Biden and the establishment’s individualization of blame

Well, it is elementary. By doing it, by individualizing the guilt, they are avoiding the basic issue of the systemic imperialism. It is not Biden’s fault, nor it is even Bush’s and Cheney’s. It is the system build consciously and persistently since 1945. Ever since the beginning of Cold War, there was only one issue that drove US foreign policy: attack, expend, malign, regime change and destroy. Just to prevent any country from moving into XXI century and embracing more progressive, socially driven policies. All under the pretext of fighting Russians.

 

Right after WWII, a lot of things began to change. CIA, State Dept., culture shifts, relentless propaganda. Russia embraces collectivism and mass movements, we’ll focus on individualism. Russia discusses social issues, we’ll focus on individual fixations. Russia wants Cuba, we’ll grab Guatemala, Russia supports Che, we’ll support Contras. Russia wants trains and buses, we’ll build automobiles.

 

Great German sociologist, Norbert Elias, insisted on the finding and maintaining the proper I-We balance. It just can’t be one or another. Like in everything else, there should be balance. But that wasn’t meant to be. All sorts of dimwits came out of the woodwork and began to promote everything related to self. Ayn Rand preaches her nonsense, Crazy Maggie declares that there is no such thing as society. Adam Curtis’ Century of the Self actually narrates this transformation, but in his usual incoherent and haphazard way.

 

What is being offered instead of anything social and collective? Individual, Freud-driven fixations on Lolitas, and if that’s not politically correct, then Juanitos, or Transgenderitos, or Selfitos, and if that does not work, there is always Climatitos and Vaccinitos.

 

So yes, for twenty years, US tried to turn Afghanistan into a giant Potemkin village of “progress,” which meant corrupt greedy right-wing cops raping and robbing clueless local population, until it rebelled and embraced Taliban. But again, this is not an issue. The issue is how many other past and future Afghanistans are there? How many more times US and their siamese brothers, Brits, will cook another anti-social plot, while the fools in Germany, France and so called New Europe swallow it hook, line, and sinker.

 

I would add one more thing. Imperialism and individualism actually go hand in hand. Imperialism feeds on an individual who is too preoccupied with “their” individual obsessions and fixations to actually notice things. You don’t even need to brainwash anyone, just give them something to get obsessed with. “I did it my way.” What a great song. Except, when was the last time anyone did anything their own way, without following the clues given to them from the Ministry of Individual Obsessions, also known as Mass/Alt Media?

 

So yes, pointing to Biden’s faults is OK. He’s been getting away with his corruption and mean-spiritedness for too long. But these are not his individual faults. They are systemic, and I am grateful to him, as I was grateful to Trump for pointing it all out. But if people want to “individualize” the blame, singling out Trump or Biden, well, that means Ministry of Individual Obsessions is still at work, and still doing its job well.