The resistible rise of You-Know-Who
Achieving Our Country: Leftist Thought in Twentieth-Century America by Richard M. Rorty My rating: 4 of 5 stars If for no other reason, you will want to read this book for its explanation and gloomy prediction— in 1998, 18 years before the event —of the sudden emergence of Trump in what we thought was a … read more »
Rorty and us: Taking America back
Against Bosses, Against Oligarchies: A Conversation with Richard Rorty by Richard M. Rorty My rating: 3 of 5 stars I turn to Rorty (1931-2007) for clues as to how to confront crises that he didn’t live to see, but maybe aren’t so different from those he did. A man of the Left (his capitalization), a … read more »
Left, right, populist, non-populist and the news
A friend just forwarded me this article: In Western Europe, Public Attitudes Toward News Media More Divided by Populist Views Than Left-Right Ideology This is of great interest to me, both for what it claims to say and for the methodological issues, starting with the survey’s two questions to measure “populist views”. Are they really … read more »
Untouchables in India: Activism in Bangalore in 1978
Ancient caste and religious hostilities in India are now powered by internet-enabled WhatsApp groups. News of this development led me to search my files for this 40-year old unpublished paper on the (pre-internet) “Dalit Panthers” of Bangalore (Karnataka). My article was rejected by some magazines as “too academic,” and by the more academic ones as … read more »
Speaking in tongues
My improbable readers may have been surprised to see my post on Houellebecq in French, on a blog where almost everything is in either Spanish or English, the languages I handle best. In case you’re curious but don’t read French easily, here’s the gist: I got a big kick out of Michel Houellebecq’s 2015 book … read more »