Daily Times

“A brazen face” says Oscar Wilde “is a capital thing to show to the world” when one lacks motives, an intellectual aim, and what is left is merely an appetite. After dismally failing to provide any relief to the suffering majority, the American ruling class has resorted to various distractions. The abuse of words and debasement of sexuality are a few of those. On one hand, Donald Trump, a septuagenarian, is up to grab female genitals, and on the other, he is sadistically exploiting the misery of women. The most worth mentioning is a woman molested by a pedophile in her childhood, desecrated yet again this time by Hillary Clinton. The latter alleged the victim of craving for adultery with an aged man.

The campaign of groping and sexually assaulting women against Trump is equally rife. Apparently, from a Miss Universe to a journalist, no one has been spared his gaze. The record of Bill Clinton, seemingly the most probable ‘first husband’, too is neither unblemished nor enviable in this regard. However, what makes this obscenity of language as the favourite theme of the future American presidents? Why has the apparent ‘objective neutrality’ of theoretical and descriptive idioms given in to naked linguistic prurience?

The obscene language was thought to be the chief weapon in the verbal arsenal of radicals. As Marcuse suggests it “was a repressive desublimation: facile [though vicarious] gratification of aggressiveness, which could easily be turned against the sexuality itself… The verbalisation of the genital and anal sphere is a debasement of sexuality.” However, for the non-conformist this dejection, a verbalisation of taboos, was a cathartic manifestation of his helplessness against the system. What is happening here is diagonally opposite to the past. To harmonise the mass culture with them, the symbols of the system have embraced this trash. Do they feel that further disguise is unnecessary or the bourgeois morality put to the trail had always been so corrupt?

Under the laws of capitalism, all morality gravitates to a single passion or lack of it: to the commodity form. Not the truth-value but the exchange value alone matters. Like it is purged language, devoid of real meanings; it is a purged morality that demands mere subjection. No wonder why Adorno considers “all morality” as “modelled immorality.” For Marcuse “this morality is actually the preservation or reinforcement of the bourgeois status quo… the residue of bourgeois domination.” Nietzsche finds it so heinous and loathsome that he advises its extermination as its only solution. He unequivocally states that the established “morality must be shot at. It has been sick for a long time,” and hence “death alone is the physician.”

Can we call this morality a culture of occult violence? The most unbiased opinion will probably not be dismissive of an affirmative answer. Not only sexuality but human beings as a species too have fallen a victim to this stylised barbarity. If Trump rejoices in racism, misogyny and religious bigotry, Clinton loves to invade, crush and kill all those who question the bourgeois authority. She abides by Nietzsche neither in “perpetrating cowardice against” her mission nor “leaving it in lurch afterwards,” while “the bite of conscience is indecent” to her class character.

The American society has for long entered into a stage where capitalism has ended up transforming itself into a monopoly form, more monstrous, more organised, yet berserk and brazen in its outlook. At this stage, not only the execution of the social function ends up in the hands of the bourgeoisie but its ideals — liberty, equality and fraternity — too give way to overt fascism. Under the thin veneer of democracy, the real face of totalitarianism becomes evident.

The hapless and equally helpless majority finds itself powerless to bring any meaningful change in the system that seeks refuge in self-preservation. Not a mere escape from the bitter reality but giving up any hope of putting up resistance against this reality is doubly assured. Horkheimer put it delectably: “It’s not the bell on the top of the fool’s cap that jingles but bunch of keys of capitalistic reason, which in its images harness joy to the purpose of getting ahead”.

The so-called intelligentsia or those belonging to the privilege class are the ones who believing that their vote still makes a difference go to the polls. Whereas these 30 percent who out of habit or deception elect the next ruler, and give a certain degree of legitimacy to the election are projected and glorified as the soulful citizens. The silent majority, which registers its protest by walking away from this farce, is not even mentioned. For Fukuyama, this protest or boycott is nothing beyond an expression of one’s free will, which one is equally entitled not to use. Holding this logic from its scruff, can one say that if a two-third majority refuses to participate in this sham, why impose this farce upon people after every four years? When the policies and even the personalities of the candidates have absolute similarities and not much differentiates them, save their clothes, why not just select one through the spin of a coin?

Ever since the arrival of George W Bush as the president, the US has overtly fallen in the lap of fascism. The slogan of “with us or against us” sounds no different from Hitler’s jive of blood and state. The inherent anarchy in capitalism and recession in economy were the common factors, which brought two of these into fore. Both found wars as a sole solution to their respective crisis. To counter the specter of socialism haunting the German shores, the Fuehrer, the most unpopular man, found the neck of the Jewry befitting for gallows as he raised the slogan of “guns before butter” and took the nation to war, while Bush, the equally unpopular president, kept the scalp of Muslims on the altar of his designs and decapitated their religion, honour and dignity. He exported wars to Iraq and Afghanistan, while his successors have taken it a long way all through the Middle East into North Africa and Ukraine.

Treading on his footsteps both Barack Obama and the next president of the US, most probably Clinton, will continue to expand this fire even beyond Syria, probably yet again to Libya and Iran. Despite this, capitalism refuses to respond to any cure. Stieglitz is confused since the cat has refused to climb down the tree. The sexual favour offered by Madonna to Clinton’s voters would not help either. In this state of utter confusion, debasing of sexuality is hunted down as a prey to deviate the attention. This debasing does not sublimate the most fascinating act; it represses it. Suppression of Eros would simply mean suppression of human liberation since erotic moments are the only moments that provide human beings the opportunity to truly avail their inner freedom. In the stifling era of external compulsion, the deprivation of this inner freedom will end up shackling the humanity completely. In this sullen hour, the possibility of a revolt is likely to become a probability. The bells may have started tolling for this system. Is the world- proletariat listening?

The writer is based in Australia and has authored books on socialism and history. He can be reached at saulatnagi@hotmail.com