This post got me to become a paid subscriber. The last half, in particular, where you (and Chomsky) point out the "emperor has no clothes" aspect of postmodern rhetorical and linguistic theory, was quite good. I am too lazy to write it up here, but I have been involved to one degree or another in NDT policy debate since the early 90s (as a debater, coach, and alumnus). There is a very interesting genealogy (postmodern theorists love calling things genealogies) that reflects how these arguments you criticize gained a toehold in policy debate in the early 90s, and gradually became more and more widespread (and wacky) over the decades that followed.
BTW, "scopic economy" is in several papers related to the "male gaze". It basically seems to mean an economy in which your value is highly dependent upon how you visually appear to powerful people. (i.e. any realistically possible human society :-p ) They could have just said "appearance-based, looksist economy", but it wouldn't have shown the vital awareness of esoteric jargon.
I contend that 500 or so years after the discovery of the New World and the age of enlightenment, humanity has reached the end of its last real frontier. We are falling into the sea at the California Coastline.
There are no more greener pastures to find. The ocean depths, Moon and Mars are orders of magnitude more hostile than Antarctica. Madness has ensued.
This post got me to become a paid subscriber. The last half, in particular, where you (and Chomsky) point out the "emperor has no clothes" aspect of postmodern rhetorical and linguistic theory, was quite good. I am too lazy to write it up here, but I have been involved to one degree or another in NDT policy debate since the early 90s (as a debater, coach, and alumnus). There is a very interesting genealogy (postmodern theorists love calling things genealogies) that reflects how these arguments you criticize gained a toehold in policy debate in the early 90s, and gradually became more and more widespread (and wacky) over the decades that followed.
Nice writeup of a truly distressing phenomenon.
BTW, "scopic economy" is in several papers related to the "male gaze". It basically seems to mean an economy in which your value is highly dependent upon how you visually appear to powerful people. (i.e. any realistically possible human society :-p ) They could have just said "appearance-based, looksist economy", but it wouldn't have shown the vital awareness of esoteric jargon.
I contend that 500 or so years after the discovery of the New World and the age of enlightenment, humanity has reached the end of its last real frontier. We are falling into the sea at the California Coastline.
There are no more greener pastures to find. The ocean depths, Moon and Mars are orders of magnitude more hostile than Antarctica. Madness has ensued.
Keep your head above water. Protect your family.