Base and Superstructure

Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

The Enigma of Diversity

‘Diversity’ sounds like something transformative or radical. And yet it doesn’t seem to produce meaningful change, even for people labeled as ‘diverse.’ We might call this ‘the enigma of diversity,’ or at least one such enigma worth discussing.

This forms the starting point of sociologist Ellen Berrey in her book, The Enigma of Diversity. In it, she takes a close look at the concept of diversity after the 1960s civil rights era. This gets at the heart of political debates in our turn to cultural politics in the 2010s and 2020s.

Berrey looks into these issues through in-depth case studies in academia, urban politics, and the corporate world. She finds that the appeal to diversity across these domains reflects the interests of powerful decision makers and their constituents. It does so over and above the interests of the people who supposedly benefit from diversity and DEI programs.

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Two Definitions of ‘Working Class’

Just about everyone who tries to explain Kamala Harris’s loss loves talking about the working class. They point to Harris’s loss of the working-class vote as a starting point. And then they explain the decline of the Democratic Party’s electoral fortunes as a decline in their support among workers in states like Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.

Of course, they draw very different conclusions from this starting point.

Bernie Sanders, for instance, explained Harris’s loss as a loss of support among black and Latino working-class voters. Others, more friendly to the professional classes, thought Harris alienated working-class voters by running too far to the left on social issues. But they shared a focus on loss of working-class votes in swing states.

At one level, that’s a fair enough starting point. Harris did lose the aforementioned states after Biden won them in 2020.

But the politicians and pundits glide through these debates without justifying how they define the term ‘working class.’ And it’s no mere academic debate.

How you define the word matters. A lot. Competing definitions put entirely different groups of people into the ‘working class.’ They thereby recommend very different strategies and tactics for bringing them back into the fold.

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Rethinking Public Office as an Epicurean

I’ve argued in a few ways that a good Epicurean – and certainly an Epicurean sage – wouldn’t seek public office or a career in politics.

For Epicureans out there, it shouldn’t be hard to tell why. Politics fills our lives with stress and drama. It leads to exactly the kind of anxiety and mental anguish Epicurus advised us to avoid.

But I recently read an interesting set of essays called Epicurus and the Epicurean Tradition. In it, Jeffrey Fish plays devil’s advocate on behalf of Roman Epicurean politicians. To get there, Fish draws a distinction between desiring to participate in politics, on one hand, and reluctantly participating in politics because it’s the best choice, on the other.

In support, he also cites the work of Epicurean philosopher Philodemus. Philodemus’s work shows that Epicureans tolerated a wide range of professions among their practitioners. While the practice of philosophy and life among friends stood out as the Epicurean ideal, we find ourselves in many different life circumstances. Couldn’t even politicians practice Epicurean attention to tranquillity as an ideal?

Fish’s article didn’t exactly dislodge from me the view that the Epicurean shouldn’t seek out public office. But it does serve as an important corrective in some respects.

We shouldn’t be dogmatic in deciding, a priori which professions are OK and which aren’t. It’s entirely possible that a person finds themself in a situation where holding political office is the best way to promote tranquillity, both for themselves and for their friends and community. It’s also possible for even people who work in inadvisable professions to incorporate Epicurean insights into their lives.

On reading Fish’s article, I thought these were fair correctives. The Epicurean sage wouldn’t become a politician, but we can all benefit from incorporating Epicurean insights.

No matter our starting point.

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Two Iowa City Realignments

Here in Iowa City, the votes are in. And just as in last month’s primary, Oliver Weilein won big! He won despite strong efforts to defeat him by housing industry interests and Iowa City moderates. And, to boot, he won despite spending very little money and most Democratic officials endorsing his opponent.

Of course, our city council elections are non-partisan. That helped a great deal on the final point.

I’m very glad Oliver won. He brings a much needed perspective to the council. But I’ve already said some words about all that.

In this post, I’ll sketch out the big picture by drawing a deeper comparison from Oliver’s win to our 2015 city election.

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