The Nihilist Party: Republicans Who Believe in Nothing
by Richard (RJ) Eskow
10/17/11
Some people's only exposure to nihilism comes from the German gang in The Big Lebowski who said things like "We are nihilists, we believe in nothing" and "Tell us where the girl is or we cut off your johnson, Lebowski." Or the nihilist humor of comedian Brother Theodore, who liked to say things like "I looked at the void, the void looked back -- and neither of us liked what we saw."
That's exactly how I feel when I watch the Republican Presidential debates.
The void that looks out through their eyes is the absence of any underlying principle, ideology, or ideas, especially on economic issues. It's not that their beliefs are different than yours or mine. It's that, as now seems clear, they don't actually believe in anything -- anything, that is, except greater power for themselves and greater wealth for their financial backers.
Nothing in nihilism's long intellectual history has prepared the world for its latest incarnation as the 21st century Republican party, or in its ultimate flowering in the likes of Mitt Romney and Herman Cain...
For the full article, go to:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rj-eskow/the-nihilist-party-republ_b_1014762.html
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