Ethical foundations of the left

Miles Jackson cqmv at pdx.edu
Tue Jul 31 11:51:54 PDT 2001


On Mon, 30 Jul 2001, Kenneth MacKendrick wrote:


> Derrida and Foucault are just fooling around. Habermas doesn't like it and
> thinks it conservative, but his real worry is a return to slaughter,
> anti-humanism, and destruction. He sees kernels of this in each and every
> vindication of irrational thought, and he defends a theory of rationality -
> which if even the smallest pinprick were to be taken seriously - would make
> the devastation which has become common, unthinkable.

In fact, the implementation of "rationality" in actual human life, like religious beliefs, has led to a great deal of misery in human history. Every modern nation-state requires a regime of rational, calculated bureaucratic procedures; every multinational corporation is in fact a paradigm of action based on rational calculation. To say that the problems we face in the world today--massive maldistribution of resources, exploitation of labor, environmental abuse--can be resolved by creating a universal "theory of rationality" seems hopeful at best. I would argue, contra JH, that it is the universalization of rationality in everyday life settings--work, school, prison, govt-- that is a crucial component of the various forms of inequality and domination we see in the world today.

Miles



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