Politeia: Pomo Politics: Why it is Shallow and Evil

If it's one thing that is standing out like a muzzleman at choir practise it's the staggering superficiality of postmodern thinkers. It struck me years ago when I came across some propaganda of the Dutch Liberal Democrat party D66, that has adopted not liberalism, but elements of Pragmatism as its in-house philosophy.

It was an awkward read, and unaware of relativist thought as I was at the time, was unable to pinpoint the source of the cognitive dissonance I felt. Later it transpired that Pragmatism, a branch on the Postmodern tree - unlike Classical Liberalism - is a form of collectivism. It doesn't deal in social classes as Socialism does, it doesn't deal in the nation or the state as nationalism and statism does, but it breaks down society in social classes based on culture and race, but also in categories as lifestyle, fashion, subculture, income brackets, age groups, levels of education and the like, almost as is done in marketing.

Progressives for their social engineering love putting people in boxes. This shallowness is exacerbated by their essentially materialistic world view. Man is but a sum total of cells, synapses, hormones and other bio-chemical substances. At night, one doesn't rest the mind, but one reduces adrenaline levels. After the mechanical and computer model of humanity, now the chemical factory.

But there's more. Postmodernism is hollow by definition. In "The O Team: Mental Babies with Razors" and many posts since, we've analyzed the nature of pomo lingo (or Leftist rhetoric, if you will). They deny the existance of objective truth and morality. It follows that anything goes. Early victims of this world view are concepts, abstracts and universals (e.g. 'the' quintessential Briton, or Britishness).

Words, language and meaning in classical philosophy are reduced to the sensory level and therefore have a referent in reality. This won't do with subjectivists, as they deem the senses untrustworthy epistemological partners. Instead they delve into their own minds, and find but meanings, narratives and agendas according to the collective to which the thinker belongs.

Karl Marx was supposedly right when he came up with the dialectic of oppressors versus oppressed, but later on in the evolutionary process sub collectives were added. The Left discerns meanings, narratives and agendas according to social class, race, culture, religion and increasingly also related to the gender of choice, life-style, income bracket, and level of education. The result is what is called identity politics.

Everything is facade - all form, no substance.

You still with me? That's it, folks - the vacuous universe according to pomo! Behind language and words go subjective social agendas, pitting one group or class against another in competition for the zero sum game that is life, pomo style. Rhetoric and written texts need 'deconstruction' and 'close reading' in order for the subjective group narrative to be 'unmasked'.

Philosopher Stephen Hicks, an authority on Postmodernism (his book "Explaining Postmodernism" is now available online) has posited that:

"Postmodernism is the first ruthlessly consistent statement of the consequences of rejecting reason, those consequences being necessary given the history of epistemology since Kant."

"Postmodernism is the academic far Left's epistemological strategy for responding to the crisis caused by the failures of socialism in theory and in practice."

"Postmodernism is a symptom of the far Left's crisis of faith. Postmodernism is a result of using skeptical epistemology to justify the personal leap of faith necessary to continue believing in socialism."

I've put it this way:

Postmodernism propagates the in essence political agenda with the defense argument that if reason makes no sense to what you're saying, as reality clearly shows otherwise, you attack reason as superficial and pernicious, and you try to persuade the world that reality doesn't exist!"

In view of all of the collectivist debacles in the course of history, the current, covert onslaught of Neo Marxism may well be the very last chance of establishing a truly global collective. Barack Obama and his transnational progressive brothers in arms at the EU and UN are doing their utmost to strike successfully this time. Remember, it's always the operatives and never the ideology that is at fault: this time they'll show us how ethically superior they are!

Expediency is therefore required. Pragmatism provides it and pomo lingo is the weapon of choice. It's an ultimate fight to the death, unrestrained by any rules or niceties. While the opponent is held to live up to his own standards (Alinsky), the rhetorical pomo warrior is have a free-fight: fibs and lies, ridicule, equivocation and double standards; logic, facts and reality have become irrelevant; no punches held and the occasional temper tantrum or tear jurker is also thrown into the mix.

Some have held that true moral relativists don't exist. Such a person would have to be a psychopath. Well, isn't that a coincidence! James Lewis, writing on American Thinker, has actually identified them as such as early as September 25, 2008 in a remarkable, eye-opening read: "Barack Obama and Alinsky's Rules for Psychopaths". Do read it all!

From the above we draw the conclusion that, on the contrary, it isn't reason that is shallow, vacuous, hollow and superficial, but that it is postmodernism that is out of its depth, is all of the above, and evil besides.

Quote of the day
"If they bring a knife to the fight, we bring a gun."
-- Barack H. Obama

Update

- Outside the Beltway: "Elena Kagan Lesbian Rumor Smear Neither Smear Nor Rumor", James Joyner
- The Examiner: "Clinton links McVeigh to Tea Parties", by Robert Moon

Related

- "Postmodern Ravages"
- "Postmodern Fallacies" (PMF long, worksheet)
- Excerpt of "The Seduction of Unreason: The Intellectual Romance with Fascism from Nietzsche to Postmodernism", by Richard Wolin (Google Books)