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mcelroyj's avatar

Fantastic debate Matt with RJ Eskow. Enjoyed your main points and the McEnroe reference too-

Recap:

1) Marcuse's position was that democracy is to be managed by a smart few and it is they who get to mow the fairways of discussion and manicure the greens of policy; and that it is necessary to take away the right of some to have a voice and self determination in their own lives for their own good.

2) He exaggerates Democratic Totalitarianism; and the notion that Freedom is non-existent - love how you combat via Master & Margarita and with the truth is often murky and unclear and not something that should wait for a small group of academics to agree upon.

**** If anyone has spent more than 10 minutes in departmental/faculty staff meeting with 25 Phd's who think they know something and want to show off for all to see, you'd know that this solution by Marcuse is doomed from the start. Might explain some of the alcoholism in academe too.

3) Marcuse's insincere solutions and analysis ("working people and their material needs being met") -- as he banked resources like a hyper-capitalist was a good point and thank fuck you brought up that Marcuse had one foot in the left when it is convenient to sell books and make money, and the other foot in authoritarianism. His "new left" is devoid of many of the best arguments of Marx and Engels.

While having little evidence and not trusting Wikipedia at all (Aaron Mate, 2021 Useful Idiots podcast) it read that he spent some post-war time with OWI (OSS) when he first emigrated to the United States.

One speculates the "New Left" , could very well be a faux construction of the Left excluding Marxism (as a condition of his emigration) and the beginning kernel of the 3rd way Pete Peterson corporate democrats (who like Marcuse started off with very few assets and by the end had amassed millions), often by selling their people out in the end.

Finally, I really enjoyed how Taibbi expresses that a small turbo-group of elite academics advocating for oppressed people on the surface, while imposing their version of progress from above has some parallels in our current cancel culture.

Matt, if it does not take the life force out of you, keep doing this kind of work. It's brilliant. Love the play by play academic discussions especially how they are being twisted and used now.

Would be interested on your take on Marx - but that is a long term project I suspect.

Cheers!

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Albert Michaels's avatar

I am an American Jew whose families emigrated to the US from Germany and Holland in the 1840's.I aIso spent a career(42 YEARS+) teaching at a SUNY graduate center and emerged with a deep LOATHING for academia and most of my colleagues.I loved Matt's attack on that swine. Suffice to say,If it hadn't been for the power of US capitalism ,Marcuse and his buddies would have ended up in soap dishes- SOME GRATITUDE.My family fought in the civil War as well as world wars one and two not to make the world safe for the Frankfurt School.I have no sense of humor about Marcuse.

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