[lbo-talk] Slavoj Zizek: The Philanthropic Enemy

Nathan Newman nathanne at nathannewman.org
Tue Apr 4 11:17:06 PDT 2006


----- Original Message ----- From: <info at pulpculture.org>
>No, but there's no denying that the dependence of so many activist groups
>on foundation funding has a conservatizing and fragmenting effect - and
>one that leads to loyalty to program officers before loyalty to
>constituents.
>
>Doug

-And no, Nathan, I'm not saying that people shouldn't accept the money and -carry on. Like Carl, I'm not insane. It's kind of silly to assume that's -what people are saying. However, I do think discussing these issues are -important since, by being cognizant of the tendencies Doug speaks to, we -can resist them, catch ourselves doing them, and try to avoid getting -caught up in a situation that makes it all worse.

Yeah-- and I've hardly been to a meeting of progressives where this issue doesn't get discussed.

But I didn't hear anything interesting in Zizek's piece, just moralism, no strategy. And the drumbeat of moralism without strategy by many on the left is the problem. You have antiwar marches without strategy, and people then wonder why people stop showing up. And the list can go on.

So other than feeling all morally high-minded as they take toxic-waste money, what should groups actually do to "resist" such tendencies, as opposed to what organizations do every day already?

Nathan Newman



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