Raghu: "There simply does not exist any utility function that people can be
thought of as maximizing."
Gee Whiz. Who'da thunk it.
Carrol
> I agree that we should reject the term "false consciousness." Among
> other things, it encourages paternalism toward workers ("we know
> better about what's good for you"). Also, it doesn't fit with Marx's
> mature theory of ideology, as represented by the fetishism of
> commodities: it's not the people are "fooled" and believe in
> "falsities" as much as that they see the world in a partial,
> incomplete way, seeing the trees but not the forest.
My own theory of consciousness is different from this. I believe that
individuals have multiple consciousnesses. It is not so much that
working people do not have "class consciousness. I believe that they
do. It is just that all people also have a variety of other
consciousnesses that may often conflict with "class interests".
For instance, workers people may self-identify as part of a working
class, while also simultaneously identifying as part of a religious
(e.g. Muslim), ethnic (e.g. Russian), racial (e.g. black),
professional (e.g. athlete) or even economic groups (e.g. upper middle
class). Some of these are indeed insidious and false identities (e.g.
racial categories), but others I'd argue are entirely legitimate.
I think it is wrong and also futile to try to abolish or suppress all
other conflicting identities in an effort to create "class
solidarity".
-raghu.
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