In this clip from Laurie Johnson’s presentation in the last session of the Maurin Academy’s Agricultural Biotechnology series, the problem of automation for people who need jobs the world over is discussed. The impact on ideological movements, especially right-wing nationalism, is featured in the last half of the clip. … More Retool for What? The Dark Side of Automation (Maurin Academy)
Laurie Johnson discusses McKenzie Wark’s treatment of “envelope” politics and liberal accelerationism, and what politics Wark envisions if the hacker class gains a sense of their own power. Wark reveals the limits of the liberal representative state in an interesting way. … More A Hacker Manifesto: Wark on Envelope and Accelerationist Politics
Discussing how Mackenzie Wark’s Hacker Manifesto applies to big Ag moves Laurie Johnson into some thoughts on information technology has not only not saved our world but made it worse? … More Meta-Morphed: Is There Any Reason for Techno-Utopian Optimism?
This is a segment from Laurie Johnson’s presentation in the first session of The Maurin Academy’s Fall 2022 short series on Agricultural Biotechnology and the Information Economy. She is guided by information from the first part of Jack Kloppenberg’s First the Seed. The short series with Laurie Johnson and Jakob Hanschu brings Kloppenberg’s scholarship to bear on McKenzie Wark’s The Hacker Manifesto, and vice versa. … More Should Seeds Be Mere Commodities?
In this segment from the Maurin Academy’s short series on Agricultural Biotechnology and the Information Economy, Jakob Hanschu introduces some of McKenzie Wark’s ideas from The Hacker Manifesto that apply to the critique of modern corporate agricultural development supplied by Jack Kloppenberg’s First the Seed. … More Hackers v. Vectoralists or Percy v. Goliath (Maurin Academy Short Series Pt 1: Jakob Hanshu)
Launching from a discussion of the Melian Dialogue in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, Laurie Johnson discusses how the extravagant figure Alcibiades factored in to Athens eventual demise. The Melians’ warnings were not heard during the dialogue, but they were felt as Athens was lured into disaster by this most fascinating charismatic character. … More Love and Betrayal Brings Down Ancient Athens (Thucydides 7)
Here’s a brief overview of the values and purpose of the Maurin Academy. The Dustbowl Diatribes podcast can be found on iTunes, Google Podcasts, and Audible. Spotify thought we were a music business… Help us spread the word: https://pmaurin.org/donate/ … More What’s the Maurin Academy
I read the Melian Dialogue, a central episode in Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, and offer some commentary on the most significant parts. Thucydides’ realism is not identical to the Athenians’ realism, which is more deterministic and extreme. … More “The Strong Do What They Can and the Weak Suffer What They Must:” The Melian Dialogue (Thucydides 6)
This Maurin Academy short series will run on Tuesdays from 7-8:30 p.m Central US time starting August 23 and ending September 20, 2022. Laurie Johnson and Jakob Hanschu will analyze the political economy of agricultural biotechnology using insights from critical studies of the information era. We invite participants to join us. If you would like … More Coming Up: Agricultural Biotechnology and the Information Economy Short Series (Maurin Academy)
Returning to my ongoing series on Thucydides’ History of the Peloponnesian War, I discuss the events and meaning of the Corcyrean Revolution, including proxy war, ideological conflict, irreligion and fanaticism.
The Maurin Academy’s next short series, on Agricultural biotechnology and information technology will start in late August. Sign up on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/agriculture-biotechnology-the-information-economy-tickets-373417821757 … More The Root Cause of Civil War (Thucydidean Realism 5)
Political Philosophy 