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Freedom, Liberalism and DemocracyGB819: January 8, 2018 |
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Based off of Mao’s interpretation of Dialectical Materialism (Friedrich Engels originally promoted the concept), one could say that when a certain amount of force is applied to a peddle the bicycle moves forward if there is no force in the opposite direction. The bicycle then moves backwards if force is applied in the opposite direction (for example sliding down a hill if there it no peddling). The movement of the bicycle is like society. Society moves with the force of people who push it.
In order to promote their positions and “move the bicycle,” people promote various ideologies. Marx pointed out that people promote various ideologies as universal truths when they are actually shells for their own interests. Hitler made the same observation with an abnormal focus on Jews in Mein Kampf, accusing Jews of promoting various ideologies as a means to an end.
Mao differed from a contemporary populist when he argued that society as a whole engages in this back and forth action-reaction, while populists seem to think only the elites of society have influence. Thus the critique applies not only to “neo-cons” and powerful American leaders but also to what is known as the “patriotard” or the person who takes the idea of “god, country and family” as a slogan to stand behind those powerful people.
The reactionary directly reacts to the ideological statements of American liberal Democracy which praise “freedom,” “liberty” and “democracy” by saying he is against those things. However, the leftist (not to be confused with a liberal) does not argue against the shell but argues against the system itself. There is not something inherently wrong with freedom, liberty and democracy, there is something inherently wrong with the profit system that these words cloak.
All of these terms “freedom, “democracy,” “liberty” etc. are just wrappers. What really matters is the system that they are wrapping. To demonstrate how these words are not universal look at these examples:
- The freedom to own a slave is against the slave. The freedom of the slave is against the market rights of the slave owner.
- The freedom of abortion is against the fetus. The right to life is opposed to the freedom of the mother.
- The freedom to run a dirty business is against the environment. Environmental regulation opposes the current business operation.
The class conscious leftist understand that these terms are just wrappers for people who are promoting their own interests and not “moral values.” The patriotard believes they are moral values and therefore lines behind ideas that go against his own class interest. Patrioatards are usually White Christian Males who feel they have a psychological connection to Whiteness and therefore are oblivious to the fact that their class position is still low and are in denial of their own class position. Of course this is not always true, there are some non-Whites who are patriotards (meaning working class people who support US imperialism without personally profiting).
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