How might the millions of poor, disenfranchised, and austerity-burdened of Britain wrest power and resources from the elite without effort? The answer, of course, is only in the mind of an eccentric superstar. In 2013 I partially praised Brand for his refusal to detail a program for the political upheaval he endorses. The comedian refused to answer that old Leninist challenge, What is to be done? He rightly noted, instead, that we are too entrenched in our current socioeconomic and political mores, such that any utopias we might now imagine would be unavoidably formed by current ideologies — and it is these ideologies that have to go. Think of it like this: If you had a blood-sucking monster on your face (lets call it, say, capitalism), I wouldnt ask you what you would prefer to have stuck to your face. Rather, I would kill the bloodsucking monster. Then, at least, we could start to talk. Radical social change can be thought of the same way: We must smash oppressive and controlling structures to enable real conversations about new ways of living and relating to even be possible. I agree with Brand that social unrest can and should be joyful. Struggle neednt foreclose happiness.
Posted on: Tue, 24 Jun 2014 02:59:42 +0000
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