Rage Kapital

6 thoughts on “Rage Kapital”

1. Brilliant, terrifying, and as well prescient. Typical exceptional work from Bjarne, which leaves a lot to ponder about our current state of play and where we are heading. After reading this I’m half tempted to go back and watch the January 2017 Inauguration speech, as I think that might serve as such a stunning recent and singular example of a moment capturing so much of what Bjarne is conveying. Spending just 20 minutes in the Twitter hellscape on pretty much any day since then indeed underscores all of the same points fairly well. Just footage from my home in DC overnight turns my stomach.

   The analysis is both global (but mainly “Western”) and yet distinctively American at the same time. Academically, I often think European minds have better grappled with some of these issues of critiquing neoliberalism. At least in a more mainstream, and again I mean in an academic mainstream, way. I guess what I’m saying is that there is a lot “we” (large sweeping arm motion referring to the broader US) would benefit from thinking through a lot of this critique. The stakes could not be higher. The harsh implication from this piece is the war to come, or that is in part, in some form, underway…

   Props to H for always, always bringing it like this. This piece, and Yen and the Art of Bridge Maintenance, both from yesterday, have set my Sunday morning mind right on pondering and problem solving, as I often try to do. And actually quite thankful to be sitting across the pond right now looking back towards America as I do.

2. Even a solution is offered. Cutting the rage bank off at it’s roots the incorporation of new blood. However it does not suggest how to keep this newly ‘educated’ from being full of rage and re/mis directed in the future. What a wonderful piece of philosophy and makes us wonder how to stop this cycle of rage.

3. This clocked me. America now has a permanent economic underclass and coalition building among the affected groups is not occurring because the upper-class stokes (intentionally distracting) culture wars. Brilliant, and evil. “Otherizing” continues to work like a charm.

4. I had hoped that this election would be a repudiation of Trumpism, but this piece clearly explains why it won’t be as simple as just “defeating” Trump. The nationalism and culture war goes much deeper and I agree with the comments on this and Yen that it’s an addiction and accumulation of rage that has been appropriated for the ends that we are seeing playing out. After Republicans (likely) maintained their hold on the senate and gained seats in the house and the Republican party largely fell in lock step with the alternate reality that Trump has created, I have very little confidence that we’ll be able to break out of this cycle for decades. No amount of messaging or suffering will be enough for actual progressives to overcome the massive “rage capital” deficit that these nationalist/culture war profiteers have built up. Unfortunately, the way our government is structured only makes this situation worse.

   1. Nationalism is the easiest way to gain fervent acolytes…..especially in an environment of disintegrating values and feelings of being minimalized. Hitler remains the classic example of it’s exploitation, the great lies become truth, truth becomes inconvenient.

5. As one of the most ego-centric and narcissistic nations on the planet we tend to think of all this in our own terms, ie the meme of the great donald. Rage capital is totally global and our ability to change any global trend is now beyond our reach — fiscally or politically. That great whooshing sound you heard on Jan 6th was US giving up our self-appointed global leadership mandate. In mere hours that day we reverted to becoming the median country of the world, meaning little or nothing to anyone.