Friday, June 6, 2008

A Not-so Anti-Capitalist Rant

I have not read Marx or Becker. Nevertheless, I find that I have been repeating this phrase to many people: “Capitalism is the root of all evil”. I vaguely remember Marx saying that but being the half-past six that I am, I cannot remember. I was trying to explain to my boyfriend (who probably wish I would just shut the hell up) the possibility of an overhaul of our moral systems if there was no such thing as private ownership. Robbery would not be wrong or rather the act of robbery probably does not exist because we do not own anything, so technically speaking; they are not taking away anything. Hold that thought and jump to the reactions.

My boyfriend wrinkles his nose and frowns very deeply at me and looks at me with a sickened expression as though I said something like ‘I am in love with my brother’, L proclaimed that it would be a chaotic and order-less world and WYang thought about it for awhile and said, interesting.

Speaking of order, well, it would be true that probably it would be chaotic because essentially capitalism keeps order in the oppression form. (Again, my own two unpolished cents worth) Social contracts which are probably the foundation of democracy (correct me if I am wrong) are based in capitalistic thought and thereby democracy has ‘oppression-istic’ roots which are no much more different from a monarchy or any other forms of governance. Maybe it is an unfair statement but I would, in my very opinionated view think that the oppression in democracy is very much hidden and not so blatantly displayed in visible forms like the others.

Communism (according to me) does not work in our world because we live in a capitalistic world. Of course it has its shortcoming like all other systems. I mean, sure, acknowledge all the benefits of democracy, democracy probably being the best of the worst systems or whatever, but we are able to say that because we experience the benefits of capitalism. The ability to type on my laptop or sit in a coffee joint debating, those are advantages of us being on the favourable side of the inequality that capitalism. To even speak about inequality or theorize capitalistic devils, we have to be on that side--the ‘upside’ of the see- saw of inequality.

Disclaimer: This is a “coffee-shop talk” argument. Pardon my lack of depth and any other wrong concepts I have. Would be grateful for corrections or guidance.

Well, I am probably not going to stop going to Starbucks or not lust after the pairs of Christian Louboutins and that just makes me feel like a bad, guilty person after being so oh-communism-sucks.BLAH.

Monday, June 2, 2008

Labels

Labels. They have more function that they get credit for. Like how we think we can choose to ignore the effects on the dictating they do in our lives and just claim it is just a label but it is not so. We do not choose the label. We are labeled. (Well, most of us.)The point is not about the label but who labels. The labeler decides the good or bad of that label. The powerful label the less.

I think I should read up on Labeling Theory by Howard Becker and probably Marx. This is like a 5 minute non-thinking post.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Haruki Murakimi

This post is not really dedicated to him but he is definitely one of the authors that I love. I read most of his work and even though I do not know if I actually get half of what he wants to say, I still find it such a pleasure to be sucked into his stories. (Even though I have to admit I have a tendency to lose myself in any story). Kalfka By the Shore and Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World has got to be my favourite.

Currently reading this collection of short stories by him :
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman and I want to share just these two short paragraphs by him.

Chapter The Ice Man
Ice contains no future, just the past, sealed away. As if they’re alive, everything in the world is sealed up inside, clear and distinct. Ice can preserve all kinds of things that way- cleanly, clearly. That’s the essence of ice, the role it plays.

Chapter Firefly
Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of it. As we live, we breathe death into our lungs, like fine particles of dust.


Maybe I want our relationship to be like ice because then I’ll know it is going to me you forever sealed up and there is no talk of leaving or staying because we are frozen in our place. Where our love may not be that transparent and even fuzzy in the ways we show it but it is simple. And I am a simple girl hoping you are a simple boy.