The work which the New Philosophers do has less to do with their books that with the articles they can obtain, the newspapers and TV shows they can monopolize, an interview they can give, a book review they can do, or an appearance in Playboy. The effort they put into it, at this level anyway, and with this degree of organization, implies an activity exclusive of philosophy, or at least excluded from it Levy is sometimes the impresario, sometimes the script-girl, sometimes the happy talk show host, sometimes the DJ What a goon squad It’s a horror show, and I’m fascinated in spite of myself.
from the book "Two Regimes of Madness"...
NRIII
--- Colin Brace <cb at lim.nl> wrote:
> Prominent French intellectuals rally to presidential
> candidate Nicolas Sarkozy
>
> By Stefan Steinberg
> 3 March 2007
>
> With less than two months to go to crucial French
> presidential
> elections, a number of prominent French
> intellectuals have declared
> their support for the right-wing presidential
> candidate Nicolas
> Sarkozy (UMP—Union for a Popular Movement).
>
> A number of these intellectuals, who are loosely
> associated with the
> movement of so-called "new philosophers," are
> routinely described in
> the press as "leftist," although they broke with any
> form of leftist
> or socialist politics a long time ago. Nevertheless,
> the fact that
> such figures as the writer and nouveau philosophe
> Andre Glucksmann,
> author Pascal Bruckner and Max Gallo, a novelist and
> former spokesman
> for former French president Francois Mitterrand, are
> now openly
> backing Sarkozy's campaign is of considerable
> significance.
>
> Andre Glucksmann announced his backing for Sarkozy
> in a commentary for
> the daily Le Monde in which he proclaimed that new
> thinking was coming
> from the right. For its part, the left is "stewing
> in narcissism,"
> Glucksmann continued. Referring to Sarkozy's main
> rival in the
> presidential campaign, Socialist Party (PS)
> candidate Ségolène Royal,
> Glucksmann declared that "the left's emptiness was
> even greater than
> her own."
>
> The writer and "new philosopher" Pascal Bruckner,
> author of the recent
> book, Must One Be Ashamed of Being French?, stated
> that he had
> initially liked Ms. Royal but was disturbed by the
> comment made by her
> partner, Francois Hollande, the leader of the
> Socialist Party, who
> said, "I do not like the rich." Now, Bruckner,
> according to press
> comments, has decided that Sarkozy is "brilliant and
> brave." Roger
> Hanin, an actor and author, has also declared in
> favour of Sarkozy.
> Hanin is the brother-in-law of late Socialist
> president Francois
> Mitterrand, Royal's mentor. Hanin said he still
> "worships" Mitterrand,
> but did not trust Royal.
>
> Another nouveau philosophe, Alain Finkielkraut, paid
> tribute to
> Sarkozy as the only candidate who was facing up to
> the "disasters"
> afflicting France in education, the environment and
> anti-social
> behaviour. In an interview with Libération,
> Finkielkraut lambasted
> Royal's "manifest incompetence," declaring that he
> felt closer to
> Sarkozy.
>
> Finkielkraut also slammed "the official left," which
> in his opinion
> "is convinced that it embodies the Party of Good in
> the face of the
> party of Pétain" (the leader of France's wartime
> collaboration state).
> At this time, Finkielkraut evidently prefers to
> ditch the "Party of
> the Good" and side with Pétain-Sarkozy.
>
> Spurred on by the initiative of these figures, a
> group called "La
> Diagonale" has gathered the signatures of 1,000
> so-called leftists who
> plan to vote for Sarkozy—including some members of
> the Socialist
> Party.
>
> Up to now, the most prominent of the "new
> philosophers," Bernard
> Henri-Lévy, is playing his cards close to his
> chest. He does not
> understand Glucksmann's decision, Lévy says, but in
> the same breath
> defends Sarkozy against charges that he is a
> "fascist and a bastard."
> In his typical opportunist fashion, Lévy declares
> that the main
> criterion for an intellectual in choosing his
> presidential candidate
> is "timing."
>
> [...]
>
> full:
>
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2007/mar2007/fran-m03.shtml
>
> --
> Colin Brace
> Amsterdam
>
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>
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Dr. Nicholas Ruiz III Editor, Kritikos http://intertheory.org