Marcuse’s rather opaque term Repressive Desublimation can prevent us from engaging with a very important – and relatively straightforward – concept. Let’s call it Marcuse’s Concept X so we don’t get bogged down trying to work out what the words mean. A bit of a preamble here before we get into ecological issues.

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To explore Marcuse’s Concept X we start with tolerance in a society as being a very helpful trait. Marcuse shows us that it is easy to end up with the mere appearance of tolerance of a range of viewpoint; when actually we have emasculation of threatening ideas. The Capitalism of the Western Liberal Democracies is very adept at neutralising protest by turning it into a commodity; which people can then buy and sell; and therefore simply absorb that protest into that very Capitalism the protest is directed against.

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An excellent example of this is the ability to buy on eBay ...

Various Artists : Anti-capitalism: Anarcho-punk Compilation Vol. 4 CD (2006) £9.23

What better way of drawing the teeth of the Anti-Capitalist Anarchist Punks than turning their protest into something that the middle classes can listen to while driving to work in their Audi company car.

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The term 'Anarchist' has long parted company from the work of thinkers like Kropotkin and has now become a marketing tag.

Denzell Outwear Anarchist Leather Jacket Hooded Motorcycle Coat Biker Style Men

US $87.99 (Approximately £69.85)

Material Faux Leather PU

Free Economy International Shipping 

Item location: Shenzhen, China

Here we have a neo liberal economic model of globalisation delivering rebel chic to those who live in Western Liberal Democracies. The oppressive regime of the CCP manufacturers low quality products which facilitate westerners living the delusion of challenging the system: they are outlaw bikers as they wear their Anarchist Leather Jacket. This of course could not be more safe for the globalisation capitalist model. The rebellion is as faux as the ‘leather’ the jacket is made of. This is multi layered delusion: it is NOT a motorcycle jacket in anything but general style. It would give minimal protection from weather or sliding down the road on parting company with the bike: the whole point of wearing leathers (ie cow hide) on a bike. There is nothing Anarchic about wearing such a jacket; it is totally mainstream and respectable.

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Let’s now explore this in the context of ecological thinking. Much of the concern to include sound ecological practices into extracting raw materials, manufacture and food production is a profound challenge to some of the foundational principles on which the current western globalised economic system works. So how is that to be countered?

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There is clearly a strong tendency towards veganism from the ecologically concerned. This is potentially profoundly threatening to industrial meat production. However it can simply be absorbed into the multinational fast food industry by producing a vegan range and selling that as a green option. Subway offering a vegan option is an obvious example.

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It does not take much thought to identify this as essentially virtue signalling. However far too much of ‘the green movement’, particularly in its Extinction Rebellion, Climate Strike, manifestations among young people is far more about virtue signalling than well thought through policies aimed at sustainable extracting raw materials, manufacture and food production.

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Serious engagement with this issue would almost certainly identify that the concerned young person could generate an eco footprint a fraction of that of a Subway Vegan option if they made their own sandwiches at home from bread baked themselves, using eggs, or even chicken, from a local free range organic farm. The latter option of course is infinitely less use to the multinationals than the former. The challenge from genuinely and carefully thinking through a detachment from factory farming expressed in terms of veganism is effortlessly absorbed into the globalised economy with any impact at all on their economic model.

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It is instructive to put ‘Extinction Rebellion’ into eBay and identify the sheer quantity of merchandise riding on the current fashion statement / virtue signalling of young people ‘showing concern for the environment’. It would be interesting to identify the ‘green’ credentials of all these products. It would not be even remotely surprising to me if it was identified that some of this was manufactured in sweat shops in LEDCs.

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Two favourites picked out here are the XR plastic key ring – shown alongside other options available from the supplier which clearly shows no ideological compatibility with XR, simply a desire to cash in on a current trend – and the VW double exhaust pipe with an XR sticker over it.

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Marcuse’s analysis is spot on. Superficially it looks as if we have freedom of speech in a tolerant society allowing challenge to the system. The reality could be somewhat different: absorbing that challenge and transforming it into a money making aspect of the Neo-liberal globalised economic system XR is supposed to be challenging.