George Lundskow

Authoritarianism and Destructiveness in the Tea Party Movement

The contemporary lower middle class, as constituted in the Tea Party movement, holds increasingly unfavorable views of government, especially among exurban whites, based on imagined and preferred versions of reality. This imagined reality valorizes the ingroup as the hegemonic standard even as their actual status and class opportunities decline. At its center, the Tea Party movement relies on moralism (conservative values), essentialistic fantasy (racism and religiosity), and Manichaean categorization (good/evil) to explain the reality of job loss, rising prices, and severe real estate decline. Rather than interrogate finance capital and deregulation, the Tea Party movement instead indulges in spectacle as both individual gratification and to herald renewed white privilege. However, the simultaneous rejection of the established institutions of power, simplistic policy formulation, and condemnation of outgroups suggests a racially motivated authoritarianism and destructiveness rather than any particular political commitment.

Marxist Class-Cultural Spirituality in Theory and Practice

The paper applies Critical Theory to understand the progressive and oppressive potential of contemporary religious revival in the United States. The analysis focuses on Neopaganism as a progressive spirituality, possibly compatible with Marxist theory. Whether religion is progressive (or oppressive/reactionary) depends not on the content of beliefs, but rather, on the type of social relationship a religion establishes between the individual and society. The paper treats Neopaganism and Marxism as practices and worldviews that often inform social movements and sometimes become the basis of functioning communities. They at once correspond to political-economic agendas, but both also assert the cultural foundations of life — the symbolic expression of shared meaning as the legitimization of social relations. In conclusion, Marxism must develop a spiritual component to survive in and critique modern society, and to posit a vision of the future that might exert actual social influence. To accomplish this, the paper proposes the material-mystery thesis.

Down the Rabid Hole to a Tea Party

Social movements often gain public attention by surprise. They appear to be something new and fresh, a spontaneous critique of established economic or cultural relations. Whether from the left or the right, they seem like contemporary constellations of public discontent that explodes in increasingly creative contrivances of collective outrage against a system that will not otherwise hear their protestations. As the 2008 election heated up, it was soon evident that the ‘typical’ contest for power in US politics was beginning to show some very dark undertones. While name-calling, mudslinging, and character assassination have long been American traditions in electoral politics, the Sarah Palin rallies revealed a wellspring of rabid anger and aggression toward Obama that was not often seen in public. As she insinuated that Obama was a communist, a traitor, who allegedly ‘palled around’ with dangerous ministers from the South Side of Chicago and even more dangerous terrorists from the Weather Underground of the 1960s, her audiences added their own patriotic fervor as they chanted ‘traitor’ and ‘kill him’. While surely the implosion of the real estate and stock market in 2007, and the subsequent government bailout of the big banks had many people anxious, fearful, and angry, it was nonetheless clear that for the conservative Republicans at Palin’s rallies, Obama was not just a left wing liberal intellectual. More importantly, he is African American, and this made his candidacy and eventual election ‘illegitimate’, a victory that upset the ‘rightful’ order of the presidency as a white man’s club, if not prerogative. Within a short time, stoked by right wing media, especially Fox News, fueled by money and organizational power from Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks and the Koch Brothers’ Americans for Prosperity, a new, ‘astroturfed’ movement emerged that called itself the ‘Tea Party’. While the astroturf corporate lobbyists and billionaires hoped to organize popular sentiment against Obama to support an end to all regulation on polluting industries, finance, and even lower taxes for the wealthy, a genuine populist aspect constituted an authentic grassroots side of the Tea Party.

God, Guns, Gold and Glory

America, beginning as a small group of devout Puritan settlers, ultimately became the richest, most powerful Empire in the history of the world, but having reached that point, is now in a process of implosion and decay. This book, inspired by Frankfurt School Critical Theory, especially Erich Fromm, offers a unique historical, cultural and characterological analysis of American national character and its underlying psychodynamics. Specifically, this analysis looks at the persistence of Puritan religion, as well as the extolling of male toughness and Americas unbridled pursuit of wealth. Finally, its self image of divinely blessed exceptionalism has fostered vast costs in lives and wealth. But these qualities of its national character are now fostering both a decline of its power and a transformation of its underlying social character. This suggests that the result will be a changing social character that enables a more democratic, tolerant and inclusive society, one that will enable socialism, genuine, participatory democracy and a humanist framework of meaning. This book is relevant to understanding America’s past, present and future.

Workers’ relationships to their union: The effects of transfer status and race at a U.S. automobile plant

Abstract This study addresses the impact that transferring from one plant to another has on workers in terms of their levels of commitment, involvement and satisfaction with their union. Findings indicate that race is a determinate factor. Minorities that did transfer report being less committed workers and less involved with their union than minorities already working at the plant. Also, in terms of union commitment, involvement, and satisfaction although the age of the worker is not a significant factor, females are significantly more involved with their union than males. Accordingly, rank and file workers whom are elected or appointed union officials are more satisfied and involved with their union then those workers not in official union positions. In June of 2007, the survey was developed by the authors, and endorsed and administered by a major industrial union. The total population of the plant under review is 1640 workers.

Response to George Gonzalez

This response pertains to the review of our book, God Guns Gold and Glory—American Character and its Discontents, reviewed in this journal by George Gonzalez. Our response contends that the “review” is not really a critical reflection on our book, but something more like a dismissal. In essence, Gonzalez says that this is not the book he would have written; he wants to present his own thoughts, not critique ours.

The Sorrows of American Character

God, Gold, Guns and Glory, by Lauren Langman and George Lundskow, offers a Frankfurt School account of the rise and fall of the American Empire by examining its underlying social character which is necessary for a post capitalist, sane society.

Glory: The Rise and Fall of American Exceptionalism

God, Gold, Guns and Glory, by Lauren Langman and George Lundskow, offers a Frankfurt School account of the rise and fall of the American Empire by examining its underlying social character which is necessary for a post capitalist, sane society.

God and His Chosen People: Act II

God, Gold, Guns and Glory, by Lauren Langman and George Lundskow, offers a Frankfurt School account of the rise and fall of the American Empire by examining its underlying social character which is necessary for a post capitalist, sane society.

Guns: Violence, Gender and American Character

God, Gold, Guns and Glory, by Lauren Langman and George Lundskow, offers a Frankfurt School account of the rise and fall of the American Empire by examining its underlying social character which is necessary for a post capitalist, sane society.