Month: June 2020

We Have an Obligation to Rethink Everything.

June 29, 2020

We cannot afford to reject an idea just because the “other side” or some “crackpot” happened to talk about it. The old categories are showing just how old they are. Arguably not only the political parties but the country itself is in a crisis that resembles decrepitude, the inability to get bearings, the lack of hope, the lack of even concerted thought and effort. Rome is burning and Nero is fiddling. Under these circumstances, we have an obligation to rethink everything. … More We Have an Obligation to Rethink Everything.

Marx, Identity, and Recuperation: Interview with Jakob Hanschu (Part 2-Audio)

June 28, 2020

In this second half of my interview with Jakob Hanschu, we evaluate the worth of reading Marx’s Capital, discuss capitalism’s impact on community, culture and faith, discuss the rise of identity politics and the New Right, and deal with the topic of intersectionality. Some of the thinkers discussed besides Marx are Wendell Berry, Chantal Mouffe, McKenzie Wark, Jacques Derrida and Slavoj Zizek.
Jakob Hanschu’s blog: https://theoreticalcapriccio.wordpress.com/
More on Jakob:
http://mpa.academia.edu/JakobHanschu/CurriculumVitae
Here’s the URL to the Political Philosophy Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/60814… … More Marx, Identity, and Recuperation: Interview with Jakob Hanschu (Part 2-Audio)

Marx, Identity, and Recuperation: Interview with Jakob Hanschu (Part 2-Video)

June 28, 2020

In this second half of my interview with Jakob Hanschu, we evaluate the worth of reading Marx’s Capital, discuss capitalism’s impact on community, culture and faith, discuss the rise of identity politics and the New Right, and deal with the topic of intersectionality. Some of the thinkers discussed besides Marx are Wendell Berry, Chantal Mouffe, McKenzie Wark, Jacques Derrida and Slavoj Zizek. … More Marx, Identity, and Recuperation: Interview with Jakob Hanschu (Part 2-Video)

Conversation with Jakob Hanschu: On Responsibility in the Anthropocene (Part 1-Audio)

June 22, 2020

In this conversation with Jakob Hanschu, Fulbright scholar at the University of Nottingham, we discuss a wide range of topics all centered around human impact on the environment. Subjects include New Materialism theory and the insights it provides on large monoculture farming, insights from the psychological theories of Freud, Jung and Lacan (particularly the shadow, death drive and jouissance), Mark Fisher, Jacques Ellul’s concept of “technique”, the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, and the effects of secularism on humanity’s view of its place in nature. … More Conversation with Jakob Hanschu: On Responsibility in the Anthropocene (Part 1-Audio)

Conversation with Jakob Hanschu: On Responsibility in the Anthropocene (Part 1)

June 22, 2020

In this conversation with Jakob Hanschu, Fulbright scholar at the University of Nottingham, we discuss a wide range of topics all centered around human impact on the environment. Subjects include New Materialism theory and the insights it provides on large monoculture farming, insights from the psychological theories of Freud, Jung and Lacan (particularly the shadow, death drive and jouissance), Mark Fisher, Jacques Ellul’s concept of “technique”, the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, and the effects of secularism on humanity’s view of its place in nature. … More Conversation with Jakob Hanschu: On Responsibility in the Anthropocene (Part 1)

Noberto Bobbio & “Associational Socialism.” What is it and could it work? (Mouffe, Audio 6)

June 15, 2020

I finish up this series on Chantal Mouffe’s The Return of the Political with a discussion of her proposal for an “associational socialism.” Inspired by Italian socialist Noberto Bobbio’s attempt to combine elements of liberalism, democracy and socialism, Mouffe shows how his ideas fit with her notion of finding politics again through the interplay and competition of shifting identities and associations. Associational socialism involves people at the level of the workplace, but also in various movements and groups that they identify with. But exactly how would this idea work, and even more importantly, how would a society get from neoliberalism to associational socialism while avoiding various dangers, including the tendency to seek cultural homogeneity and/or endanger the liberty of people as individuals? … More Noberto Bobbio & “Associational Socialism.” What is it and could it work? (Mouffe, Audio 6)

Noberto Bobbio & “Associational Socialism.” What is it and could it work? (Mouffe, Video 6)

June 15, 2020

I finish up this series on Chantal Mouffe’s The Return of the Political with a discussion of her proposal for an “associational socialism.” Inspired by Italian socialist Noberto Bobbio’s attempt to combine elements of liberalism, democracy and socialism, Mouffe shows how his ideas fit with her notion of finding politics again through the interplay and competition of shifting identities and associations. Associational socialism involves people at the level of the workplace, but also in various movements and groups that they identify with. But exactly how would this idea work, and even more importantly, how would a society get from neoliberalism to associational socialism while avoiding various dangers, including the tendency to seek cultural homogeneity and/or endanger the liberty of people as individuals? … More Noberto Bobbio & “Associational Socialism.” What is it and could it work? (Mouffe, Video 6)

Intersectionality and Identity Politics–Do They Pay? (Mouffe 5-Audio)

June 8, 2020

Mouffe’s book The Return of the Political puts forward a view of the self and of society that is fractured into many and shifting identities, and she argues that we can find common ground as citizens, not only in an agreement over the rules of the game of democracy, but also in our various experiences of subordination. Mouffe hopes that this possibility will lead to left coalitions that allow citizens in a radical pluralistic democracy to make progress for all (more real liberty and equality). But does this view of the self and of shifting identity groupings actually work at a practical level. Is the focus on even shifting identities as opposed to economic class concerns always a rightward move that has the potential to inspire more conflict rather than cooperation? I evaluate Mouffe’s teaching on intersectionality in light of contemporary Marx-inspired (but not dictated) thinkers like Zizek and Wark. Might we be better off concentrating on all the new ways in which people experience subordination and degradation at the economic level (and the common threat of environmental destruction–a point I hope to bring into upcoming videos)? … More Intersectionality and Identity Politics–Do They Pay? (Mouffe 5-Audio)

Intersectionality and Identity Politics–Do They Pay? (Mouffe 5-Video)

June 8, 2020

Mouffe’s book The Return of the Political puts forward a view of the self and of society that is fractured into many and shifting identities, and she argues that we can find common ground as citizens, not only in an agreement over the rules of the game of democracy, but also in our various experiences of subordination. Mouffe hopes that this possibility will lead to left coalitions that allow citizens in a radical pluralistic democracy to make progress for all (more real liberty and equality). But does this view of the self and of shifting identity groupings actually work at a practical level. Is the focus on even shifting identities as opposed to economic class concerns always a rightward move that has the potential to inspire more conflict rather than cooperation? I evaluate Mouffe’s teaching on intersectionality in light of contemporary Marx-inspired (but not dictated) thinkers like Zizek and Wark. Might we be better off concentrating on all the new ways in which people experience subordination and degradation at the economic level (and the common threat of environmental destruction–a point I hope to bring into upcoming videos)? … More Intersectionality and Identity Politics–Do They Pay? (Mouffe 5-Video)