← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Petr
Thread ID: 20780 | Posts: 2 | Started: 2005-10-27
2005-10-27 20:53 | User Profile
Like I have argued in here before, I believe that[B] both [/B]conservative traditionalism and libertarian progressivism contain worthy doctrines to follow, with Biblical Christianity acting as the balancing factor between them:
[url]http://www.originaldissent.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19177&highlight=rushdoony[/url]
I consider this essay here by Ryan McMaken to be one of the finest presentations of the libertarian side of the argument that I've seen.
(I was actually reminded of "Culture Wars" writer E. Michael Jones and his great ability to make deep social commentary on seemingly shallow phenomenons in popular culture) [B][SIZE="5"][COLOR="DarkRed"] "How the Gunfighter Killed Bourgeois America"[/COLOR][/SIZE][/B]
[url]http://www.lewrockwell.com/mcmaken/mcmaken109.html[/url]
I like the way McMaken demonstrates the existence of anti-capitalist, anti-modernist and even downright nihilistic undercurrents in the Westerns (as opposed to[I] real, historical [/I]West) and their contrast to 19th-century conservative values as well. [B][COLOR="Navy"] "While many who claim to value liberty, property, and peace may be willing to overlook the robust militarism, anti-capitalism, and outright atheism that permeates so many classic Westerns, it is nevertheless in tales of the West like those found in the[I] Little House[/I] series where the real story of the West is to be found. It is in the work of Wilder, and in the work of her Victorian predecessors where bourgeois values like hard work, devotion to family, and Christianity are shown to be the real foundation of 19th century American society on and off the frontier."[/COLOR][/B]
And just for the record, I do [B]not [/B]agree with everything in this piece, just like I do not agree with great many things in libertarianism. There is a time and place for everything, even for anti-capitalist collectivism - for instance, when forbidding merchants to make profit by selling weapons to Indians.
Petr
2005-10-28 02:53 | User Profile
[QUOTE]The Western truly is "something to do with death." The world of the Western is founded on violence, governed by violence, and sustained by violence, all the while being showcased as the most heroic sort of existence imaginable. While the bourgeoisie certainly never denied the occasional need to employ violence in self-defense, neither did it feel the need to endlessly glorify violence in its popular culture. Indeed, the fact that the Western is so completely unlike Victorian literature should alarm us. The bourgeois culture of the 19th century was robust and confident in its accomplishments. The Western was created to destroy that confidence. [/QUOTE]I've read better commentaries on Western's I think. Key is the difference between early western's and late western's, although he does touch on this.
Overall though, I think this is why people shouldn't mix art with politics, especially ideolouges, of which libertarians are as bad as any.