The most important physical battlegrounds in the war for our country are our cities. Of course, cities are supposedly bastions of liberalism. All over the country, even the reddest of states show circles of blue surrounded by seas of red. And yet, over the past decades the political culture in cities has been channeled away from progressivism and towards corporatism. The genetic makeup of the country is increasingly split between cultural country-conservatism/economic liberalism and the pop-culture conservatism/economic corporatism of the cities. Nowhere has the shift been seeing more of them in my home, New York City. It is still one of the more artistically and socially progressive places in the country, at least on the East Coast. And the rise of the Corporation has seen New York become one of the economic capitals of the world. Yet even in this world of artisinial cocktails, hedge fund offices, and the police force with more firepower than many countries standing armies, the promise of progressivism still holds great sway. Without New York City you can be sure the recent progress concerning gay marriage would not of been introduced, let alone passed, by the New York State Senate. The big playhouses may put out the same bland corporate system drivel night after night, there is still progressive art of all sorts all over the city-at least as progressive as art in America gets. The pursestrings may be held by the corporatists, but the city still bleeds progressivism. This is a city unlike any other in America: A city of dreams, a city of immigrants, and, especially in the recession, a city where you can make something out of seemingly nothing.
New York City is still one of the few cities that still really matter. With the rise of the Internet, with corporate headquarters moving from big cities to low tax rural zones, with increased normalcy of suburban sprawl, and of course with the increased loss of industrial economic backbone of the country (replaced by the much more mobile corporate backbone), cities are losing their pride of place in America. But not New York, at least not yet.
The response to the corporatization of our cities from the left is varied of course, the general response has been at least a desire to flee. The American left in particular often gives a very Therovian response to this kind of situation, throwing up their arms and self determining themselves out of whatever den of vipers they currently see themselves in. That response is a selfish and self-defeating as it was 150 years ago. Running away from the problem, “preferring not” may sound very appealing. After all, what liberal doesn’t have some sort of desire to run off into the woods and live in commune with nature? But it is an incredibly selfish and cowardly choice. The underwritten rule of democracy is that the most active citizens will have the greatest chance to shape the future direction of the country. Yes, that has been polluted by the increased corporate control over society in general and our politics specifically. But running off into the forest isn't going to help anyone except yourself. You may not be able to live your idyllic pastoral fantasies in the rat-race, but you’re never going to change anything with your head in the sand.
Progressive democracy’s central tenet is the importance of collective action. I remember a month or so ago on the Rachel Maddow show, Congressman Barney Frank defined democratic government as what happens when people come together to do something we cannot do on our own. I would expand on that to say that the definition of democratic society not just government. And the important word there is “we.” We, as a peoples, come together. We are not subjects, obligated to do something. We are not slaves, ordered to do something. We are citizens, each individually choosing to behave collectively. That is the purpose of democracy. And there is no greater place where collective action can be actualized than in a modern democratic city. Fleeing our cities is nothing short of handing over the natural centers of progressivism to the corporatists.
We’ve seen, in 2011, citizens from cities all over the world rise in collective, progressive action. The global economic meltdown has created a crack in the corporatist’s armor. Their “new normal” has been deemed unacceptable, and about time too. This seemingly pacified masses declared that enough is enough. This movement began to be nationalized-or should that be internationalized-in New York. That is no coincidence. Forget Iraq or Afghanistan, it is on the streets of New York that we, as Americans and citizens of a global world, fight for our freedom. This is the front line. If New York’s progressive spirit is stamped out by corporatism then the malaise of plutocratic capitalism will have this nation in a stranglehold.
The next few years will be incredibly shaping for our country, and even more so for the city of New York. This recession could easily be a death knell for local control, collective action, and progressivism. The corporatist would like nothing more than to use the economic downturn push government “austerity”, to crush any attempt at collective action, to replace locally owned businesses with their cookie-cutter Pottervilles.
But it does not have to be that way. We have a chance to reinvigorate our democracy. To preach the gospel of personal responsibility and collective action. We must stand with our brothers and sisters in Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan. We must stand with our brothers and sisters in Cairo, Moscow, and London. In the words of Slavoj Zizek “we may not identify with the specifics of their individual lives, But we identify with their struggle.” This is our world, and we, the citizens of that world, must be ready to claim it.
And we make our stand in the cities, most of all here in New York. The old “if you can make it here you can make it anywhere” may not be true in general politically. But it is certainly true that without New York, is extremely unlikely that progressivism will spread in America. Once again, sorry Therovian liberals, nobody cares if you can make a “fully functioning” collective action commune out in the hinterlands if all the population centers have gone in an entirely different direction. Progressivism is not a philosophy for the few who have the time, money, and inclination to opt out, it is for us all. It must be here in New York, in the cities, that we make our stand. And it must begin now. We do not decide the time we live in and we have the same choice that all creatures must face, to fight or to flee. If your progressivism goes beyond the confines of your personal day-to-day choices there’s nothing else you can do but fight. And that’s why I love New York, because it’s all happening right here. And there’s some delicious food
Yes and yes.
ReplyDeleteMuch of the left needs to stop getting scared and running away (either psychologically or literally) from the hard work, from the fight. Those that are present, engaged, and, frankly, ferocious? Those are the ones who are going to make things happen. We need to make sure the people wanting zygotes and corporations to be people aren't the ones who end up the loudest.
Also, as much as I've fought many a New Yorker on NYC-primacy, and will continue to, in this case I do agree. New York can start things (example, Occupy) in ways that San Francisco (for example) cannot as much anymore. The Bay Area was THE center for the Free Speech Movement, but that's ultimately boxed us in since then—no matter what any of us try to explain, California has been mostly relegated to "liberal hippie nonsense" when progressive action happens here. Nevermind the fervent conservatives, the shift the tech boom brought politically, and the ongoing prop 8 debacle. But I digress.
The point is, New York has the benefit of being our country's ultimate example of the melting pot. Because no "side" completely lays claim to the city, what happens there cannot be dismissed nearly as easily. Which is not to say that all cities should simply look to New York—we all need to act. And, going back to the SF example, SF/Berkeley/Oakland do a lot of great things that slowly trickle to the rest of the nation. But for anything to really spread through the whole country, or world, especially quickly, there's no denying the singular role NYC plays.
Right. Obviously I'm not saying that everything going on outside of New York has no worth. Everyone can play their part in a Progressive social movement, and other cities are incredibly important. But one of the reasons New York is so important is because here, the corporatists really care. It may worry them that corporations can't be people in Montana, or that free speech and transparency are considered good things in California, but New York is supposed to their home turf, an American example of a multinational corporatist future. They believe that in New York, at least in the words of Kathryn Wylde, a sitting member of New York's Federal Reserve 'our main street is Wall Street.' New York is the capital of corporate America, arguably the capital of the corporatist world.The system they're trying to set up can exist with (though it can and will certainly be threatened by) dissension from isolated areas around the country. It cannot exist without New York.
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