----- Original Message ----- From: "Wojtek Sokolowski" <sokol at jhu.edu>
Eubulides:
> deconstruction of the terminology of free markets that always asks *are
Anything that starts with that dreadful d- word is a flop, DOA. You need a positive message that affirms humanity with all it experiences, including economic affairs, but also artistic and spiritual pursuits. Fighting with the demons erected by your enemies only will make you look like a demon. The d-word as well as other forms of pomo-babble should be permanently banned from the left political discourse.
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Oh no no no no no. From the Ricardian Socialists through KM and even the Keynesians utter skepticism regarding the very vocabulary of free markets is necessary. The problem is people are suckers for the word free. I'm not suggesting Derridean rhetorical strategies, just a continuation of debunking CEO's who spout free market drivel while sucking at the trough of the nanny state ripping the rest of us off a la Enron and Tyco and.......insert your favorite corporation here ad nauseum until people think systemically; getting beyond the corporate welfare terminology will be necessary, but we need to get a handle on the word *free* for our own purposes. I'm all for being positive on that score precisely because there are lots of workers in the US who see through free market baloney as a system of damn near feudal privileges for the rich.