Alienation, autonomy, and ideology
Welcome to the first reading list of 2023! The monthly posts are back, and this one will feature a couple of philosophical works. And even a bonus movie.
So, without further ado, let’s get on to the first reading list post of 2023. And let me know what you’re reading in this new year.
In over 4 years of blogging, I’ve discussed lots of terminology, especially leftist terminology. I try to use terms in a consistent way that people within leftist debates understand.
However, like all analytic philosophers, I occasionally see the need to clarify terms. Some terms stand in need of tidying. Some of them a lot of it. Every now and then, I provide new (and hopefully better!) definitions for familiar terms. And at other times, I use more obscure terms, repurpose terms for new uses, or just create new ones.
And so, I find a need for a blog lexicon! I’ll use this post as an opportunity to collect lots of these terms in the same place. As a bonus, if I introduce additional terms in the future, I can add them to the lexicon.
As I’m sure many readers know, I use the ‘corporate world’ tag on blog posts where I discuss the business world and its oddities. For those who don’t know, check out the tag at the right (and at the bottom of this post). Over the last few months, I’ve read quite a few books – mostly fiction! – that address business world themes. Mostly criticisms of that world.
So, I hope readers enjoy hearing about some of those books. Read on for some thoughts on them!
Most politicians who win office and identify as socialists place their politics – and, by extension, socialism – under the umbrella of progressivism. So do some of the rank and file members of socialist orgs. But many others point out that progressivism and socialism grew out of much different traditions. We notably see this division in the DSA, which includes lots and lots of younger, newer leftists.
Even though many people see the division, few acknowledge it. This lack of acknowledgment allows an unhealthy situation to develop. We see far more acrimonious debate and ill-will due to this situation than an org like DSA can sustain. Were the two sides to make their assumptions explicit, they could engage more productively with each other.
But all this leads to a natural question: are the DSA politicians (and their followers) correct? Is socialism just some stronger flavor of progressivism? Or is it something else?
I’ll argue in this post that socialism and ultra-progressivism are different. Socialism isn’t just a more extreme form of progressive views. But while I’ll spend some time showing the differences between socialism and ultra-progressivism, I’ll point out that the goal is to help discussions proceed without all this ill-will.
So, I managed to make it nearly 3 years into the pandemic without catching Covid. I even began to think that maybe I was one of those “super-immune” people who never get it despite being exposed repeatedly. The press loves to write about these (mostly hypothetical) people.
However, it wasn’t to be. I dodged the original virus and all the early variants. But I wasn’t able to avoid Omicron forever, though I made it a year into it. I tested positive for Covid in early December after developing mild respiratory symptoms.
Here’s how it went: I had mild respiratory symptoms for a few days. Mostly a scratchy and slightly sore throat and some phlegm. As my respiratory symptoms cleared up, some less pleasant GI symptoms started developing. Those were a real hassle for a few days, and then they hung around in a lesser form for another week or two. I also had a couple of weird and random symptoms that popped up briefly and then never returned. And I tested positive on rapid tests for about 2 weeks.
I fully recovered a few days before Christmas.
All in all, I’d say it wasn’t a fun experience and I wouldn’t recommend it. But I’d also say it was far from the “sickest I’ve ever been,” which is how I’ve heard many people describe it. It was more weird than troubling. I assume that being vaccinated and boosted twice (once with the original and once with the bivalent vaccine) helped a fair bit.
Anyway, that’s my Covid experience. I hope it’s the first and final time I get it. While I’ll surely continue following Covid politics, I don’t intend to write about it again. Unless we see new and particularly noteworthy developments.
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