Date: Tue, 12 May 1998 15:13:20 -0400 (EDT)
From: malgosia askanas <ma-AT-panix.com>
Subject: Re:  mnunes


> I'm not sure how, but this so-called "evaluation" gives me a kind of 
> uneasy feeling. A feeling that I've encountered frequently during my 
> readings of Foucault. Perhaps it has something to do with how sheer 
> exercises of power were effectively masked by recourse to euphemisms 
> such as "evaluation" and "moderation".

> The virtues of the "virtual" public sphere (which I have seen you 
> enumerate in various articles) might very soon drown in the same 
> disciplinary measures that have marked the historical development of 
> the "real" public sphere.

These are funny arguments, and I am not sure for what.  We have created
most of our lists and have run them for 4 years now.  We are considering
creating other forms of discussion, rather than being indefinitely trapped
in permanent maintenance of the same stuff.  We are a small group of people
and cannot do everything.

If you are so concerned with maintaining the public sphere -- as are we --
then why would you be displeased by the idea of our expanding the public 
sphere by asking people who care about our lists to take some of them 
over from us?  How is this a "disciplinary measure"?  Eh?  

I guess power is all right with you as long as it manifests itself in
things being invisibly provided for your benefit.  But when you're in danger
of no longer being fed your soup as if it came laborlessly out of nowhere,
then you call this "sheer exercise of power" and it's bad, bad, bad.


-malgosia, of the spoon collective