File spoon-archives/baudrillard.archive/baudrillard_1995/baudrillard.07-95, message 13


From: wrgstu-AT-sun.cc.westga.edu (B Madonna Durkheim)
Subject: Re: translation of "Gulf War article"
Date: Fri, 14 Jul 1995 07:14:26 -0400 (EDT)


A quick comment about Baudrillard, postcolonialism and politics:

I think it would be a good idea to remember that at least part of JB's
project is to remain at the periphery.  This does not mean the periphery
of Western society, but the periphery, period.  To try and associate JB
and Fanon, Bhabha, Deleuz, Guattari, whoever is a mistake to the extent
that his critique always includes them.  He uses them, he plagarizes them,
the prophesies their next thoughts, and he eludes them.  What we get from
JB the giddy perspective.  He is definately post-political, but not in the
sense of past or beyond political, but in the sense of hyper-political,
more political than political.  Can you imagine any politician using
Baudrillard like Nietzche was used by Hitler?  Hell no, no one wants to
read the guy, except those of us who either can't figure out what
revolution is anymore or those of us who enjoy laughing at how ridiculous
everything including ourselves has become.  
	Regarding postcolonialism, Baudrillard can never be used in
context to Bhabha or Fanon, simply because their's is an entirely
different playing field.  Imagine trying to convence Fanon that "Our [the
West] whole culture lives off this catastrophic cannibalism...carried
forward by our humanitarian aid, which is a way of encouraging it and
ensuring its continuity, just as economic aid is a strategy for
perpetuating under-development"(Illusion of the End, p. 68).  I don't see
Fanon or Bhabha going for the idea that pulling out humanitarian aid or
economic aid will help stabalize the, as JB calls it, Fourth world.  Do
you?  I think this brings up another political point.  In some ways it
seems that JB recognizes the fact that radicality will not lead anywhere
politically, so he has become as radical as possible because it doesn't
make any difference.


The Masses are Hysteric(al) not anxious,
					Ross

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