Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization

Came across this article on adbusters this morning, expressing the authors disdain for a subculture he dubs the "Hipsters". I could not help but think while reading it, and here are my points. First, there is this segment:

Ever since the Allies bombed the Axis into submission, Western civilization has had a succession of counter-culture movements that have energetically challenged the status quo. Each successive decade of the post-war era has seen it smash social standards, riot and fight to revolutionize every aspect of music, art, government and civil society.

But after punk was plasticized and hip hop lost its impetus for social change, all of the formerly dominant streams of “counter-culture” have merged together. Now, one mutating, trans-Atlantic melting pot of styles, tastes and behavior has come to define the generally indefinable idea of the “Hipster.”

Oh come on, as if any subculture has ever been worth embracing. All subcultures have been dead on arrival, and "Hipsters" are no exception. These groups have always grown out of desperate attempts of young people to feel individual, yet be accepted (so a common ground needs to be found), and this will never change, for young people have no history and no experience which they can rely on, and they have a greater thirst for novelty and progress, in whatever shape.

Any revolution in music, art, government and civil rights has been the effort of individuals growing out of these cliques. You are not doing much when you are simply trying to fit in. You need experience and a stable self-identity to advance a culture, and your message must appeal to the majority of the population to be accepted. Need proof? Answer me this then: what kind of subculture has just elected Obama to office?

The American Apparel V-neck shirt, Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and Parliament cigarettes are symbols and icons of working or revolutionary classes that have been appropriated by hipsterdom and drained of meaning. Ten years ago, a man wearing a plain V-neck tee and drinking a Pabst would never be accused of being a trend-follower. But in 2008, such things have become shameless clichés of a class of individuals that seek to escape their own wealth and privilege by immersing themselves in the aesthetic of the working class.

Dear Douglas, what is your problem with wealthy young people wearing working class clothes (besides that's not the first time, look at jeans and cargo pants)? We have always frowned at the upper class trying to distinguish itself by luxurious language, clothing and habits, and now that they flirt with the frugal, you are not feeling well about it either? What do you want, Douglas?

And what kind of meaning did "icons of working classes" have? Is "I have no money to buy expensive clothes and cigarettes" a better message for the people?

Now, I am not defending Hipsters in particular, I am defending all subcultures. I have never quite fit into one of these groups (oh and how I tried!), but I understand their function. I doubt the power of these groups to bring real change, but I believe that their existence is important for a peaceful secular society.