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Small-Scale Question Sunday for January 29, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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The transition to a service economy.

Less factory work, and more of it offshore and insulated. Increased credentialism and changing costs to education. The trailing effects of three decades of suburbanization hollowing out cities. Union socialism was on the wane even before Thatcher. Combine this with the economic and strategic prosperity of 90s America and socialism looks pretty unappealing.

I really don’t think social justice has much ideological continuity with Marxism. There was very neoliberal lull in the 90s and 00s until the crash made “eating the rich” cool again. Identity politics didn’t get nearly as much traction from that. I know some commenters are going to point to Cultural Marxism and the obvious alliance of woke and socialist activists. But I’m convinced that this is convergent evolution. Both economic and cultural Marxism want to be framed as counter-establishment. Sticking it to the Man, as it were. (See also certain elements on the far right—the kind of things that people cite as horseshoe theory.) That leads to common cause where SJWs try to make themselves palatable to tankies, and vice versa.

No idea what the credentialed Marxists would say about this.