Robespierre on Property

“The first social law is therefore the one that guarantees all members of society the means to live; all others are subordinate to that one; property was only instituted and guaranteed to cement it.  It is in order to live that we have property in the first case. It is not true that property can … Continue reading “Robespierre on Property”

Slavoj Žižek’s Influences

What follows is a brief list of major influences on the work of philosopher Slavoj Žižek. The Big Three: Jacques Lacan Hegel Lenin The Second Tier: Theodor Adorno (Žižek often directly adopts and repeats Adorno’s ideas uncited) Peter Sloterdijk Fredric Jameson Jean-Jacques Rousseau (another influence cited only occasionally that nonetheless tacitly informs a lot of … Continue reading “Slavoj Žižek’s Influences”

Karl Marx Quote

“the workers must be armed and organized. The whole proletariat must be armed at once with muskets, rifles, cannon and ammunition, and the revival of the old-style citizens’ militia, directed against the workers, must be opposed. Where the formation of this militia cannot be prevented, the workers must try to organize themselves independently as a … Continue reading “Karl Marx Quote”

Ornette Coleman, Vanishing Mediator

I have written much about Ornette Coleman, his “Harmolodics” musical theory, and various commercial recordings he released over his storied career.  Reading Slavoj Žižek‘s Lenin 2017: Remembering, Repeating, and Working Through, some clarifications occurred to me that, I think, go a long way to explaining what separates Ornette’s most accomplished work from the rest (that … Continue reading “Ornette Coleman, Vanishing Mediator”

Walter Scheidel – The Great Leveler

Walter Scheidel – The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century (Princeton University Press 2017) Ah, more liberal-conservative historical revisionist drivel.  Scheidel’s book follows in the ignoble footsteps of Steven Pinker‘s moronic The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined and Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth … Continue reading “Walter Scheidel – The Great Leveler”

The Red Krayola – The Red Krayola

The Red Krayola – The Red Krayola Drag City DC52CD (1994) The Red Krayola re-formed in the mid-1990s.  Mayo Thompson was joined by a host of Chicago musicians, who were associated with groups like Gastr del Sol and Tortoise.  The first album by this particular version of the band, the eponymous The Red Krayola, turns … Continue reading “The Red Krayola – The Red Krayola”

Michael Hudson – The Land Belongs to God

Link to an interview with Michael Hudson (and others): “The Land Belongs to God” This interview summarizes some of Hudson’s most important work.  And yet, it also highlights a blind spot in it: his claim that others’ interpretations of ancient history are colored by ideology, as if his is not also.  Instead, philosophy teaches, “In … Continue reading “Michael Hudson – The Land Belongs to God”

Slavoj Žižek on Hegemonic Ideology

Slavoj Žižek quote from “Democracy’s Fascism Problem”: “Of course, no privileged political agent knows inherently what is best for the people and has the right to impose its decisions on the people against their will (as the Stalinist Communist Party did). However, when the will of the majo[r]ity clearly violates basic emancipatory freedoms, one has … Continue reading “Slavoj Žižek on Hegemonic Ideology”

When Liberals Go Wrong

Charlton’s Web Had to chuckle a little when reading the drivel that Darwin Bond-Graham and Andrew Culp published a while back as “Left Gun Nuts: Opposition to Gun Control Comes from Many on the Left Also. Here’s Why They’re Wrong.”  Most of their arguments are flawed, and some even support the conclusions they claim are … Continue reading “When Liberals Go Wrong”