Month: January 2021

Porkopolis: The Human and Economic Tragedy of Manufactured Meat (1-Audio)

January 30, 2021

Alex Blanchette’s Porkopolis (2020, Duke University Press) has had more than the usual impact for a book that started out as a dissertation. Blanchette spent quite a bit of time embedding himself in the work of pork CAFO’s and processing facilities. As a result he has a book that goes beyond the usual animal or human welfare argument to expose the Taylorist/Fordist nature of pork production that yields cheap meat at the expense of dehumanizing workers and merging to the point of inextricability the manufactured pig and the manufacturing human. This video introduces who Blanchette is and some of the themes in the book. … More Porkopolis: The Human and Economic Tragedy of Manufactured Meat (1-Audio)

Porkopolis: The Human and Economic Tragedy of Manufactured Meat (1-Video)

January 30, 2021

Alex Blanchette’s Porkopolis (2020, Duke University Press) has had more than the usual impact for a book that started out as a dissertation. Blanchette spent quite a bit of time embedding himself in the work of pork CAFO’s and processing facilities. As a result he has a book that goes beyond the usual animal or human welfare argument to expose the Taylorist/Fordist nature of pork production that yields cheap meat at the expense of dehumanizing workers and merging to the point of inextricability the manufactured pig and the manufacturing human. This video introduces who Blanchette is and some of the themes in the book. … More Porkopolis: The Human and Economic Tragedy of Manufactured Meat (1-Video)

Getting Our * Back Under Control: Charles Taylor’s Cure for Fragmentation (Malaise 6-Audio)

January 23, 2021

In this concluding video on Charles Taylor’s The Malaise of Modernity I discuss Taylor’s critique of technical rationality (scientific, corporate, bureaucratic). Taylor does it in his characteristic style–technique/technology/technical rationality is not wholly good or bad. In order to get what we create back under control so that it serves us, we have to realize this and re-assert the primacy of politics (real politics) and political control. Taylor’s analysis speaks to our moment, in which we are too divided and our ideas too simplistic and negative, to engage in real political debate and discourse. How do we get back to a place of true democratic politics? Can we realize the moral impulse that Taylor argues initiated the Enlightenment promise in reason, science and technology (they long ago went off the rails), or are we doomed to be dominated by our own creations? … More Getting Our * Back Under Control: Charles Taylor’s Cure for Fragmentation (Malaise 6-Audio)

Getting Our * Back Under Control: Charles Taylor’s Cure for Fragmentation (Malaise 6-Video)

January 23, 2021

In this concluding video on Charles Taylor’s The Malaise of Modernity I discuss Taylor’s critique of technical rationality (scientific, corporate, bureaucratic). Taylor does it in his characteristic style–technique/technology/technical rationality is not wholly good or bad. In order to get what we create back under control so that it serves us, we have to realize this and re-assert the primacy of politics (real politics) and political control. Taylor’s analysis speaks to our moment, in which we are too divided and our ideas too simplistic and negative, to engage in real political debate and discourse. How do we get back to a place of true democratic politics? Can we realize the moral impulse that Taylor argues initiated the Enlightenment promise in reason, science and technology (they long ago went off the rails), or are we doomed to be dominated by our own creations? … More Getting Our * Back Under Control: Charles Taylor’s Cure for Fragmentation (Malaise 6-Video)

Originality is Not the Point: Charles Taylor’s Views on Environment/External Reality (Malaise 5-Audio)

January 16, 2021

Inspired by Charles Taylor’s Malaise of Modernity, Chapter 8, I discuss Taylor’s points about whether rejection of all authority and previous cultural accretions in the name of authenticity is necessary or whether it entirely misses the point. Is it even possible to be “original?” If we think that it is, are we not susceptible to the worst suggestions for how to achieve our “originality” or authenticity, whether those suggestions come from unscrupulous leaders or purveyors of commercial products?. Taylor’s analysis of how this problem plays out in our relationship to the environment is especially interesting. We treat it as though it is an extension of ourselves to be molded and shaped any way we want, and yet it won’t completely comply–because it is not an extension of ourselves but an actual external reality with (recalling Jakob Hanschu’s treatment of New Materialism and his development of Dark Materialism) its own uncontrollable ramifications? … More Originality is Not the Point: Charles Taylor’s Views on Environment/External Reality (Malaise 5-Audio)

