Maybe I missed something, but, what are Marxist critics’ motives? From the relative autonomy to false consciousness it seems like the theory is that we’re part of a system that sometimes we can see but usually we can’t, and when we make our choices it’s usually because of societal influences and not true individuality, and individuality doesn’t exist because the closest you can get to that is relative autonomy, which seems equivalent to, if the system is a sea, just getting your eyes above water. Are the critics trying to draw attention to the “system?” The way Parker portrays it, it seems like the system is inescapable. Perhaps it’s because he’s a negative guy, but, you can get your head above water for a moment and see that there are people connected to the things you’re buying and maybe you don’t need that new watch but, in the end the system keeps going. Why spend so much time talking about something that seems inescapable? Are they just trying to track the evolution of the system? Are they trying to change this system? Because I think there will always be a system of some sort. The world is made of systems; society is a system; economics is a system; government is a system. What are we trying to do with Marxist criticism?

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