Base and Superstructure

Thoughts on production, alienation, and ideology

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How Do Culture and Politics Connect?

May 15, 2023 /

This is a collage of several figures from culture and politics in the U.S.: Donald Trump, Roseanne, Jordan Peele, and Kanye.

I often write in this blog about links between culture and politics. Indeed, we’ve even got a tag for ‘culture’ (see the bottom of this post). But I’ve never tried to systematize any of this, to tell a larger story about how culture and politics connect.

We need such a story. Over the years, I’ve seen a shift on the left in how we link culture and politics. And, for the most part, it’s a shift for the worse, not the better.

As I wrote a blog post and an article on Isaac Asimov and harassment, these broader issues rose to the surface. Does an author’s work provide insight into their politics? Does our study of culture provide us with political insights? More important for our present purposes – and for trends on the left – does our critique of culture provide us with political insights or breakthroughs? And do we do politics when we make or critique culture?

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Star wars universe. Photos of Cassian Andor and Grand Admiral Thrawn.

The Star Wars Universe

May 11, 2023 /

Shortly before filming the prequel trilogy, George Lucas and Co. authorized a flood of new Star Wars novels. He called it the Expanded Universe (now Legends under Disney). Some were good reads, and a few (e.g., Shadows of the Empire) were great reads. But they fit together poorly. And as Lucas added novel after novel, they really didn’t work together.

By 2010 or so, the Star Wars ‘canon’ looked like unintelligible garbage. A few dozen or so authors wrote a long series of mostly self-contained stories about Luke Skywalker and friends. The stories didn’t necessarily contradict each other, but they veered wildly in terms of plot and characterization. They always added up to less than the sum of their parts.

In contrast, the Dune universe built a much more plausible franchise model. Two authors develop the plot and write each book. The Dune canon is a bit bloated, and some of the books aren’t good (and none are as good as the Frank Herbert originals), but it all fits together reasonably well.

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modified consensus activist conflict. Small group of people sits in circle having a discussion.

Modified Consensus and Activist Conflict

May 8, 2023 /

Activist communities often tread gingerly around conflict. They know it tears activist groups apart, especially personal conflict. It has done so for decades.

Sometimes even political conflict tears activist groups apart. The groups find it difficult to work through disagreement on even ordinary political issues, especially in their first few meetings. Usually groups come together as voluntarily associations of people interested in a few topics, and they don’t have much in the way of long personal history and built-up trust.

Many groups react to all these things by avoiding conflict. They bury the conflict, pretending it doesn’t exist. In the short term, this provides some benefits. But it’s almost always a long term path to nowhere. Let’s talk about better ways to handle conflict, specifically modified consensus as a model.

Many react to this history by avoiding conflict. They bury it – pretend it doesn’t exist. This can help in the short-term. But it’s almost always a long-term path to nowhere. Let’s talk about better ways to handle conflict.

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An empty New York City street in the early pandemic era that's often a target of contemporary nostalgia.

Nostalgia for the Early Pandemic

May 4, 2023 /

Lately I’ve noticed lots of people seem nostalgic for the early pandemic time of spring and summer 2020. Especially young people. You can hear it in how they talk, especially online. I’m not the only person who has noticed this.

But the nostalgia didn’t take the form I might have guessed. People’s lives certainly changed in 2020. Things happened! And then, in many cases, their lives went back to how they were before 2020. Lots of people didn’t like the return to pre-2020. But they weren’t latching onto the features I initially expected.

So, what’s going on here? Why do people seem to miss the quarantine days of March 2020 or the protest and uprising days of June 2020.

Here are some thoughts.

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May Day poster with three workers and a caption that reads, "None of us are safe until all of us are safe."

May Day

May 1, 2023 /

Way back in 2018, I wrote a short post explaining the U.S. holiday ‘Labor Day,’ focusing on its differences from the international holiday May Day. Among other things, I posted out to readers that both holidays originated in the United States! Before, of course, the U.S. decided to eff things up and try to stamp out May Day.

Which it failed to do. Sort of. I’ll refer readers to the Labor Day post I linked above for the full details. But, suffice it to say, the U.S. government – with a notable helping hand from right-leaning, anti-communist unions – played its part in the stifling of a workers’ tradition that started in our own country.

It’s a bummer. But it does teach us the lesson that we of the left have started deep traditions before. We can do it again.

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