>Doug's critique is weak because he chose the wrong metaphor. "Mush"
>won't hold up. The cliche he wants is "blank check," i.e. a term which
>is empty until used in a specfic or specifiable context with defined
>application.
I'll accept this. Floating signifier, too, if you want a fancier "cliche." It's applied promiscuously to when there are real social ties to the named entity, as well as when they're aren't.
> All the complaints about the word are more or less valid
>but can't offer a sensible explanation of why, despite these problems,
>the word remains irreplaceable.
When it's used with "business," it's a useful way to confuse matters - Main St gets all mixed up with the Fortune 500 (more cliches, just for you Carrol!). That's very useful when you're a lobbyist trying to sell some tax break for big capital by pretending it's great for petty capital. The "Alzheimer's community" doesn't exist in any meaningful sense (Raymond Williams said something like "To exist, a community needs communication") - I can tell you, as a member, thanks to my mother's condition. And the Pacificans "community" means pretty much whatever they want it to mean, which is very useful for their purposes, but really a load of bullshit.
Doug