>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
miles, you're looking silly!