Base and Superstructure

Alienation, autonomy, and ideology

Page 121 of 133

Ranking the Presidential Candidates

candidate

With Joe Biden in the race, the presidential candidate field is more or less complete. I promise I have something a bit more substantive on the way. For now, let’s get on with ranking the Democratic candidates! Who’s deserving of a vote?

I’ve written previously about how I vote. But it’s easy enough to summarize. I vote for candidates who have a chance to win and won’t leave the world worse off than they found it. In practice, the decision for President is usually pretty easy. Almost all presidential candidates would harm the world. Usually Democrats harm it less, and Republicans harm it more. But both cause harm. Therefore, in presidential elections, I usually face a decision between voting third party or not voting at all.

Local elections are less bleak, as lower ranking officials have less potential to cause harm.

But here we are, ready for yet more voting in 2020. Should the left support Bernie again? Support someone else? Should we support no one at all?

Let’s think about this. Right now, I’m just giving the presidential candidates a quick first look. I’ll have more to say later about the three or four best.

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Is Class an Identity? On Class-Identitarianism

Lots of people now think about class in terms of identity. But this is a peculiarly modern idea. We find it in terms like ‘Nascar Dads’. And we find it in weird, quasi-ideological attachments to Carhartt products. We might call the politics of class-as-identity ‘class-identitarianism.’ It’s an ugly term, but let’s not shy away from ugly. At least not yet.

I’m working on answering two questions in this post. First, is class an identity? And, if it is, does class-identitarianism offer an explanatory framework that helps us make sense of the world and/or formulate a better political path?

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Joe Biden: You’ve Gotta Be Kidding Me

Joe Biden

A brief word on the presidential candidacy of Joe Biden.

  1. No, I’m not considering voting for Joe Biden in the caucuses/primaries.
  2. No, I won’t vote for Joe Biden in the general election if he’s the nominee.
  3. No, I’m not interested in reconsidering this position.
  4. Yes, I’ll think less of you if you vote for Joe Biden.

That’s OK, though. We can still be friends. Carry on with your day.

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