I myself have spent some time in the past trying to show “‘the lack of scientific certainty’” inherent in the construction of facts. I too made it a ‘primary issue.’ But I did not exactly aim at fooling the public by obscuring the certainty of a closed argument – or did I? After all, I… Read More Bruno Latour: Why Has Critique Run out of Steam? (2004)
Dilip Simeon NB: This work-in-progress paper was my contribution to a conference hosted by the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Bergen, Norway. The conference( May 31-June 2, 2023) was titled 200 Years of Socialism: Revisiting the Old Dilemmas: First Annual Global Research Programme on Inequality Lecture Abstract: The Bolshevik confiscation of the… Read More Militant capitalism, bad infinity, and the longing for total revolution
BY JULIA GLEDHILL AND WILLIAM D. HARTUNG While Republicans may now be “weaponizing” the political scene, the Pentagon’s weaponization story has lasted forever and a day. As TomDispatch regulars and Pentagon experts William Hartung and Julia Gledhill point out, when it comes to major purchases of weaponry (and the “investment” of taxpayer dollars in the giant weapons-making corporations that produce them),… Read More The Ultimate All-American Slush Fund
Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it. Our civilization is decadent and our language – so the argument runs – must inevitably share in the general collapse.… Read More George Orwell on politics and the English language (1946)
By ARNOLD R. ISAACS For many of us whose lives were touched by the Vietnam War, it’s a bit of a shock to count the years and realize that those events are now a half-century or more in the past. This year, we have been reminded of that war somewhat more frequently than in past decades,… Read More How the trauma of the Vietnam War led to the age of “alternative facts”
NB: A noteworthy observation. A government whose ideological inclination is set like an automaton towards stoking up communal passions; and which uses its institutional power over the justice system for blatant partisan gain, is asking for trouble. Unless wiser counsels prevail, the fate of the North East is a mirror for the future. DS Shoaib… Read More From mob violence to Manipur: The past decade has weakened the Indian state
Hindu society must think about its own role in the creation of this Hindutva edition of Ramkatha. The electoral and behaviour of a large section of the community has led its leaders and cultural representatives to believe that its sensibilities have been so debased that it will have to accept Adipurush as its Ramayana. Adipurush has presented Hindu society… Read More ‘Adipurush’ speaks the language of Hindutva supporters. Why are they opposing the movie?
At present, there is an unprecedented social conflict raging in Manipur. The violence has affected all communities in the state. Over 100 people have been killed, 50,000 people are currently in more than 300 refugee camps and lacs have been displaced. Religious places, granaries, and homes belonging to the common people, especially those from the minority… Read More On the turmoil in Manipur: what we need to know and what we need to do. North East Forum for International Solidarity
The belief that racism is ineradicable has inevitably shaped the character of antiracism today by Kenan Malik ‘‘Black people are the magical faces at the bottom of society’s well. Even the poorest whites, those who must live their lives only a few levels above, gain their self-esteem by gazing down on us. Surely, they must know… Read More The paralysing pessimism of Critical Race Theory
The destruction of truth is so advanced in capitalist culture that it should come as no surprise that even in the halls of Critical Theory, imagined sanctum sanctorum of independent consciousness and conscience, truth is now openly profaned and condescended to by some among those who, historically, have been charged with sheltering its sacred flame… Read More John Sanbonmatsu: Postmodernism and the corruption of the academic intelligentsia (2006)
