[WS:] He writes very well - I am reading his "Enigma of Capital" and I wish I could write like that. But the point I am making is different: gurus are created by audiences and the media machine that expect celebrity performance. Some will step into that role enthusiastically (I personally know a few of those) other may be more reluctant, but even if they refuse to play that role the audience and the media will turn them into gurus anyway.
The position of guru does not reflect that much on the incumbent of that role but the expectation of the audience. Gurus provide emotional gratification to audiences by affirming what the audience already knows but putting it in a new and more sexy form. What Harvey, Chomsky, Zizek & Co say is what their audiences already know, for the most part, but they say it very well and in a way that the audience finds it entertaining. Again, there is nothing wrong with being able to say things well and being entertaining - the point is that it does not go beyond that, it does change any minds (it is mostly preaching to the choir,) does not give any tools for predicting future events or
actions - it is mostly an aesthetic experience, like seeing a movie or a theatrical performance.
This can be illustrated by a review of Harvey's book by someone from South Africa posted on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Enigma-Capital-Crises-Capitalism/product-reviews/0199758719/ref=cm_cr_dp_hist_2?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&filterBy=addTwoStar
The reviewer evidently expected something else than an aesthetically pleasing analysis of capitalism when he/she wrote: "A thought provoking reading though the motive by the Marxist David Harvey may be misplaced, but you decide! I give this book 2 stars for its fair assessment of capitalism & its weaknesses but it fails to provide a solid alternative to capitalism with a proven track record!"
Wojtek
On Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 1:44 PM, Chuck Grimes <c123grimes at att.net> wrote:
>
> ``This form of talk, which by no means is limited to the left - it is
> immensely popular in business schools, political science, economics,
> sociology etc. - is typically centered on a star/celebrity performer
> entertaining educated audiences with a talk show (often heavily illustrated
> with elaborated power point slides)'' Wojtek
>
> ------------------
>
> This is a totally wrong impression. Harvey does not come off as a guru. The
> guys that introduced him, appeared to know him pretty well. The atmosphere
> was a visiting friend of the department.
>
> He had no presentations, graphs, or power point slides. He had no notes.
> What he wrote on the board were just words with some arrows to direct the
> conceptual grasp. The essential examples were taken from the current global
> crisis of societies around the world.
>
> He actually made a little joke about not having much to show. He used this
> as a way to describe the vast changes of society over short periods and
> talked about using a typewriter and hand written notes in an eariler period.
> I was thinking the same thing. This was an `old fashion' lecture, the way I
> used to remember them. I didn't take notes. What I wrote, I did so, after
> coming home. Remember my studies were art, literature, anthropology and
> philosophy. I took notes in the technical courses like inductive logic.
> Otherwise I got in the habit of listening and then writing down what I
> remembered after class. I found these crude sketches helped direct the
> reading, where I really did take notes
>
> There was one questioner who asked how Harvey would compare his work to some
> guy I never heard of. Harvey, paused. I don't know what to say, he said. I
> don't read other Marxists. I am afraid about all I read is Marx. He
> mentioned that he used to read in the field and mentioned The Conditions of
> Postmodernity as the period.
>
> I think that was an effort to get Harvey to position himself in a pissing
> match, and he was refusing to do that.
>
> The UCB Geography department is evidently loaded with Marxists. I asked the
> guy recording the lecture, if it would be put up on the web. He said it was
> up to the chairman of the department. Hope he puts it up.
>
> This department is part of the College of Natural Resources, CNR. CNR
> incorporates Plant and Microbial Bio. where I worked briefly. CNR also house
> the agricultural sciences. So you can see it is tailor made for
> environmental-social issues.
>
> His public lecture is over in the College of Environmental Design, which
> also houses city planning, architecture, and some other related majors,
> which is another locus of interest for Harvey.
>
> CG
>
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