Telex from Cuba
by
by
Rachel Kushner (Goodreads Author)
Privilege: A Theory Inspired by Rachel Kushner
Rachel Kushner has done an outstanding job, presenting an informed, intriguing, concise but nuanced explanation for the Cuban Revolution in a highly accomplished work of fiction. Her story, although it references all of these, doesn’t focus on politics, or ideology, or personalities. The dominant theme is privilege and how it manifests itself in its practice and in its demise. And like most good literature, the importance of this theme and the implicit analysis of it goes far beyond the specifics of Cuba and the United Fruit Company’s involvement in the country. Her story speaks for itself; but I would like to pay it a tribute by suggesting a more general interpretation.
Privilege is a form of power that requires a a particular kind of community in which to be exercised. Privilege exists in a world which is defined by explicit social and economic commitments among identifiable individuals. In turn, the privileged community must exist within a larger society which does not share its privileges. Although the privileged community may act benignly, even charitably, toward the rest of its surrounding society, its loyalty is always to itself. Thus, the meaning of privilege only becomes clear when there is a conflict between the interests of the privileged community and society. Community members will always act in the interests of fellow members. This is the operational definition of privilege.
Employees of multinational corporations are members of a privileged community. The degree of privilege enjoyed depends largely upon the importance of the company involved, not to the society in which it operates but rather to the government of that society which acts effectively as a business partner. This relationship between the multinational and the government may be obscured by the complex technical details of regulatory and other legal arrangements, but these are the substance of the contract negotiated between the two parties. And implicit in this contract is the degree of privilege enjoyed by multinational employees.
The existence of privileged corporate communities is universal. They exist in socialist as well as capitalist countries, in social democracies and dictatorships, in religious as well as secular societies. In this sense at least the world is corporate. It is organised and managed by privileged communities which are in more or less continuous negotiation with national governments. For a variety of reasons - continuity of leadership, commercial incentive, the availability of legal and technical skills, the reliability of personal progression, among others - the corporate privileged corporate community has a permanent advantage in all negotiations with government.
The members of the privileged community rarely see themselves as privileged. They may perceive that their role in society is, say, one of increasing commercial efficiency or technological innovation (as in modern America) or of bringing the infrastructure of civilisation to less developed societies (as in the now-defunct British Empire), or one of promoting what is, to them, a manifestly superior culture (as with many current Chinese companies). Regardless of the diversity of self-image adopted by members of the privileged community, however, their common factor is the dedication to the interests of the community, to which they look for approval and reward.
Given its inherent negotiating superiority and internal stability, the only external requirement for the success of the privileged community is the reciprocal stability of the governmental system with which it negotiates. It is the system, not the individuals or the ideological commitments of parties or factions, which is critical. Everything remains negotiable as long as the system remains intact. In this, the interests of the privileged community and the government are exactly coincident. Consequently they will join forces whenever necessary to ensure that the ‘rules of the game’ remain unchanged. This can easily degenerate into overt corruption but need not for the arrangement to work ‘profitably’ for both parties.
This situation involving the interests of the government and the privileged community is both the primary obstacle to radical governmental action, and the primary stimulus to revolutionary upheaval. The American and French Revolutions, the various European civil conflicts of the mid-nineteenth century, indeed the American Civil War, among others are commonplace examples of the phenomenon. When the bond between privileged communities and governments is inadequate to any longer control the rest of society, revolution becomes inevitable. Governmental systems collapse and privileged communities disperse, to be replaced by a new system and a new privileged community. As one literary revolutionary, Kurt Vonnegut, was fond of saying: “And so it goes.”
Rachel Kushner has done an outstanding job, presenting an informed, intriguing, concise but nuanced explanation for the Cuban Revolution in a highly accomplished work of fiction. Her story, although it references all of these, doesn’t focus on politics, or ideology, or personalities. The dominant theme is privilege and how it manifests itself in its practice and in its demise. And like most good literature, the importance of this theme and the implicit analysis of it goes far beyond the specifics of Cuba and the United Fruit Company’s involvement in the country. Her story speaks for itself; but I would like to pay it a tribute by suggesting a more general interpretation.
Privilege is a form of power that requires a a particular kind of community in which to be exercised. Privilege exists in a world which is defined by explicit social and economic commitments among identifiable individuals. In turn, the privileged community must exist within a larger society which does not share its privileges. Although the privileged community may act benignly, even charitably, toward the rest of its surrounding society, its loyalty is always to itself. Thus, the meaning of privilege only becomes clear when there is a conflict between the interests of the privileged community and society. Community members will always act in the interests of fellow members. This is the operational definition of privilege.
Employees of multinational corporations are members of a privileged community. The degree of privilege enjoyed depends largely upon the importance of the company involved, not to the society in which it operates but rather to the government of that society which acts effectively as a business partner. This relationship between the multinational and the government may be obscured by the complex technical details of regulatory and other legal arrangements, but these are the substance of the contract negotiated between the two parties. And implicit in this contract is the degree of privilege enjoyed by multinational employees.
The existence of privileged corporate communities is universal. They exist in socialist as well as capitalist countries, in social democracies and dictatorships, in religious as well as secular societies. In this sense at least the world is corporate. It is organised and managed by privileged communities which are in more or less continuous negotiation with national governments. For a variety of reasons - continuity of leadership, commercial incentive, the availability of legal and technical skills, the reliability of personal progression, among others - the corporate privileged corporate community has a permanent advantage in all negotiations with government.
The members of the privileged community rarely see themselves as privileged. They may perceive that their role in society is, say, one of increasing commercial efficiency or technological innovation (as in modern America) or of bringing the infrastructure of civilisation to less developed societies (as in the now-defunct British Empire), or one of promoting what is, to them, a manifestly superior culture (as with many current Chinese companies). Regardless of the diversity of self-image adopted by members of the privileged community, however, their common factor is the dedication to the interests of the community, to which they look for approval and reward.
Given its inherent negotiating superiority and internal stability, the only external requirement for the success of the privileged community is the reciprocal stability of the governmental system with which it negotiates. It is the system, not the individuals or the ideological commitments of parties or factions, which is critical. Everything remains negotiable as long as the system remains intact. In this, the interests of the privileged community and the government are exactly coincident. Consequently they will join forces whenever necessary to ensure that the ‘rules of the game’ remain unchanged. This can easily degenerate into overt corruption but need not for the arrangement to work ‘profitably’ for both parties.
This situation involving the interests of the government and the privileged community is both the primary obstacle to radical governmental action, and the primary stimulus to revolutionary upheaval. The American and French Revolutions, the various European civil conflicts of the mid-nineteenth century, indeed the American Civil War, among others are commonplace examples of the phenomenon. When the bond between privileged communities and governments is inadequate to any longer control the rest of society, revolution becomes inevitable. Governmental systems collapse and privileged communities disperse, to be replaced by a new system and a new privileged community. As one literary revolutionary, Kurt Vonnegut, was fond of saying: “And so it goes.”
posted by The Mind of BlackOxford @ October 01, 2019
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