Originality is Not the Point: Charles Taylor’s Views on Environment/External Reality (Malaise 5-Video)

January 16, 2021

Inspired by Charles Taylor’s Malaise of Modernity, Chapter 8, I discuss Taylor’s points about whether rejection of all authority and previous cultural accretions in the name of authenticity is necessary or whether it entirely misses the point. Is it even possible to be “original?” If we think that it is, are we not susceptible to the worst suggestions for how to achieve our “originality” or authenticity, whether those suggestions come from unscrupulous leaders or purveyors of commercial products?. Taylor’s analysis of how this problem plays out in our relationship to the environment is especially interesting. We treat it as though it is an extension of ourselves to be molded and shaped any way we want, and yet it won’t completely comply–because it is not an extension of ourselves but an actual external reality with (recalling Jakob Hanschu’s treatment of New Materialism and his development of Dark Materialism) its own uncontrollable ramifications? … More Originality is Not the Point: Charles Taylor’s Views on Environment/External Reality (Malaise 5-Video)

What led to this? A Longer View (ft. Jacques Ellul, Sheldon Wolin, Wendy Brown) Audio

January 9, 2021

In the wake of the events of the past week, most notably Trump supporters storming the Capitol Building in Washington DC on January 6, 2021, I encourage viewers to take a bit of a step back and to consider the bigger picture. If we cannot attempt to see that bigger picture using a longer view we will be doomed to repeat our mistakes. Can we look past the outrage felt by so many to ask the question “What led us to this point?” If we can, we will take the first step towards fixing the problem, rather than either making it worse or simply putting a bandaid on it. In this reading of a section of Chapter 6 of my book Ideological Possession and the Rise of the New Right, I build on the thoughts of Jacques Ellul, Sheldon Wolin, and Wendy Brown. … More What led to this? A Longer View (ft. Jacques Ellul, Sheldon Wolin, Wendy Brown) Audio

What led to this? A Longer View (ft. Jacques Ellul, Sheldon Wolin, Wendy Brown) Video

January 9, 2021

In the wake of the events of the past week, most notably Trump supporters storming the Capitol Building in Washington DC on January 6, 2021, I encourage viewers to take a bit of a step back and to consider the bigger picture. If we cannot attempt to see that bigger picture using a longer view we will be doomed to repeat our mistakes. Can we look past the outrage felt by so many to ask the question “What led us to this point?” If we can, we will take the first step towards fixing the problem, rather than either making it worse or simply putting a bandaid on it. In this reading of a section of Chapter 6 of my book Ideological Possession and the Rise of the New Right, I build on the thoughts of Jacques Ellul, Sheldon Wolin, and Wendy Brown. … More What led to this? A Longer View (ft. Jacques Ellul, Sheldon Wolin, Wendy Brown) Video

Why do we swallow camels but choke on gnats? w/ Spencer Hess on Enchantments of Mammon (2-Audio)

January 3, 2021

In this second part of our conversation, Spencer and I discuss topics such as antinomianism in Christianity, the cooptation of the ideal of sacrifice by capitalism, why McCarraher’s solutions (though insightful) call for more work, whether re-enchantment (via Charles Taylor) is desirable or scary, or both, Wall Street as a demonic force, Adorno and Horkheimer’s ideas of Enlightenment and Nature, McCarraher’s differences with Marxism, and why we can swallow camels but choke on gnats. … More Why do we swallow camels but choke on gnats? w/ Spencer Hess on Enchantments of Mammon (2-Audio)

Why do we swallow camels but choke on gnats? w/ Spencer Hess on Enchantments of Mammon (2-Video)

January 3, 2021

In this second part of our conversation, Spencer and I discuss topics such as antinomianism in Christianity, the cooptation of the ideal of sacrifice by capitalism, why McCarraher’s solutions (though insightful) call for more work, whether re-enchantment (via Charles Taylor) is desirable or scary, or both, Wall Street as a demonic force, Adorno and Horkheimer’s ideas of Enlightenment and Nature, McCarraher’s differences with Marxism, and why we can swallow camels but choke on gnats. … More Why do we swallow camels but choke on gnats? w/ Spencer Hess on Enchantments of Mammon (2-Video)