A vibe, Aristotle might say, is said in many ways; Becca Rothfeld, in her self-described “rant” against the term “vibeshift,” mentions a few. It can refer to a style or disposition, the way someone cuts through the air or the atmosphere of a street, square, or room. “The vibe is off,” we might say of a person or place, and make our exit; anybody listening would know what we mean. This is “vibe” in an aesthetic sense; the more interesting uses of the term, however, are political. One sense refers to the arrangement of elite priority, the goals aimed at by powerful institutions and people and the way they are articulated publicly.
Read Full Article »
