Overcoming the Negative Dialectics of Hedonism.
Yesterday, exactly 40 years ago, on the 13th of July 1985, the Live Aid Concerts took place in two locations: The Wembley Stadium in London and the John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. It was organized by Bob Geldof (Boomtown Rats) and Midge Ure (Ultravox) to raise funds for one of the famines in Ethiopia. It featured over 75 artists and groups and was one of the largest ever global satellite broadcasts with 1.9 billion viewers in over 150 countries.
An interesting side note is that Black Sabbath reunited and played three songs in Philadelphia in the same setting that performed its last concert in Birmingham last week, where the poor victimized David Draiman was booed when entering the stage, for signing an Israeli bomb and posting it on line as some kind of important statement in support of Israel (in full knowledge that it was used in a genocide). For quite a few artists, famously including Queen, this was a golden opportunity to return to the spot light and revitalize their career.
I was 19 at the time and did recall the euphoria that was shared across the world. Never had a starvation party been so enjoyable. Finally, the culture industry – music and television – could show all those cynical, cultural Marxists, who still believed that negative dialectics made all hope futile, that popular music –when broadcast – can actually change the world. Being 19 years old is perhaps a reasonable excuse for being a cynical asshole. I was least impressed by Phil Collins using Concorde and a helicopter to play at both venues, as some kind of stunt. A reasonable estimate of this gimmick would be that it had cost about 8000 USD, which would have fed over 53000 Ethiopians on that day.
In 1992, in the run up to the UK General Elections, Phil Collins publicly stated that if the Labour Party would win – which the conservative media associated with higher taxes – then he would consider leaving the country. Fortunately for Phil, the Conservative Party, led by the then Prime Minister John Major, won and so he could stay (he left for Switzerland in 1994 anyway). Phil Collins is indeed not a particularly fine role model when one looks at artists undoing negative dialectics.
The long term effects of Live Aid on the situation in Ethiopia were negligible, but the effects on how artists could pitch themselves as change agents was revitalized and rescued from the lingering stench of weed and STDs of Flower-Power. I personally welcome this. Popular – and less popular – artists can use their stages and platforms to direct attention to symptoms of negative dialectics: injustice, hypocrisy, war crimes, extortion, suffering, violations of human rights and of course genocide. They can also generate enthusiasm and even money for charity. And yes, whereas donations for charity can be seen as an indulgence or abnegation of responsibility – it is certainly infinitely better than paying to listen to Disturbed or Phil Collins.
How ironic then, that during the 2025 Glastonbury Festival, the most talked about performances were those of Kneecap and Bob Vylan, who used their stages to strongly denounce the genocide in Palestine and named their perpetrators and accomplices. Using their disproportionately large exposure in public media, leading politicians, journalists and “pundits” were all up in arms over the public condemnations of the State of Israel’s engagement in war crimes and acts of genocide. Planned appearances of Bob Vylan at other festivals were subsequently cancelled, leading to the withdrawal of other bands in solidarity with Bob Vylan. The icing on the cake for them is surely that their searches and hits on Spotify and other music platforms have exponentially increased.
This seems to be a common feature of trying to stifle opposition to the Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing in Palestine. The more speaking about it is criminalized and outlawed, the more people start to smell a rat. Unlike most of our leading politicians and media, most common people are not cowards. The good sense of common sense is that when you are told to “move on, as there is nothing to see here”, you tend to think that there is something to see. And once you have looked, it cannot be unseen.
The effect of the demonization of anti-Zionism is the proliferation of anti-Zionism. Netanyahu’s threat to go after anti-Zionist messaging – which he claims is being well-funded although he does not say by whom – will produce the opposite effect. Israel may have pulverized Gaza, it has exposed itself in the process as a rogue state, an enemy of international law, an enemy of human rights, an enemy of truth, an enemy of peace, an enemy of freedom, an enemy of justice, an enemy of democracy. Under the banner of Zionism, the state of Israel has internalized a lot of traits that resonate with depictions of anti-Semitism. However, just by murdering babies by starving them of food, medicine and care and justifying this by saying “in Gaza no one is innocent”, for example, you are not going to generate a lot of sympathy.
Just as targeting and murdering journalists in Gaza has not prevented the recordings of massacres, war crimes, crimes against humanity and the disgusting ugliness of racism, so does any attempt to criminalize opposition to the genocide and support for the people of Palestine, increase popular indignation. By sacrificing their dignity in fear of losing their privileges, western politicians are seduced, bribed or extorted to defend the indefensible. The levels of cowardice vis-à-vis Trump and Netanyahu are sickening testimonies to the apocalyptic implosion of “western” institutionalized political culture.
Hence, it makes sense to welcome artists taking the stage and reminding us of things that actually matter rather than the blinding distractions of commerce and hedonism. It makes us stronger, more determined to keep our dignity, to resist corruption and demand justice for all. The bravery of Kneecap stands in the sharpest possible contrast to the cowardice of the BBC and the British Labour Party. Those now being arrested for supporting Palestine Action have not sacrificed their souls, they have chosen to speak up for truth, justice and universal human rights, which include the right of expressing opposition to genocide. Unlike Keir Starmer’s Labour Party – or the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) – they are not hiding behind closed doors in secret meetings with wealthy investors (such as the Boston Consulting Group) to plan a future for a land without people (Gaza) to become a tourist paradise (the so called Great Trust proposal).
With the help of sleazy political figures such as Trump, Starmer, Merz, Macron and Blair, the rich will continue to rob us blind. After all, Genocide is profitable big business. Let us therefore celebrate the fact that we still have our dignity, our souls, and some clarity about the difference between right and wrong, as well as the courage to speak up for that. I cannot think of anything more impoverished than losing your soul for a bit more money. It may not be enough to stop the apocalyptic collapse of the modern world order, but it will put us in a better position to rebuild a better world afterwards. We can start already, right here, right now, by speaking up and listening to Kneecap.
Disaffected Sociology 
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