[MD] Unreality of Equality

[Arlo J. Bensinger]

Greetings SA,

First, to clarify a point. I never said I'd support or favor abolishing
inheritance. What I was only pointing out was the right-wing mantra of "skilled
rise, unskilled fall" is misguided. Inheritence is one way wealth abstracts to
class, which alters those who rise and those who fall. I don't favor doing away
with inheritence, but I do favor being keenly aware of the role that class
plays in who rises and who falls.

The fact is that most Americans die in the same socio-economic strata as to
which they are born into. We might have more "things" than our parents and
grandparents, but we have no more "power". Plus, we carry a greater and greater
debt, to which brings me to your astute post on consumption.

I don't have my email archives with me on this computer, but I went round the
block with this on Platt before. My question is, why do we consume at such
levels? One key correlate, in my opinion, is the dialogue on "communal" and
"public" property. As evidenced by the right, any mention of such a thing is
IMMEDIATELY attacked as un-American, communistic, evil, blah blah blah. In his
great book, The Future of Ideas, Lawrence Lessig talks about the dialogic
attack on the idea of "the commons", both symbolically (in the case of ideas)
and materially (as in the case of parks and such, although to a lesser extent).
His contention, and mine, is that there has been a systematic war waged on the
commons, by wealth interests who feel that such common ownership denies them of
potential sources of income. I'm not saying this is ALL there is to it, but it
is part of it.

Another correlate gets back to the idea of "wealth" and "value". By accumulating
"things", we seek to appear "more valuable" by virtue of evidencing "wealth".
Much adverstising plays into this deception, which anyone can read by picking
up the latest volume of the Journal of Consumer Psychology. Which also ties
into the psychological void that people try to fill through consumption.

But to challenge this, is to challenge the very dogmatic foundations of
right-wing ideology. Don't believe me, just you watch the villification your
anti-consumption message will bring, to even suggest there is an harm or
criticism of "over consumption" will brand you as one of the MOQ-commies. If
I'm jaded on this, its because I've been there, my friend.

Arlo