There is a set of words—gentrification, hipster, neoliberalism, capitalism—that feel surprisingly difficult to use in most contexts now, provoking a variety of unpleasant responses, ranging from annoyance to outright dismissal of whatever statement encompasses the word. There are valid reasons for this: The terms in question tend to be heavily overused, creating the perception that they’re meaningless even when their original meaning is fairly definite and a source of their popularity. Another reason is that the words are being used pejoratively by someone who is part of what they’re criticizing—the contradiction expressed by the
#182: New Noise
#182: New Noise
#182: New Noise
There is a set of words—gentrification, hipster, neoliberalism, capitalism—that feel surprisingly difficult to use in most contexts now, provoking a variety of unpleasant responses, ranging from annoyance to outright dismissal of whatever statement encompasses the word. There are valid reasons for this: The terms in question tend to be heavily overused, creating the perception that they’re meaningless even when their original meaning is fairly definite and a source of their popularity. Another reason is that the words are being used pejoratively by someone who is part of what they’re criticizing—the contradiction expressed by the