American media seems to be confused by the protests. Few seem to understand what protesters want, or even who they are. Some outlets describe protesters as Trump-like nationalists aligned with Marine Le Pen, others as antifa-style leftists aligned with Jean-Luc Melenchon.
The marchers actually cut across all political lines, and if anything, both Le Pen and Melenchon are trying to attach themselves to something independent of them. Unifying factors seem to be hatred of Macron and a desire to express this in profane fashion (the New Yorker noted that many of the protest slogans are colorful variations on the theme of people being literally screwed by Macron).
The vest movement, a.k.a. gillets jaunes, began as a localized French grievance about a fuel tax and has spiraled into an international phenomenon.…
The common thread seems mostly to do with class. However, since we’re more comfortable covering left-versus-right than rich-versus-poor in America, the journalistic response here has been a jumble.…
The inability of pundits to make sense of the plummeting popularity of “centrism” is a long-developing story in the West.
Over and over, a daft political class paternalistically implements changes more to the benefit of donors than voters, then repeatedly is baffled when they prove unpopular....I think that the elite have convinced themselves of the reality of meritocracy and trickle down, and that the people lower down on the ladder are doing better than they seem to believe. The elite concludes therefore that the reason is envy. It's the elite world view that determines their perception of reality. Of course, the people lower down see things through a different lens and narrative control is not working anymore regardless of how much they amp it up. All people have to do is look in their wallets and check books.
Rolling Stone
The French Protests Do Not Fit a Tidy Narrative
Rémy Herrera | Marxist economist, researcher at the Centre national de la Recherche scientifique (CNRS), who also works at the Centre d’Économie de la Sorbonne, Paris.
Translated by WW staff
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ReplyDeleteThe French protests do not fit a tidy narrative.
Au contraire, the truth is quite tidy. As long as France uses the euro, and grovels to Brussels, and has a trade deficit, France will have ever-worsening debt, austerity, poverty, and inequality. If you think this is an over-simplification, then you are confused.
In other nations, the protests are against gratuitous (i.e. unnecessary) poverty and austerity, or are against war.
“American media seems to be confused by the protests.”
Corporate media outlets promote neoliberalism while they try to seem unbiased. The result is confusing chatter. For example, the media claim that the French are protesting a modest fuel tax because French people don’t care about global warming. In reality the protests are against twenty years of ever-worsening poverty, austerity, and inequality. Macron’s fuel tax was simply the match that ignited the fire.
“The inability of pundits to make sense of the plummeting popularity of ‘centrism’ is a long-developing story in the West.”
“Centrism” is fanatical neoliberalism. “Moderates” are extremists who promote rich oligarchs. The peasants do not yet realize this, but they feel it subconsciously.
“I think that the elite have convinced themselves of the reality of meritocracy and trickle down, and that the people lower down on the ladder are doing better than they seem to believe. The elite concludes therefore that the reason is envy. It's the elite world view that determines their perception of reality.”
Yes, but the elites also see the masses as stupid, which they are. Rather than unite against their rich owners, the masses split into right vs. left, thereby keeping themselves enslaved.
“Narrative control is not working anymore regardless of how much they amp it up.”
Narrative control only works as long as the peasants have something to lose. When the peasants become materially desperate, they protest. When they begin starving, they reject the narrative altogether, and they launch revolutions (not merely protests).
“What’s wrong with elitism? Don’t we all want the best at the helm? You wouldn’t want an un-elite airline pilot, would you?”
Political elitism means you don’t truly feel rich unless you can make the masses poor. Therefore elitists work as hard to crush the masses as elitists work to elevate themselves.
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ReplyDeleteTowards a convergence of struggles in France?
This article exemplifies how the peasants maintain their slavery by letting elitists control the narrative.
Example…
“But it is as likely that Emmanuel Macron hopes to nominate his future opponent (in the person of far-right-winger Marine Le Pen) for the next election.”
“Far right” and “far left” are neoliberal-speak and media-speak. They are designed to make ultra-fanatic elitist extremists seem like “centrists” and “moderates.”
“President Macron knows that the French people will not want racists to lead them.”
That’s elitist-speak again. Anything that isn’t pro-neoliberal is “racist” and “hate speech.” Populists and nationalists are “racists.”
That’s it . . . Right there I clicked the article closed.