SERIOUSLY, WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON: The Perverse Political Economy of Rage

“Pundits talk about ‘populist rage’ as a way to trivialize the anger and fear coursing through the middle class.” Elizabeth Warren

“I think, increasingly, despite what we are being told is an ever more open world of communication, there is a terrible alienation in the ordinary man between what he is being told and what he secretly believes.” John Le Carre

“Alienation is a form of living death. It is the acid of despair that dissolves society” Martin Luther King

“As a species we’re fundamentally insane. Put more than two of us in a room, we pick sides and start dreaming up reasons to kill one another. Why do you think we invented politics and religion”? Stephen King

“The old world is dying, and the new world struggles to be born: now is the time of monsters.” Antonio Gramsci

The Boggling of the Societal Mind

I have to admit to being more than a bit gob-smacked by the current state of political discourse in the (Dis)united States of America. While I am gravely aware and upset by the massive mismanagement of the political economy (my primary field of study for nearly a half century), I am still bewildered by the way fear and hatred have been utilized to prevent or pervert purposeful policies. I even agree with the bumper sticker aphorism, “if you are not outraged, then you are not paying attention”, but I still cannot comprehend those who entertain notions of…