A student of mine liked to repeat a slogan about capitalism. I kept wanting to ask why they had chosen to come live and study in the most capitalist of all nations, after being born in a formerly socialist nation and going to with her family to another advanced capitalist place. The answer would be, I'm sure, that capitalism made them do it.
It seems like a cheap gotcha, and I would never do that to a student.
It probably did cause it but that doesn't mean the student stands outside it, or that it's an interesting or original comment.
ReplyDeleteI have been considering something related, about a certain kind of Latin Americanist from Lat Am. They come to US saying I am going to go make a career in the capitalist country, therefore it is no longer my job to have a conscience outside what I may claim to have in anything I might write.
They're very different from me, who do think I have civic responsibilities at the very least, and "leftist" though they may feel, they are effectively Republicans.
They are essentially Republicans. I have known them too.
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