Here We Go Again

I don't like being cynical but c'mon, it is the only rational response to this upcoming COP 26. For months my comrades have all been treating it like the elaborate farce it is, based on past experience. Lowered expectations is a rational psychological ploy, to prevent dissapointment or even depression. I often use the example of the Charlie Brown football gag as an expression of pathological optimism in the face of harsh reality. He is running up to the ball as I write these words. Just like Charlie Brown, we now see the Climate Justice Movement mobilizing for actions in Glasgow. By "actions" I mean the usual fare; marches, counter-summits, civil disobedience, your basic protest playbook. Just like the past dozen or so COPs. Knowing full well that Lucy will pull the ball away at the last second, the attendees show up, acting AS IF they don't know. Puppets and banners, sign making workshops, counter-demonstrations and probably some tear gas, all covered by Amy Goodman, all live-streamed on UTube. The world burns because Joe Manchin. But seriously, he is the perfect symbol of why we are in such danger. A religious man, he believes in God and His Invisible Hand Guiding The Market. Charity to help the poor. Hard Work and, as Greta Thunberg eloquently puts it, blah blah blah. Sentimental Andy of Mayberry pablum structures the thought of this banal puppet for Capital, all condensed to this imperative; The American Way of Life Is Not Negotiable. In this sense he is just the unfortunate spokesperson for The System of political economy known as Capitalist Democracy. Within the strictures of this system, the only mitigation possible is that which doesn't affect the economy. So: more "bridge fuels", more innovative technology, more pledges, more lectures from John Kerry and Al Gore and Bill Mc Kibben. And yet we know the revolution will not be televised, the pipeline will not be stopped, the Land won't be given Back, the Police will not be Abolished. We know America will continue to worship its God and Mythology and dark, convoluted Fantasies till the moment the water rushes in, or the fire sweeps our streets, or the shelves just remain empty. I believe the best thing we could do is ignore the COP, just as we should ignore elections. Why promote and thereby legitimize the Spectacle? Don't make the sign, don't sign the petition, don't report on it (Amy), do something useful instead, like your laundry.

The Post-Political

The smart ones don't try predicting the future. Richard Seymour is a smart one but this, written last spring is a great example of why prediction can only lead to apology: "Bidenism could establish a broad, post-neoliberal, imperial centre that, short of massively escalated gerrymandering, will marginalise the Right for a long time." Seymour is a Brit and, perhaps, can be excused for not grasping how totally incohate US politics are. Despite Trump he still believes our "Politics" have some basis in reality, or materialism, or can be explained through some logic. It is reasonable to think there must be historical trends, constituencies, popular policies and such, so that a term such as "Bidenism" might make sense. But when David Bryrne wrote "stop making sense" he profoundly intuited the current zeitgeist. It is always tempting to try to instill meaning, to find some deeper layer, but this banal, poorly acted and directed piece of elaborate theater is just that; shitty theater. Ideological rubble long ago buried and suffocated "the politcal". So yes, some sort of "Right" might be marginalized for a few hours or weeks or even months, but, following the immolation of "Bidenism, they (call them conservatives if you need to cling to the old terminology) will rise like the Phoenix and flail for a bit then sputter and collapse. And some new absurdity, maybe what, "Harrisism" will flail for a bit, or "Pete Buttigiegism". Seymour's prediction of "post-neoliberalism" falls into the same category. Whatever new "ism" supplants the current system of thievery and cons, it will be just as tiresome and unimaginative so why continue referencing it as some legitimate expression of new politics?

New Common Sense Left

As the Bernie/ Biden agenda gradually fizzles into a predictable pile of shit, you will find little honest reflection or re-evaluation from the Jacobin/ DSA crowd. Clinging ever so pathetically to their electoralism, they talk about other things, avert their gaze, and sing to themselves. Bernie makes a ridiculous pitch to the people of W. Virginia, hoping to pressure Coal Joe Manchin. The same Bernie that assured a whole generation that capitalist "democracy" could be reformed, made kinder and gentler and greener. Now he is reduced to this obscene spectacle of horse trading, of pitching acceptable numbers, of making deals with morons. A review at Jacobin of Astra Taylor's new book on Occupy makes the point clearly: " out of her experiences at Occupy, Taylor recognized a possibility to organize people around indebtedness." But of course it is precisely "indebtedness" that Joe Manchin uses as a populist cudgel against climate investment. And the system is perfectly happy to extend credit to individuals, which is why every yokel in rural America is driving a brand new giant pick up truck and Jeff Bezos is a trillionaire. "A political ethos that previously rejected electoralism and the state now contends for power within it." This is supposedly a "left reborn" post-Occupy, a left that threw itself into Bernie and AOC, Black Lives Matter, Sunrise and Justice Democrats. But it is an urban, left coast view that is totally out of touch with much of the country. If a vote in the legislature is "power", what do they call the ability to shut down supply chains? Like the capitalists are doing at the current conjuncture in order to crush Biden. While the author of the review admits to being in a " post–Bernie Sanders moment when the Left is less united and suffering from a crisis of political direction" and admires Taylor's "humility" when she admits "“when it comes to changing the world, no one really knows what will work.”, he nevertheless dismisses "an activism that relishes marginalization". But then contradicts himself yet again by ending with this: "A younger generation, leading climate strikes and rallies, understands the urgent need for radical transformation and a confrontational approach". All in all, this piece characterizes the confused ideology of a left that wants more than anything to be relevant but can't make the tough choices.

Common Ruin

"We would rather be ruined than change" is the epigraph at the beginning of my latest novel, taken from a poem by WH Auden, and in our current historical conjuncture it is interesting to think about this "we". It is true that, generally speaking, most humans resist change, would prefer a continuous, comforting routine with no surprises. Or at least slow, incremental change. But in dire circumstances that generalization breaks down. As crude oil from a leaking offshore pipe washes ashore in California, "Huntington Beach resident David Rapchun said he’s worried about the impact of the spill on the beaches where he grew up as well as the local economy. “For the amount of oil these things produce I don’t think it’s worth the risk,” Rapchun said. He questioned whether drilling for oil was a wise idea along some of southern California‘s most scenic beaches. “We need oil, but there’s always a question: do we need it there?” he said. For this asshole, the "ruin" needs to occur somewhere else so he doesn't need to change. Somewhere not occupied by wealthy white people, somewhere out of sight. It's an "economic" calculus, the only kind homo economicus is comfortable with. However, as the "common ruin" starts to hit home with increasing frequency, elites are starting to whine and fret and glance about nervously.We need oil but it is wreaking havoc; fires threatening my Tahoe condo, tar balls on Newport Beach. The FOX News/populist frankenstein these same elites created now threatens their comfort and security and safety. Sarah Palin was humorous, Marjorie Taylor Greene will devour them. Their "Think Tanks", funded so lavishly, produce slogans/ memes, but no solutions. Migrants pour across borders, floodwaters pour into basements. We need oil. But it will be our ruin.