Base and Superstructure

Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

Category: Language (Page 5 of 9)

These are posts on language from the blog Base and Superstructure. Topics include political terminology, language use among politicians and political analysts, and the terminology of social movements.

political currency various pieces of US political propaganda

Using Identity as Political Currency

January 20, 2020 /

There’s a certain line of thought out there in the political ether. The idea goes something like this. People use their identity to take political action, win offices, pass legislation, steer conversations, or direct movements. Or, to put it more simply, they use identity as political currency.

Now, when people say this, they often speak ominously or conspiratorially. By ‘people’ here, they have in mind members of marginalized groups. They think those sorts of people (i.e., others) use their identity as political currency. That’s something we should keep at the back of our minds, because people (and here I mean ‘white people, usually white men’) tend to overlook cases where members of their own group do things like this.

So…what is it to use identity as political currency? How’s it done? Is it a good thing, a bad thing, or both/neither?

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Class Reductionism: What is it, and is it Bad?

January 2, 2020 /

class reductionism karl marx factory

Lots of people talk about class reductionism. Most people seem to agree it’s a bad thing, and that some other group of people does it. But few people talk about what ‘class reductionism’ means. It’s simply assumed or unstated. I, on the other hand, find the term extremely unclear. And unclear in both its parts. That is to say I think it’s unclear what ‘class’ means and what it means to reduce something to it.

What we have, then, is a useful project for an analytic philosopher. What does ‘class reductionism’ mean? Is it a political or explanatory project of some kind? What’s it all about? Some thoughts on that…

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Learn Spanish chalkboard with hablas espanol written

4 Reasons to Learn Spanish

December 5, 2019 /

I’ve tried to learn Spanish several times, but I’m sorry to say I haven’t had much luck. The first time was in high school, and my high school offered the choice faced by many in United States rural and/or lower income communities: a couple of French classes or a couple of Spanish classes. I chose Spanish. The courses were painfully slow, and I didn’t pick up much.

Later on in college, like many former Catholics who majored in philosophy, I took Latin courses for my language requirement. Latin obviously isn’t Spanish, but it’s helpful. And then, about 6 months ago, I took up Spanish again via podcasts called Coffee Break Spanish.

More Americans should learn Spanish. Why? Minimally, Americans should learn some language other than English. Many Americans make it through life as total monolinguists. This is much less common in lots of other places. And, sadly, I count myself among the Americans who don’t really know a second language. Sure, I can muddle my way through lots of Latin texts and some German texts. I’ve picked up a basic understanding of Spanish, though I still can’t speak it.

I think all that’s a shame. It’s a manifestation of US-chauvinism and our excessively English-centric international business, cultural, and scientific climates.

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working class latina

Who’s Part of the Working Class?

November 25, 2019 /

You might have the idea I think and talk a lot about class. It’s true. But I tend to write about class in general. For example, I’ve argued against using ‘class’ as a marker of socioeconomic status (SES) and in favor of using it as a marker of certain relations of economic power. On the other hand, I haven’t written a great deal about specific classes, like the working class. I’ve said a bit about what the working class isn’t, namely Trump’s base. But a bit less about what it is.

Let’s remedy that. Specifically, let’s zoom in on the working class. Who’s in it? Is it smaller than it used to be? Did deindustrialization defeat it? And, if so, do we now use ‘working class’ as a marker of identity rather than economic relations?

I’ll work through some of these questions.

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the ethnic restaurateur krishnendu ray

The Ethnic Restaurateur

November 14, 2019 /

So, here’s the thing. I find the intersection of food and politics compelling. Often very compelling. Know what I don’t find compelling? The writing people do at the intersection of food and politics. But then I found out about this book: The Ethnic Restaurateur.

And it sounded promising! Krishnendu Ray comfortably crosses the worlds of food and theory, and I think he gives us plenty worthwhile in The Ethnic Restaurateur.

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