Whose Freedom, by George Lakoff
http://www.whosefreedom.com/
Whose Freedom?
“Freedom” is one of the most contested words in American political discourse. In Whose Freedom? The Battle Over America’s Most Important Idea, George Lakoff describes how the country is divided by two dramatically different world views, cognitive frames that determine how we think about economic policy, religion, science, foreign affairs—and freedom.
..........................
I happened to catch the early hour re-run of the Leonard Lopate interview with George Lakoff, a linguist and cognitive psychologist who makes great sense of the two conflicting outlooks -- he calls them "frames" that are shaping the radically disparate world views of what he designates "conservatives" and "progressives" -- he suggests that the term, "liberal," has been so trashed first by the radicals of the left in the 1960s and subsequently by the radicals on the right so as to be virtually unworkable.
From the perspective of contemporary philosophy and political theory what Lakoff has to say makes much sense -- the hundreds of right wing think tanks are spending $400 million each year (his figure) to shape an American understanding of Freedom along the lines manifested by the neocons and religions right -- authoritarian leader, aggressive military stance, blame the victim for poverty, glorify and unleash free enterprise capitalism, check government taxing and spending on social programs, deregulate corporations, environmental controls, etc., etc.
In contrast progressives see government as the guarantor of the necessities for the good life -- education and the rest -- and prize the individual and support his/her needs and interests.
There is, of course, more to both. He criticizes progressives for their 18th century (naive) rationalism that assumes that the facts can be conveyed to shape social and economic policies whereas the conservatives are using all the techniques of ideological manipulation to disguise facts and to bend them to their own (free enterprise) uses.
All of this makes much sense -- particularly the charge that progressives (Democrats) do not realize that they are still operating within conservative frames (e.g. cut and run) when they simply argue that we should get out of Iraq -- cut and run -- rather than focusing on the fact that occupation never works. The Iraq war was won 3 years ago; it is the occupation that has failed.
Again, I am working from a half asleep recollections here, but I recommend this as perhaps the most illuminating book around on current politics with suggestions for a proper road map for Democrats who have allowed themselves to be ensnared in the conservative (Republican) frames. The latter do not fight fair because they believe in their notion of Freedom as free enterprise unleashed and have no respect for the humane alternative guiding progressives -- thus two conlficting worlds of discourse.
And there are, lest there be any misunderstanding here, some progressive evangelicals, too, who are battling the authoritarian right wing ones who would march us off the war and military solutions to all our problems.
The web site above gives some more details and perhaps corrects what I have gotten wrong here.
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CollegeConversation
http://BlogByEdKent.blogspot.com/
http://www.bloggernews.net
Whose Freedom?
“Freedom” is one of the most contested words in American political discourse. In Whose Freedom? The Battle Over America’s Most Important Idea, George Lakoff describes how the country is divided by two dramatically different world views, cognitive frames that determine how we think about economic policy, religion, science, foreign affairs—and freedom.
..........................
I happened to catch the early hour re-run of the Leonard Lopate interview with George Lakoff, a linguist and cognitive psychologist who makes great sense of the two conflicting outlooks -- he calls them "frames" that are shaping the radically disparate world views of what he designates "conservatives" and "progressives" -- he suggests that the term, "liberal," has been so trashed first by the radicals of the left in the 1960s and subsequently by the radicals on the right so as to be virtually unworkable.
From the perspective of contemporary philosophy and political theory what Lakoff has to say makes much sense -- the hundreds of right wing think tanks are spending $400 million each year (his figure) to shape an American understanding of Freedom along the lines manifested by the neocons and religions right -- authoritarian leader, aggressive military stance, blame the victim for poverty, glorify and unleash free enterprise capitalism, check government taxing and spending on social programs, deregulate corporations, environmental controls, etc., etc.
In contrast progressives see government as the guarantor of the necessities for the good life -- education and the rest -- and prize the individual and support his/her needs and interests.
There is, of course, more to both. He criticizes progressives for their 18th century (naive) rationalism that assumes that the facts can be conveyed to shape social and economic policies whereas the conservatives are using all the techniques of ideological manipulation to disguise facts and to bend them to their own (free enterprise) uses.
All of this makes much sense -- particularly the charge that progressives (Democrats) do not realize that they are still operating within conservative frames (e.g. cut and run) when they simply argue that we should get out of Iraq -- cut and run -- rather than focusing on the fact that occupation never works. The Iraq war was won 3 years ago; it is the occupation that has failed.
Again, I am working from a half asleep recollections here, but I recommend this as perhaps the most illuminating book around on current politics with suggestions for a proper road map for Democrats who have allowed themselves to be ensnared in the conservative (Republican) frames. The latter do not fight fair because they believe in their notion of Freedom as free enterprise unleashed and have no respect for the humane alternative guiding progressives -- thus two conlficting worlds of discourse.
And there are, lest there be any misunderstanding here, some progressive evangelicals, too, who are battling the authoritarian right wing ones who would march us off the war and military solutions to all our problems.
The web site above gives some more details and perhaps corrects what I have gotten wrong here.
--
"A war is just if there is no alternative, and the resort to arms is legitimate if they represent your last hope." (Livy cited by Machiavelli)
--
Ed Kent 718-951-5324 (voice mail only) [blind copies]
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CollegeConversation
http://BlogByEdKent.blogspot.com/
http://www.bloggernews.net
posted by Ed Kent at 7:20 AM
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