The progressive complaint against reaction is its impertinence. In presenting yesterday's "outmoded" thinking as consisting in permanent values, it fails the fashion test, having the temerity not to know it is vanquished, like spats, or collar bars.
Ultimately, progressivism is a disordered aesthetic that assigns merit based on three criteria: 1) currency 2) purity of its hatred for unapproved forms, and 3) transgression of traditional canons.
In practical terms, it amounts to a celebration -no, an imposition- of ugliness across the spectrum of human activity. If beauty is what succors the human within us, then ugliness is whatever creates a hospitable environment for that which is post-human, or infra-human.
Ultimately, progressivism is a disordered aesthetic that assigns merit based on three criteria: 1) currency 2) purity of its hatred for unapproved forms, and 3) transgression of traditional canons.
In practical terms, it amounts to a celebration -no, an imposition- of ugliness across the spectrum of human activity. If beauty is what succors the human within us, then ugliness is whatever creates a hospitable environment for that which is post-human, or infra-human.
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