Don't be civil to capitalists!

Philosopher Andrew Levine (emeritus, Wisconsin) comments:

Nowaday...all we hear about, in liberal circles especially, is civility. It is a virtue not much practiced, but extravagantly praised.

The idea that civility should be maintained at all times – in politics especially — is a conceit of recent vintage. Perhaps, in a different possible world, some good could come of it. In the actual world, it is more likely to be disabling than constructive.

A wiser principle would be to accord civility only where civility is due — to persons and opinions that, right or wrong, really do merit respect.

This standard would rule out capitalist predators.

But class hatred is hard to maintain towards a few very conspicuous late model capitalists: the kind behind iPhones and Google searches and social media. They seem too hip to hate...

Yes, they are the modern day counterparts of the tycoons workers used to hate, but who can hate tycoons who provide consumers with harmless, well-designed and eminently useful deli.ghts; and who offer user-friendly services that nearly everyone these days finds indispensable.

Could it be that they are the vanguard of a friendlier, hipper – nicer – capitalism? It appears so.

But appearances are deceiving.

(Thanks to John Rapko for the pointer.)