From: "Thomas Taylor" <taylorth-AT-bellsouth.net>
Subject: Re: readings on the 11th september
Date: Sun, 10 Nov 2002 23:56:26 -0500


No, but you should check out Badiou's text in Theory and Event entitled
"Philosophical Considerations of Some Recent Events".

Question: how are "postmodernists" at fault for the rise of the new right?
Maybe it's a specific reading of certain texts that you are pointing to
here. As I call it, it is the concessions that have been made in order to
appear moderate that are responsible for the success of the right (at least
in the US). The first proposition of the right: these threats demand
treatment quickly and without debate. The thoughts of the elected
pseudo-left: I will not even have a foot in unless I appear to respond to
this "threat" without really thinking. This sounds alot like invoking
consensus as a form of terror to me, a notion coined by our friend Lyotard.
If the pseudo-left in orthodox American politics would have stuck to their
guns in the latest election, rather than conceding for the sake of
electability, they may have gathered some support. Instead, they chose to
emphasize the economy when the state of the world is at stake. Dissent is
not marketable (they think). I am sure, however, that if several strong
opponents to Bush policy came out, in full fistcuffs, they would have
gathered more support than those who acquiesce in hopes running a moderate
campaign in the presidential elections two years from now.

To dispel in doubts in the above fragment, be it known that I hold that any
authentic and honest american positon, if it is to be held by an american,
must be anti-american. No Pax Americana.

RT
----- Original Message -----
From: "steve.devos" <steve.devos-AT-krokodile.co.uk>
To: <lyotard-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu>
Cc: "eric and mary salstrand" <ericandmary-AT-earthlink.net>
Sent: Sunday, November 10, 2002 12:31 PM
Subject: readings on the 11th september


>   Eric/|All
>
> Following on from my emailing of the piece from the Guardian - I finally
> got round to I've finally got round to reading Zizek's text 'welcome to
> the desert of the real' published by Verso. Over the past year I've read
> many texts that have touched on the WTC event and the responses of
> postmodern global capitalism - few however have been as directly
> political and as directed as the Zizek. (The general tendency seems to
> have been some liberal hand-wringing, the dominance of the new-right
> (post-modernists to fault) and the gradual emergence of
> anti-colonial/anti-war alliances.
>
> However where Zizek's text gets especially interesting is in his brief
> discussion of the fear that haunts europe - which he describes
> remarkably well namely that "... the true oppostion today is not the one
> between the First world and the Third world...." (The postmodern global
> capitalism of America and its colonies ) "...and the remaining secound
> world (Europe)..." The fear within the european states is of course the
> reason for the avoidence of the developing conflict - evidenced by both
> the supposed rise in anti-americanism and the associated lack of
> sympathy with american suffering amoung some european intellectuals
> (true - especially in my specific case) The true story is the opposite -
> the lack of any european political initiatives - and compliance with the
> US, everyone gave in to US pressure. The human costs for this behavior
> being in the US third world colonies - Israel/Palestine, Afghanistan and
> the future one of Iraq... but the lack of european political initiatives
> - isn't this because of a fear of the inevitable conflict ?
>
> Has anyone else read this text - including the rather interesting
> critique of Hardt/Negri on page 147?
>
> Steve
>
>
>