fighting ideology

[Doug Henwood]

In his New York Press column this week, Chris Caldwell quotes "French art
scholar and political scientist Alain Besancon," in his book Le Malheur Du
Siecle, as saying:

"In battling ideological regimes, the main thing is to refuse - without
discussion - the description of reality that it proposes. You have to stick
to this line until the bitter end. Once you put your finger into the
gearworks and grant that their description has an 'element of
truth'...you're lost, and your political will can only respond with a
falsified intelligence.... In ideology, the 'element of truth' that
provides the seductive power is precisely the place of falsification - and
the biggest falsehood of all."

Doug