I think we find three interesting interpretive acts occur in this statement (Mark's, not Alan's) 1. One, if we take this seriously (I don't), cannot argue about Foucault in the morning, contribute to one's trade union in the afternoon, and attend a protest in the evening. 2. There exists a way to respond to the crisis, if taken without intellectual dithering, will lead successfully to the transformation evidently desired. 3. The 'right' has a secret access to this, that 'we' do not.
robert wood
P.S. I should note that this is not an endorsement for the sort of intellectual production that occurs in the U.S. and its relation to social movements, but we need to produce a critique that does not fall into these impoverished categories.
> On Tue, Apr 14, 2009 at 4:48 PM, Mark Bennett <bennett.mab at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> While what passes for the Left spends is time discussing the nuances of
>> "theory," or how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, the nasty
>> folks
>> on the right are actually doing something about their grievances and
>> displeasures. Same as it ever was:
>>
>> http://uk.reuters.com/article/usTopNews/idUKTRE53D5SH20090414
>>
>
> Yup, none of the folks involved in the WTO protests were doing or
> expressing
> anything, none of the students outraged by Katrina have stayed involved
> with
> anything political - much less followed up on their multiple trips to New
> Orleans, and none of the people I know still working in the environmental,
> pacifist and union movements actually spend any time discussing much
> beyond
> "theory." I make sure to tell them these things all the time... and in
> the
> most disparaging terms 'cuz I'm so much better than them and 'cuz,
> someday,
> when they wake up and follow my lead they'll be so much better for it.
> I'm sure all the wankers I'll see in New York this weekend will be total,
> disorganized, shoe-gazing losers (I'm sure most of the young ones haven't
> even heard of My Bloody Valentine, much less The Feelies, either) and
> they'll nothing on the ball nor anything to say to rouse the rabble.
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>