Mass Producing the Narrative at the DNC...and beyond

The Week in Review: August 19, 2024

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In the forthcoming episode of Compact’s Blame Theory podcast, author David Shields joins Geoff Shullenberger to discuss his latest release How We Got Here, among several of his other works. Shullenberger highlighted that Shields’s 2010 book Reality Hunger and the documentaries of director Adam Curtis expose how the writings of figures like Edward Bernays and Walter Lippmann inspired “the invisible rulers” who worked behind the scenes to “create illusions…that would guide people’s understanding of what was happening in the world. Just as you have Henry Ford making automobiles, you have to have people mass producing facts and opinions and distributing them to the entire population.” 

These hidden power-players were confident that, given the conditions of our mass industrial society, “what they were doing was in the public interest” since people can no longer “form their opinions in the context of local communities.” Trump is something of a poster boy for our post-truth era, with his knack for generating public spectacles and defense of “alternative facts.” Yet the proceedings of the Democratic National Convention indicate that, despite their railing against Trump, the Dems have taken a page from his book. 

From AOC and Bernie’s clamoring about how Harris will advocate for working class issues, to the rappers whose presence was supposed to convince us that Harris is indeed “down” and the assortment of “Brat Kamala” memes being pushed out via social media, the Harris campaign has figured out that when faced with a lack of substance, one must manufacture a narrative–no matter how far it may be from reality–that will appease the consumers.

This week in Compact

The disorder in Chicago, the host city of the DNC, is an easy target for right-wing politicians and pundits. Yet Ryan Zickgraf insists that Mayor Brandon Johnson deserves criticism not for his left-leaning platform, but for his weak administration, which unlike the administrations of former, more effective socialist leaders in the city, can be compared to “an incompetent non-profit organization that knows how to spend a Fort Knox vault worth of money but has no idea how to manage it or the city’s infrastructure and institutions.”

Sam Khan, who was in attendance at the DNC, heard a lot of talk about “‘freedom,’ ‘democracy,’ and ‘justice.’ There are discussions of hardscrabble childhoods and nods to working-class solidarity. The overriding message is the villainy of Donald Trump and, like a child’s fortune teller, that opens up into the sub-themes of an abortion ban, Project 2025, the Jan. 6 riot, and the felony convictions.” Ultimately, a lot of “polished soundbites” that “said nothing” of real substance. 

Gage Skidmore

Quoting Democratic strategist David Axelrod, Alexander Nazaryan insists that the current high Harris’s supporters are experiencing is being fueled by “a moment of ‘irrational exuberance’,” which is bound to die out quickly…“probably sometime after Labor Day. And when it does,” he continues, “Harris will be forced to reveal what she believes: about health insurance, taxation, Ukraine, Israel, Mexico, the Supreme Court, artificial intelligence, global warming, and immigration.” 

And Geoff Shullenberger laments Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to drop out of the presidential race as “a missed opportunity…Given the seriousness of the issues raised by critics of Covid policies,” he writes, “it is unfortunate to see them consigned to oblivion by one party and resolved into anachronistic bromides by the other.”

Be sure to also check out the team’s discussion of the DNC and RFK Jr. on the Compact podcast, and Sohrab Ahmari’s newsletter this week, which offers a measured critique of Tim Walz’s dismissiveness of those who have expressed reservations about his position on life and gender issues–despite employing the rhetoric of “the Common Good.”

In response to the recent Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk, Branko Marcetic comments that regardless of the outcome, “ the first thing to say about it is that it marks another reminder—for Putin, but for hawks of any kind, anywhere, too—of how wars of choice often prove more trouble than they’re worth,” critiquing the United State’s imprudent role in bringing about and exacerbating the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Out with the New, in with the Old

As I wrapped up my travels in Italy and prepared to make my way to Greece, I was struck by the omnipresence of graffiti in public spaces. I was told that policing in Italy was not like in the US: The police frequently pull people over on the roads for no reason, and can fine you for leaving a store or restaurant without your receipt, but rarely if ever prosecute unauthorized graffiti artists. 

The slogans I found could just as easily have been found in New York or London: overplayed cliches like “smash the patriarchy,” “my body my choice,” “from the river to the sea…” Though I must admit chuckling at the comically random “f*ck you, I won’t do what you tell me” and the crafty “ovary gang” with two hands making what apparently was an ovary hand gesture spray painted above it. These American h.r.-approved slogans made it hard to take these young rebels’ brand of progressivism very seriously.

A few weeks ago, I cited Pasolini’s critique of Italy’s New Left in the 1970s, which seemed to be oblivious to its conformism and uprootedness from “the people.” He insisted that true progressivism was less concerned with performative gestures than it was with being in touch with the culture and concrete needs of a given locale. Thus my relief upon visiting family members in Greece, who live on what is known as the “red rock” island. During the Greek Civil War in the 1940s, nearly 13,000 communists were exiled to Ikaria. Unlike in Turin, the only graffiti you’ll find on the island features the logos and slogans of KKE (Communist Party of Greece), which plays an active role in Ikaria’s political and social affairs (the current mayor, a member of KKE, received the majority vote).

The party, which my uncle told me is more democratic socialist than revolutionary communist, won over residents for teaching them trades and offering them other forms of practical aid during the turmoil of the post-war era. Still today, the party is more interested in responding to the needs of the people and respecting their values than in radical posturing. Take its positions on drug legalization, the EU, NATO, and religion, which—unlike those of the more conventionally-left SYRIZA—are shockingly “based” (they opposed legalizing gay marriage this year on the grounds that it would “abolish paternity-maternity”).

The beautiful beaches, active agricultural industry, spirit of neighborliness, and overall safety (“no one steals here” is a line one often hears) are all part of the reason Ikarians are known for their jovial temperaments, as well as their remarkable longevity (Ikaria is one of five “blue zones”). Progressives—and reactionaries who laughably insist that Harris is a commie—would do well to learn from such remnants of the Old Left, who concretely contribute to the flourishing of families and local communities, and leave behind the “spectacular” antics that have little to do with the actual needs of the everyday people.