File spoon-archives/bhaskar.archive/bhaskar_2001/bhaskar.0109, message 50


Date: Mon, 24 Sep 2001 09:59:51 -0400
From: Richard Moodey <moodey001-AT-mail1.gannon.edu>
Subject: RE: BHA: RE: Is (C)reality wrestling with ideology


Phil,

The book is:  Lemert, Charles C.,Postmodernism is not what you think. [I 
think the publisher is Boulder, Colorado:  Westview Press] 1997.  One key 
aspect of the decline of the influence of the West is the demise of 
overseas empires.  One might, of course, argue that western imperialism is 
just as strong as ever, but covert.  Lemert  argues that we no longer 
believe that Christianity and western political forms are "destined" to 
take over the world.

Dick

At 09:51 PM 09/20/2001 +0100, you wrote:
>Dick,
>
>Your post is very provocative and alive, but I'm not sure I accept that the
>West's global influence is declining.  I don't know anything about Charles
>Lemert.  Did he write that in a book?  Can you give details of the source?
>Once again thank you for picking up my thread.
>
>Phil Walden
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: owner-bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> > [mailto:owner-bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu]On Behalf Of Richard
> > Moodey
> > Sent: 21 September 2001 18:50
> > To: bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> > Subject: Re: BHA: RE: Is (C)reality wrestling with ideology
> >
> >
> > Charles Lemert recently wrote POSTMODERNISM IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK.  He
> > means postmodernism is not simply a way of thinking, but a
> > condition of the
> > world.  Some major aspects of this condition are cultural
> > fragmentation and
> > the decreasing dominance of "the West."
> >
> > Dick Moodey
> >
> > At 07:14 PM 09/19/2001 +0100, you wrote:
> > >Bwanika,
> > >
> > >I don't understand all of your English but I want to try to
> > respond to the
> > >issues you are raising.  The American intellectual Fredric
> > Jameson wrote a
> > >1991 book called POSTMODERNISM: OR THE CULTURAL LOGIC OF LATE CAPITALISM.
> > >In this book Jameson attempts to show (I think convincingly) that
> > >postmodernism is a "condition" that Marxism has so far
> > completely failed to
> > >face up to.  Jameson lays down the challenge to Marxism (and his
> > own work is
> > >pathbreaking here) to philosophically confront postmodernism and to
> > >undermine postmodernism by doing what his 1991 book does - taking
> > >postmodernism seriously.  His point is that postmodernism is not
> > a passing
> > >ideology that is fading away or a game being played by
> > postmodernists in the
> > >universities - a game which they are supposed to be losing - but rather
> > >postmodernism has a real material basis in contemporary Western society.
> > >One of the obvious sources of this real material basis is that
> > the mass of
> > >the population receives its information about the world through the
> > >television.  Thus abstract images are imposed by the bourgeoisie onto a
> > >population which, in the absence of a viable communist party, is
> > gradually
> > >losing its critical capacities.  This is a problem Marxism in
> > the West has
> > >so far completely failed to confront because there was, and still is, a
> > >presumption that postmodernism was a fad and would simply go away.  In my
> > >opinion even Bhaskar's work has only scratched the surface of the problem
> > >because although he strongly defends dialectics he fails to show how
> > >dialectics needs to be developed in order to challenge postmodern
> > >consciousness.  Or, at least, I can't see how he faces up to this in his
> > >work.  Hope this is interesting to you.  Can you tell me what do you mean
> > >when you say "Is time elastic and are choices infinite
> > justice?".  It might
> > >help to say that I believe that the universe had no beginning - it has
> > >always existed - but that there is objective historical time, and choices
> > >(being mental activity) are part of the real material world.  I
> > believe that
> > >the latter assertion has been demonstrated by the dialectical
> > materialism of
> > >Joseph Dietzgen.  In my view where Bhaskar might be making a
> > contribution in
> > >FEW, amongst all the mumbo-jumbo, is in presenting the possibility of a
> > >reconciliation of faith and reason which Hegel started but which urgently
> > >needs to be developed.
> > >
> > >Phil Walden
> > >
> > >
> > > > -----Original Message-----
> > > > From: owner-bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu
> > > > [mailto:owner-bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu]On Behalf Of
> > > > DBBwanika-AT-netscape.net
> > > > Sent: 20 September 2001 09:54
> > > > To: bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu; psn-AT-csf.colorado.edu
> > > > Subject: BHA: Is (C)reality wrestling with ideology
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Sociologist Erving Goffman wrote a book called (I think) The
> > > > Social Creation of Reality in Everyday Life .This title
> > > > encapsulates the issue:
> > > >
> > > > People and their societies grown up to believe in things that
> > > > seem to make alot of common sense. What is the truth ? Is time
> > > > elastic and are choices
> > > > infinite justice
> > > >
> > > > The facts of matter are more complex than ideology- virtual
> > > > reality is not neccessarily reality. Is this  only the beginning
> > > > of Demasking the world
> > > > shrouded in naivity?
> > > > --
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > ____________
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Bwanika
> > > >
> > > > url: http://www.uganda.co.ug
> > > > e-mail: dbbwanika-AT-netscape.net
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > __________________________________________________________________
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> > >
> > >      --- from list bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >      --- from list bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >      --- from list bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
> >
>
>
>
>      --- from list bhaskar-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---




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