret the world is a social construct is not such a huge move.
And this last part is the kicker....
The idea that everything you might us to interpret the world is a social construct is not such a huge move.
And this last part is the kicker....
34/
One you accept postmodern identity politics, capitalism hardly even matters. inequality is all a product of how the social constructs function, so those are all you worry about.
Being poor is only a problem if it proves there's a power disparity between identity groups...
One you accept postmodern identity politics, capitalism hardly even matters. inequality is all a product of how the social constructs function, so those are all you worry about.
Being poor is only a problem if it proves there's a power disparity between identity groups...
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Cause it's all about identity now.
If your white and homeless you are still more privileged than Orpah Winfrey and Jay-Z even though they are billionaires. Why? because they experience racism and your, as a white homeless person, do not.
Cause it's all about identity now.
If your white and homeless you are still more privileged than Orpah Winfrey and Jay-Z even though they are billionaires. Why? because they experience racism and your, as a white homeless person, do not.
36/
The counterculture in the 60's began as a fight against the excesses of capitalism and the exploitation of workers by large corporations. So, do the woke fight capitalism, or corporatism, or corporate exploitation on behalf of poor workers anymore?
LOL
No:
The counterculture in the 60's began as a fight against the excesses of capitalism and the exploitation of workers by large corporations. So, do the woke fight capitalism, or corporatism, or corporate exploitation on behalf of poor workers anymore?
LOL
No:
37/
And thus the transition is complete. The old anti-corporate ideology that you see in old Beatles songs, in books like "no Logo" by Naomi Klein, in movies like "Fight Club," or in a documentary like "the Corporation"; that is all gone now. That critique always had more....
And thus the transition is complete. The old anti-corporate ideology that you see in old Beatles songs, in books like "no Logo" by Naomi Klein, in movies like "Fight Club," or in a documentary like "the Corporation"; that is all gone now. That critique always had more....
38/
clout with the artists, activists, and public social critics, than it did the theorists. Now that the activists, artists and social critics have gone wok, there is almost nothing left to keep the counter culture going. So it's all but gone now....
clout with the artists, activists, and public social critics, than it did the theorists. Now that the activists, artists and social critics have gone wok, there is almost nothing left to keep the counter culture going. So it's all but gone now....
39/
And that is the stew of ideas that the far left cooked up which lead us from the 60's counterculture to "wokeness"
/fin
And that is the stew of ideas that the far left cooked up which lead us from the 60's counterculture to "wokeness"
/fin
40/
I owe a heavy debt to the book "The Rebel Sell" by Andrew Potter and Joseph Heath, for the history of the Counterculture you see here.
I owe a heavy debt to the book "The Rebel Sell" by Andrew Potter and Joseph Heath, for the history of the Counterculture you see here.
