Orientalism Revisited

Rakesh Bhandari bhandari at phoenix.Princeton.EDU
Tue Jan 25 14:30:40 PST 2000



> Marx anticipates Freud in the theme of the deformation of humankind's
character by Western civilization.
> > yours, rakesh


>I am not sure if there is such a theme in Freud ( or in Marx for that
>matter).
>
>Ulhas

Of course Marx and Freud develop different interpretations of this deformation. But I remember Freud's Civilization and Discontent as clearly as well I remember Rawls' Theory of Justice.

At any rate, Ulhas, is such an interpretation of F's Civ and Discontents implausible (the limitation of sexual desire, the modification of thanatos in order to carry out productive labor, though creating civilization, tends to provoke our discontent, so argued Freud, says the cliffnotes, no?--obviously a very different idea from Marx's)

If not for the reasons Krader states, what then do you make of Marx's study of the ethnological notebooks as well as Engels' summary of that research in Origin of Family, Patriarchy, and the State?

I gave some of Krader's reasons for his interpretation. Did you disagree with anything in particular? Interested to know about the reasons for your appreciated skepticism.

yrs, rakesh



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