Adbusters, the Internet, and Tahrir Square
Starr focuses, in the last part of his book review, on the role of the internet. He is right to point out that the internet has not become the super-force in politics that some predicted it would be. There are plenty who still view the internet as some qualitative new change in our "post-industrial society", whatever that means. Oddly enough, one of these authors seems to actually err too much in the wrong direction, suggesting that the advent of groups like MoveOn have brought about a new era in political advocacy and fundraising. Very good. However, this author is again missing the point of the internet- and politics generally.
The most-searched terms on Google for the last few years have been "socialism" and "capitalism". This should not surprise anyone, perhaps with the exception of the political scientists writing these books. The same author who wrote of the new era in online advocacy also seems to view things only in terms of Democrat or Republican; the top searches are not "democrat" and "republican", millions less Americans voted this year than in 2012, and one didn't hear many defenses of Mr. "Hope & Change" Obama without a quick flurry of excuses for his last four years. Coupled with this is the phenomenon that these same experts said was impossible- the beginning movements of the American working class. They are not channeling their energy into the two parties, but into an increase in strikes, walk-outs, and occupations. This is the American working class that was supposed to be too comfortable, too conservative, etc. etc. And, of course, we should address the other end of internet politics: the connections of workers all over the world sharing their political experiences.
When the Tunisian and Egyptian Revolutions began, they struck like a bolt of lightening from a clear blue sky. Of course it wasn't, the capitalist crisis is creating pressure cookers of class struggle in every capitalist nation, but the experts cannot see this. They must find a "real" reason for such a rising. Many found one in the internet, targeting popular calls for protest on social media sites. The same was said in America when the Occupy Wall Street movement brought tens of thousands of workers into the streets of New York- it was the call by AdBusters!
How simple the world must seem to the men and women who come up with this stuff! At the least, the authors of our articles are not among this crowd that makes the mistake of believing in the magical powers of the internet to bring about revolution. As I have stated in a previous post, the internet played a part in organizing some of the earlier actions of the revolution, but it was not even a main lever of the process. First place goes to the objective factors of increased class struggle brought about by the capitalist crisis, factors that posed- and continue to pose- the question of power. The government shut off the internet in an attempt to quell the rising- they were probably listening to American experts to get such an idea.
Austerity and Elites, or If You Accept Capitalism, You Must Accept its Laws
Mr. Noah writes that we should "expect a lot of cuts. Plutes are all about slashing government spending. The only categories they wouldn’t cut are infrastructure, scientific research, and education—not coincidentally, the categories of spending plutes benefit from the most." This is where the author gives us the best glimpse at a truth: the issue of cuts has little to do with responsibility or living within our means, or anything else- it has to do with class and the demands of capitalism. During periods such as the Post-War Boom, the capitalists could afford to give workers new benefits and spend on social programs. They no longer can allow these. The issue, quite simply, is that this crisis is actually deeper than the Great Depression, and the question of capitalism's survival is being posed. In such circumstances, there is only one thing that the bourgeoisie can do: CUT!
Despite their incessant whining, the first offensive of the class war has been launched by the capitalists themselves. The aggressive cuts in Europe and the creeping cuts in America are not fundamentally different, and Obama has the exact same interest in cutting as Samaras or Merkel. The capitalist class is not necessarily mean or unkind by nature, they are merely unable to do otherwise, based on the role they play in productive and social relations. As Mr. Noah wrote, this manifests itself in their culture generally.
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