File spoon-archives/lyotard.archive/lyotard_2004/lyotard.0403, message 25


Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 20:17:40 +0000
From: "steve.devos-AT-krokodile.co.uk" <steve.devos-AT-krokodile.co.uk>
Subject: questions of ethnicity


eric/all

In truth I agree that the hopes of Iraq moving from a 'National 
Socialist'  (aka Baathist) secular state to a liberal or even 
neo-liberal secular state is [as you suggest] low.  Blair and Bush in 
the interests of their neo-liberal/neo-conservative agenda do, rather 
obviously desire the kind of ethnicity, of ethnic state which will be 
run by strange men with flowing beards and their even more reactionary 
doctrines. If not Blair and Bush would not have acted in the way they 
did. [Even Blair can't be that stupid, well perhaps...] 

It is a common part of third way/neo liberal doctrine to conflate 
ethnicity and religion - what seems to be happening here is that they 
are deliberately refusing the notion that a 'secular state' is possible 
outside of Western Europe. It being generally believed (by the third 
way) that as the soveriegn state is no longer soveriegn that it will 
collapse into horrible ethnicities - which is perhaps why they are so 
keen on them.

However forgive me for once hoping  that the local agenda will resist 
the ethnic requirements of the globalising agenda....

The Lyotardian joke that occurs to me, suddenly, is that as Lyotard 
describes the "jews" in "Heidegger and the Jews" - 'having no 
representation to spread, no formula suitable for remedying evil...' 
(p143) isn't that precisely the state that Blair/Bush have got 
themselves into ?

bests
steve









++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++=

Steve,

I think you are misreading me. The whole idea of the South seceding from
the US is something of a joke. I don't really believe it will happen,
for all the obvious reasons. I meant it as a counter-example to show why
desires for ethnic self-determination are usually frustrated by the
real-politic orientation of the world. In that we are in agreement.

However, that globalist confinement does not succeed in eliminating the
desire. That is why I am more dubious than you seem to be about the
possibility of truly creating a secular nation-state in Iraq, at least
for the short term.

eric


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