Black nihilism PDF

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notes on cornell wests view of black nihilism and the african american structure...

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April 21st: Cornel West, Nihilism in Black America

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In his work, West relates existentialist notions of meaningless and hopelessness to the lived experience of oppressed peoples, including African Americans. Examining yourself and thinking critically takes courage To philosophize is to learn how to die Making sense of meaninglessness is an achievement

2 camps that are divided about social issues and the plight of african americans 1.

Liberal structuralists a. Focus on “the structural constraints on the life chances of black people,” especially laws and government policies. b. E.g., slavery and Jim Crow laws, job and residential discrimination, inadequate health care, and poor education. c. Call for full employment, health, education, and child-care programs, and broad affirmative action practices.

Conservative behaviorists ●

Stress the behavioral impediments on black upward mobility. They focus on the waning of the Protestant ethic—hard work, deferred gratification, frugality, and responsibility— in much of black America.”

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Call for self-help programs, black business expansion, and non-preferential job practices.

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Call for a “cultural revival of the Protestant ethic in black America.”

First objection by west to these approaches -

Structures and behaviors are inseparable Although social practices don't dictate behavior, they have a causal contribution We cannot change behavior without changing structures

Second objection -Culture is structure: like the economic and political spheres, culture it is rooted in institutions: e.g., families, schools, churches, synagogues, mosques, and communication industries (television, radio, video, music). Liberal structuralists tend to focus on laws and government policies; their notion of structure is too narrow. Third objection -Both sides of the debate miss an important part of the reality they are trying to describe and explain: namely, the “psychological depression, personal worthlessness, and social despair so widespread in black America.”

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“To talk about the depressing statistics of unemployment, infant mortality, incarceration, teenage pregnancy, and violent crime is one thing. But to face up to the monumental eclipse of hope, the unprecedented collapse of meaning, the incredible disregard for human (especially black) life and property in much of black America is something else.”

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Liberal structuralists focus on economic and political factors, but people also need “identity, meaning, and self-worth.” Behaviorists contribute to despair in black America: “They tell black people to see themselves as agents, not victims. And on the surface, this is comforting advice.” But they “deny the lingering effect of black history—a history inseparable from though not reducible to victimization. In this way, crucial and indispensable themes of self-help and personal responsibility are wrenched out of historical context and contemporary circumstances—as if it is all a matter of personal will.”

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Black Nihilism ● ●

Nihilism = “the lived experience of coping with a life of horrifying meaninglessness, hopelessness, and (most important) lovelessness.” “The frightening result is a numbing detachment from others and a self-destructive disposition toward the world. Life without meaning, hope, and love breeds a coldhearted, mean-spirited outlook that destroys both the individual and others."

Market mortality ● ● ●

Why is black nihilism so prevalent today? West maintains that the influence of “market morality” is one significant cause of contemporary black nihilism. Market morality = An approach to life that involves calculations and cost-benefit analyses that aim at pleasure.

Nonmarket values ● ●

“Like all Americans, African Americans are influenced greatly by the images of comfort, convenience, machismo, femininity, violence, and sexual stimulation that bombard consumers.” “These seductive images contribute to the predominance of the market inspired way of life over all others and thereby edge out nonmarket values—love, care, service to others— handed down by preceding generations.”

Consumer vs. citizen ● ● ●

Market morality also promotes the idea that we are consumers, rather than citizens. This prevents us from formulating a shared vision of a future that is tied to the common good. "There can be no democracy when nihilism rules”: Watch it h ere.

Black angst ● ●

Black Angst = a sense of worthlessness and self-loathing in black America “Black existential angst derives from the lived experience of ontological wounds and emotional scars inflicted by white supremacist beliefs and images permeating U.S. society and culture. These beliefs and images attack black intelligence, black ability, black beauty, and black character daily in subtle and not-so-subtle ways.”

Summmary of wests argument

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West maintains that “market morality” is an important cause of contemporary black nihilism:

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Its pervasive influence diminishes the role of non-market values - love, care and service to others - in our lives. This is bad for everyone, but is especially bad for African Americans at the bottom of the social ladder. In addition, market morality promotes the view that we are pleasure-driven consumers, not citizens; this undermines democracy. This is bad for everyone, but is especially bad for African Americans in that it prevents them from envisioning a more meaningful future that could be attained via social and political change. Finally, the media produced by market morality present images that, in effect, “attack black intelligence, black ability, black beauty, and black character.”

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Wests solution to black nihilism ● ● ●

Politics of conversion = a kind of politics that enables people to believe that there is hope for the future and a meaning to struggle. A love ethic must be at the center of a politics of conversion. A love ethic has nothing to do with sentimental feelings or tribal connections. Rather it about generating a sense of agency among a downtrodden people.

Politics of conversion ● ●

The politics of conversion proceeds principally on the local level—in those institutions in civil society still vital enough to promote self-worth and self-affirmation. It proceeds on the state and national levels only through collective leadership that exemplifies “moral integrity, character, and democratic statesmanship within itself and within its organizations.”

Vs. liberal structuralism

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“Like liberal structuralists, the advocates of a politics of conversion never lose sight of the structural conditions that shape the sufferings and lives of people. Yet, unlike liberal structuralism, the politics of conversion meets the nihilistic threat head-on.”

Vs. conservative behaviorism ●

“Like conservative behaviorism, the politics of conversion openly confronts the self-destructive and inhumane actions of black people. Unlike conservative behaviorists, the politics of conversion situates these actions within inhumane circumstances – both economical and political deprivation and the hopelessness and lovelessness of social despair (but does not thereby exonerate them).”...