Emmett Rensin (2016) Young Minds in the Era of American Depravity - Summary
Summary: Quite a few young Americans are non-enthusiastic about the 2016 election, they will either vote third-party, or they will not participate at all. The pundits are shocked, claiming this to be an exceptional, high-stakes election. But the description of Trump as a dangerous outlier debasing American traditions is ignorant of American history. The United States has toppled democratically elected regimes, tortured its enemies, funded right-wing extremists, and dropped nukes on civilian cities. Also, contemporary America is in a state of depravity, featuring mass incarceration, decades of stagnant wages, college debt, and racism. The financial crisis of 2008 has not really been dealt with, and there is fear of another financial shock. About 10% of the population has neither health insurance nor adequate nutrition. The United States are militarily engaged in 6 foreign countries, dropping 23'000 bombs each year. Climate change is quickly progressing, and catastrophe seems hard to avoid. The world is getting better in some measures of global poverty and health, but these are signs of how horrible the past has been, not how great our present is. Finally, all achievements are in constant danger of humans simply destroying what makes the planet habitable. Pundits ask if young people do not see the present crisis of this election. And young people see a crisis; catastrophe and moral failure are staring them in the face. Looking at the world, they see that something is radically wrong. But looking at the media representation, all political solutions given are wholly inadequate. Young people are revolting in many different ways. Revolt "is a symptom of intolerable pressure", and in looking at this world, revolt is a rational reaction. The situation and the reactions to it are not new. We have seen it before, generation after generation: Young people revolt, until they get older, and try to keep their children from revolting. The power structure is changed just a little bit to address the most obvious problems, allowing for all others to persist. The system is constructed in such a way that it constantly reproduces itself. The great majority of (young) people will go and vote, and Hillary Clinton will become president. But we are still quickly moving towards global destruction. This is mad, it makes us feel mad, and it will get worse. When, finally, our food crops fail, and the ocean is flooding the land, there will be further revolts. The pundits will, once again, try to keep it quiet. This is the way the world works, and this is exactly the problem.
Source: Emmet Rensin (2016) Young Minds in the Era of American Depravity. Published in Newsweek on 19th of October 2016.
(Full text at newsweek.com, English)
This summary is licensed CC:BY-SA.
Quite a few young Americans are non-enthusiastic about the election.
Some of them will vote third-party, some will not participate at all.
The pundits are shocked, claiming this is an exceptional, high-stakes election.
Pundits believe undesirable behaviour is caused by a lack of information or rationality. This shows they are emotionally disconnected from human life. Their world can be described with facts and statistics.
America is in a state of depravity.
Roughly 10% of the population has neither health insurance nor adequate nutrition.
There is enough food. American food-production practices policies are causing the rise of antibiotic-resistant infections.
Black people are constantly harassed, sometimes even murdered.
2 million people are incarcerated.
College graduates are saddled with enormous debts.
It is hard to find a job.
Labour productivity is rising, but wage growth is lagging behind.
The financial crisis of 2008 has not really been dealth with. There is fear of another financial shock.
The "share economy" is creating a new type of precarious job, to the applause of Democrats.
Climate change is quickly progressing, and catastrophe seems hard to avoid.
The United States are currently militarily engaged in 6 foreign countries. They drop 23'000 bombs each year.
Nuclear war is once again becoming a real possibility.
The common rebuttal to this: The world is better than it ever was. Global poverty is down, medicine is making great advances.
But these are signs of how horrible the past has been, not how great our present is.
Individual human beings do not live in historical abstractions.
All the improvements mentioned are in constant danger of humans simply destroying what makes the planet habitable.
All political solutions given are wholly inadequate.
The presidential elections features "a parody fascist". His opponent's main quality is her "not being an incompetent or a rapist".
The choice seems to be between "vulgar racism" and "barely bridled corporatism".
One candidate wants to bomb the shit out of the Middle East, go back to isolationism and start a trade war.
The other wants to occupy the Middle East, and promotes a form of free trade subjecting the population.
One does not believe in global warming, the other is doing far too little.
Less poverty can be achieved by either starving, or highly restrictive welfare payments.
The parties to this election seem to not realise the problem at hand.
The pundits ask if young people do not see the crisis.
If we look at the world, and all of us do it in some way, we see that something is radically wrong.
Many (young) people see this, and they are terribly anxious about it. The world seems to have lost coherence, and the adults in the room seem to not be in control.
Catastrophe and moral failure are staring us in the face.
But looking at the media representation, and statements by politicians, they seem unaware or uninterested.
We are told "Liberalism is Working".
We are told of civility and the dangers of political correctness.
When Trump is described as a dangerous outlier debasing America, history is forgotten.
The United States has toppled democratically elected regimes, tortured its enemies, funded right-wing extremists, and dropped nukes on civilian cities.
Richard Nixon broke into the HQ of his political enemies and tried to clean the executive from Jewish influence.
Obama holds the deportation record for any president.
But Trump, it is said, is unique and exceptionally dangerous. The Russians are behind it all.
Pundits make a lot of money in ridiculing anyone proposing solutions. Perhaps this is their way of coping with catastrophe.
Young people have very different responses among themselves.
Some claim to believe it is just about avoiding Trump, then everything will be fine.
Some claim the whole system is corrupt.
The usual answer is condescending, telling them the unique situation demands falling in line behind Clinton. Their demands will be adressed later, once the election is over. Minorities have made this expereince before: Liberals like them and promise to look at their demands, if they keep quiet just for now.
Young people are revolting in many different ways. It is not clear how their revolt will change the world.
But revolt "is a symptom of intolerable pressure", and in looking at this world, revolt is a rational reaction.
A great number of (young) people simply stopped taking part, living private lives, sometimes depressive ones.
It should be clear why young people are so worried, why they don't do what is expected of them.
We need to ask why so many do what is expected, in the face of evidence that it is not working.
Young people will not grow up in the future they were promised, but, at best, in one that narrowly avoids disaster.
So, why are the pundits so angered by this behaviour?
The situation and the reactions to it are not new. We have seen it before, generation after generation.
Again and again, suffering is answered with insufficient effort, leaving everyone feeling dreadful.
Young people revolt, until they get older, and try to keep their children from revolting.
The power structure is changed just a little bit to address the most obvious problems, which allows for the others to persist.
The problems of today are the problems of the past few decades.
The default reaction of power to complaints is to do nothing, to let the bureacracy and the momentum of a running system neutralise them.
And because the criticisms has been the same for decades, it can be dismissed as unoriginally rehashing what everyone knows already.
The system is constructed in such a way that it constantly reproduces itself. So what can we do anyway?
I am a socialist, but I know that we won't have American socialism for quite some time.
The current state of the world demands actions, and all politically feasible options are wholly inadequate.
The great majority of (young) people will go and vote, and Hillary Clinton will become president.
The national political arena will be saved from immediate destruction.
But we are still quickly moving towards global destruction. This is mad, it makes us feel mad, and it will get worse.
We have played this game for a number of generations now. The planet will not wait.
When, finally, our food crops fail, and the ocean is flooding our land, there will be further revolts.
Then, again, the pundits will try to keep it quiet.
This is the way the world works, and this is exactly the problem.