Date: Tue, 19 Aug 1997 01:06:10 +1000 From: Rob Schaap <rws-AT-comserver.canberra.edu.au> Subject: M-TH: Re: M-I: Derrida Gossip >X-Authentication-Warning: jefferson.village.Virginia.EDU: domo set sender >to owner-marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu using -f >Mime-Version: 1.0 >Date: Mon, 18 Aug 1997 22:04:29 +1000 >To: marxism-international-AT-jefferson.village.Virginia.EDU >From: Rob Schaap <rws-AT-comserver.canberra.edu.au> >Subject: Re: M-I: Derrida Gossip >Sender: owner-marxism-international-AT-jefferson.village.Virginia.EDU >Precedence: bulk >Reply-To: marxism-international-AT-jefferson.village.Virginia.EDU > >G'day all, > >Of Derrida's latest effort, one critic writes: > >"Reading Derrida's extended and laconic essay, it is not hard to work out >why he has endorsed Marx just when he is out of fashion. The attraction of >Marx for Derrida is not the case for overthrowing capitalism, but the case >merely for calling it into question. All through the seventies and eighties >postmodernists inspired by Derrida were attacking Marxism precisely for its >claim to represent the interests of humanity as a whole. That offended >their preference for a plurality of different viewpoints. > >When capitalism seemed to triumph in the wake of the Cold War, however, it >was the capitalist triumphalists who stood - or pretended to stand - for a >common humanity. > >Consequently, Derrida has turned his deconstructive ire on capitalism, and >used Marx to do it. Derrida relates his own theory of deconstruction to >Marxism: 'Deconstruction has never had any sense or interest in my view at >least, except as a radicalisation, which is to say also in the tradition of >a certain Marxism, in a certain spirit of Marxism.' (p92) But the >radicalism that Derrida reads into Marxism is precisely its ability to >undermine the claims of capitalism to be the best possible society. The >minute that the Marxists claim to have an answer to the problems of how to >organise society, deconstruction takes its leave from Marxism, or as >Derrida puts it 'radicalises' Marxism." > >The reviewer goes on to bag Derrida's idea of 'radical' and appositely >concludes with the big fella's 11th thesis on Feuerbach. Good on ya, James. > >It is no surprise that Derrida thinks it's time to bag Capitalism. It >really is quite easy. But if your 'logic' is such that no system of social >life can humanly be conceived to replace it, you're not contributing >anything of earthly use. Habermas did not get the support he deserved when >he took this lot on, practically all by himself, back in 80/81. > >No answer = neoconservatism. And a neoconservatism dressed up as >radicalism = the treacherous dissolution of the left. Oh, and claiming >textual analysis is, all by itself, even particularly political, never mind >radical, is just so much wind. > >And when we do analyse the text? Why then we find we may not even >interpret the world ... > >If Louis's sources are good, I reckon Jacques's erstwhile lover has gone to >a far better place than she has ever been before. Perhaps not a great >place, but a far, far better place ... > >Cheers, >Rob > > > > > > > > --- from list marxism-international-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu --- > --- from list marxism-thaxis-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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