Furthermore, I want to make sure that I deride anyone and everyone who, as a young person, went to hear a famous person and claims to have learned something that affected their lives. But most of all, I want to make sure that I repeat the implicit point that there is absolutely no reason for any kind of intellectual or political division of labor in the world... everyone needs to do everything or else they're between useless or infatuated with gurus.
Dude, is there ANY nuance at all to your position? or do you feel cornered and therefore inflexible.
A
On Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 3:15 PM, Wojtek S <wsoko52 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Chuck: "This is a totally wrong impression. Harvey does not come off as a
> guru."
>
> [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
> >
> > ___________________________________
> > http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
> >
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>
-- ********************************************************* Alan P. Rudy Dept. Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work Central Michigan University 124 Anspach Hall Mt Pleasant, MI 48858 517-881-6319