The Revolutionary Meme: Reality Not Included

Source: Adbusters "For World Revolution Part 6 January/February 2016 # 123 volume 24 no. 1

This screenshot above is an example of hipster writing, showcasing vague platitudes bereft of fact based conclusions.

The author cited no statistical measurement that supports these bold statements. Someone transforming economics from the Dismal Science into "a spiritual matter" renders statistics irrelevant. In this vein statistics are constructs, dressed up in academic jargon and buttressed by elaborate equations. So yes statistics are not free of bias and in some cases corruption, rigged to show a numerical value to support agendas. However, statistics if debated openly allows our identifying biases, flawed premises, etc, which uncovers weaknesses that motivate revising studies using improved methodologies.

Often times vague and poetic prose though aesthetically intriguing to some readers still offers no substance of which can be debated. This screenshot shown above is certainly a vague projection, though its assertions are partly debatable.  

For instance the author states "Its Germany spiritually wounded by the Holocaust, striving to gain its moral standing in Europe and the world." Does this statement feel like an echo of Goethe? Nonetheless, we should see Germany's industrial powerhouse as a moral redemption project? Germany's rise to the world leader in manufacturing textiles demonstrates its dedication to their moral crusade atoning for Fuhrers and crematoriums.  

Speaking of Germany's rise to world leader in textiles and its clear moral vision, what about Germany's Chancellor's Helmut Schmidt warning in 1977:

Harold [Wilson, of the UK], you talked of viable industries, and indicated that this excluded lame ducks. You referred to textiles as an example. I am a close friend of the chairman of the textile workers union in Germany. It is a union of a shrinking industry. I would hope that this would not be repeated outside this room. Given the high level of wages in Europe, I cannot help but believe that in the long run textile industries here will have to vanish. We cannot ward off cheaper competition from outside. We will eventually need some hothouse or botanical garden for this industry. It is a pity  because it is viable: capital invested in a job in the textile industry in Germany is as high as it is in the German steel mills. But wages in East Asia are very low compared with ours. The garment industries in France and Italy, which make high fashions, will survive. They are ingenious and creative and will survive. The German textile industry is viable, but will vanish in ten or twelve years. [1]

This prompts my asking does Schmidt believe Germany's moral standing would be enhanced by a conscious intention to contribute to wage arbitrage? This agenda entailed shifting relatively prosperous wages from Germany to East Asia where they work one whisper away from slave labor. Arbeit Macht Frei?

Or, review another bold claim that "Its Israel with its passionate quest to secure a Jewish homeland." Their securing of a Jewish homeland was definitely a purpose they plotted and worked hard to realize. But, does this homeland reveal a noble purpose? Does a greater Israel provide another example of economic policy serving a humanitarian purpose?

Just look at the changes to the map of Palestine from 1946 to the present to see the progress of Israel becoming "greater:"

I guess the Palestinians lacked the vision to pursue and reach a greater Palestine?

Statistics should inform us of empirical results, or at least help establish a foundation on which we gain more knowledge of the world. This mode of inquiry should help us determine what is but not what should be. Moral, ethical, and spiritual criteria should serve as a guideline for determining what should be. But, while we analyze the spiritual consequences of economic conditions and trends, elevating the subject of economics to a spiritual realm should not induce humanity turning a blind eye to systematic weakening of workers and oppression. The passage cited in this case fails to show that economics is spiritual. Instead the author skips over reality in search of a glorified meme, which is fitting for the paradigm-shifting prose of Ad Busters.

1.  Prashad, Vijay. The Poorer Nations: A Possible History of the Global South. Verso. London. 2012. Kindle version. Locations 826-831 of 7808.