I understand The Nation magazine pretty well. Or so I thought. The Marxist critique of consumerism, capitalism, privilege, income inequality, and the American Dream is fairly straight-forward and internally coherent. What I don’t understand is The Nation‘s newest means to promote this ideology: a Caribbean cruise.
Right there in the July 13 issue of the New York Review of Books there’s a full-page ad for the weeklong cruise, where one can enjoy seminars and Q&A with the likes of Molly Ivins, Victor Navasky, Scott Ritter, Joe Wilson, Katha Pollitt, and Jim Hightower.
Of the ocean liner, The Nation‘s website proclaims: “She offers more staterooms with private verandas, more dining choices, and more ways to relax and rejuvenate in the Greenhouse Spa and Salon, the largest and most luxurious spa in our fleet.”
What of the migrant workers and indigenous Third World peoples who can’t afford this kind of luxury? I’m sure The Nation will provide a free cruise for them, all in the interest of justice, fairness, and progress.
