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The post Hello world! first appeared on Graham D Brown.
2 years ago
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
How to live - part 2
I heard Vivian Westwood say on the radio that rebellion was no longer possible in our [post-industrial] society. She used the example of how the punk scene had been assimilated into the system. In doing so, punk gave the system more energy: rather than destroying it, it made it stronger. Her rather disappointing solution was to work from within the system.
It seems to me that all social and political movements, including communism, are now part of the show. In their act of challenging the system they in fact strengthen it. All dissent is (to use a Situationist term) recuperated into the system; the system neutralises it then sells it back to us. To be crass, the revolution will be televised as yet another reality TV show.
One response is to stop playing; to cease to comply with the rules of the game. For me it meant turning my back on the whole spectacle and quietly walking away. But did I?
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I agree completely & it's sad state of affairs Mr. Knight.
ReplyDeleteI've come to realize that men of power seek control both sides of any conflict. So even dissenters, though sincere at times are nothing more than puppets, summoned like dogs to undertake the biddings of their wealthy masters & are disposed of accordingly.
How can any revolution take place when the platform is owned & controlled by the very people who seek to avoid & undermine that revolution? TV, Radio, Journalists/Magazines/Media & next....The Internet.
It seems all dissenters/rebels are eventually silenced once their platform has been removed & eventually become part of the very thing they were rebelling against :-(
For a real awakening revolution to take place it would have to be based in more than just slogans, clothing & teenage ideology. A real revolution would have to be a way of life, peaceful, lifelong civil disobedience :-)
God Bless,
Ty (Facebook)
Revolution will come whether we like it or not. Because it is science. When you suppress a people, they will one day revolt. History backs my position and so I don't need to expatiate on this point. I will however disagree with Mr. Graham when said Communist are now part of the show. The reason is simply because the communist have a manifesto, so anybody who goes contrary this principle is not a communist. They are something else other than communist. Like what we have in GHANA, a political party calls itself a socialist party yet practice capitalism. So you see people are just doing something outside the bracket and claims the other.
ReplyDeleteYes you are right about punk being another part of the spectacle. But even situationism was part of the spectacle.
ReplyDeleteThat old 'working from within' rap always struck me as a bit of a cop out. A bit like having your cake and eating it. You keep your revolutionary credentials in tact while you take all the privaleges the establishment has to offer.
But it is impossible to escape the machine, it's tenticals are everywhere, we truly are a 'global planet' now. If anybody has any answers I would love to hear about them, because I am all out of ideas.
SL