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Tag: ideology

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    Struggle as Ideological Compass

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    1–2 minutes

    The desire for struggle determines the ideology we adopt. We may claim to want calm, but we are looking for a fight and will align with the side that grants it.

    Be it the pride of rebellion against oppressive injustice, the underdog’s martyrdom, or dominance gained through oppressive group bullying tactics, we are choosing fights over comforts despite our sensible claims made to friends and family.

    Even meek souls who lead quiet lives fantasize about a secret struggle, practicing their own escape from the false orthodoxy of complete compliance.

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    ideology supported by fantasy

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    1–2 minutes

    Ideology is the frame in which we understand the world so that it seems non-contradictory. Therefore, it is a necessarily reductive structure that is contradictory; it just makes us blind to anything that does not fit the framework. Yet because ideology often breaks down when we glimpse the contradiction, it must be supplemented by fantasy at its core: an irrational belief that can overcome the discontinuity of reality.
    from Todd McGowan
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    happiness: backfilling our ideology

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    1–2 minutes

    We prioritize quality-of-life advancements, yet often conceal them behind veils of profundity like religion, ideology, or political affiliations, deeming our well-being shallow in comparison to national or human rights issues.

    Whether based on social or economic factors, the divide between right and left involves an interplay of literal and heuristic cost-benefit analyses. Accordingly, tribal (political) allegiance does not necessarily imply ideological alignment. Furthermore, a party’s ability to ensure security may overshadow the absurdity of its ideas, until declining quality of life prompts a shift towards opposing camps: my move to well-being and happiness, backfilling our ideology.

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    Playing over Ideology to achieve Authenticity

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    1–2 minutes

    As an authentic individual, there’s a lot of pressure to have a clear ideology or well-thought-out position for every action or participation you engage in.

    However, this pressure is oddly mediated by like-minded associates who pre-generate stipulations of what is or isn’t proper to give attention or action to. And so, we reason backward into limited positions,

    Instead, we should learn to play and discover our degrees of positionality without feeling completely "bought in."

    We are beautifully human, figuring things out by trying, not by adhering.
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    gentrified artists (graffiti)

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    1–2 minutes

    In an art magazine Instagram post the editor complained about a lack of graffiti on walls as a sign of artists being gentrified.

    Perhaps. Perhaps the art world has been entirely packaged and purchased. Maybe art was only briefly a transgressive modality and (with the help of this magazine) has returned to propping up transcendent naval gazing (religion or commerce).

    Interestingly, this sentiment was pasted on a digital wall, where outrage amplifies more readily than sloganeering on physical barriers. The internet is a better modern tool, as is money to convert graffiti into a mural.

    As well, to call artists "gentrified" for not vandalizing (bemoaining the loss of rebellion) undermines the succesful inclusivity work the artworld has done to grant all fringe practices space inside rather than out. The point of graffiti (for artists rather than taggers) has been rendered mute.

    I will concede: Defacing the real world is becoming passé. Cluttering my feed with inane observations and advertising is the new trash that concerns me.

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    Be neither steadfast nor flighty

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    1–2 minutes

    When opinions change too often, a person is flighty, flakey, or capricious. They are often exciting and novel, chiming in when they should remain silent or neutral. Still, their fickle espousal reveals an irreverence towards truth and stability: they are not cautious or considerate.

    However, the taciturn steadfastness of one who speaks little and never alters their belief is not trustworthy, though they can be dependable. Their similarity in response can be comforting but not a considered appraisal of information in an attempt at truth.

    Both types of people -the flitting vacillator and the stoic ideologue- are intellectually dishonest yet may still appear as engaged in serious inquiry.

    inspired by Nassim Taleb on X

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    Liberalism’s corrupting lie

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    1–2 minutes

    The premise of liberalism is a lie: liberation, equality, and freedom as innate rights.

    Thus, we are constantly fighting off possible theft and violation of our rights. As such, we are all victims on the defensive against potential oppression.

    The real irony is that it leads us, the always victims, to become oppressors.

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    Arts and fundamentalism

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    1–2 minutes

    The artist comes from a mindset of plenty, while a fundamentalist sees society as a fallen place where the only path back to "the good" is through restriction.

    These two viewpoints are fundamentally opposed: you cannot have fundamentalist art.

    This is not to say that fundamentalists cannot be creative, but their creation is inverted into negation.

    from "the war of art" by Steven Pressfield

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    Succession, rebellion, insurrection

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    1–2 minutes

    Americans (Texans specifically) comment that an invading country (or even our own government) would never be able to subdue us, largely due to the proliferation of firearms, which is ludicrous.

    It is not a matter of being brave or well-armed against an army with drones. Being armed only matters in the ability to dissuade or combat your fellow citizens.

    Revolutions (coups) generally require the populace, but a smaller percentage of it than you would think:

    • 1) It is a matter of having already won an ideological battle.
    • 2) Followed by seeding political choke points and infrastructure with your faction from which you can asymmetrically leverage power.
    • 3) By converting the violent rule-following rebels (the gun-toting patriots) as they will enforce ideology at an inverse proportion to their numbers. (say 150 armed ideologs can control a town of 15,000.)
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    Earning the Right to your Opinion

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    1–2 minutes

    Have you earned the right to your opinion? Not everyone with a viewpoint has done the work to add something meaningful to the conversation.
    Without the work, you are merely righteous and walking into a trap.