tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634628224045926034.post8044731263754284064..comments2023-08-29T01:27:13.772-07:00Comments on Magpie's Asymmetric Warfare: Varoufakis on Postmodernism.Magpiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07528637318288802178noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634628224045926034.post-29536908169089708532014-01-09T09:15:21.285-08:002014-01-09T09:15:21.285-08:00Thanks. I was able to download some good books on...Thanks. I was able to download some good books on postmodernism over at scribd. Now, after reading Varoufakis' article again, I think his real criticism is that it is not enough for the dissidents to criticize, they must offer their own grand narrative (something that PoMO has declared dead) to replace the existing one, which they find flawed. If they don't, the flawed grand narrative of economics will march on while appearing stronger for having survived the criticism. <br /><br />I think that's an interesting point, and one that many postmodernists recognize: postmodernists have not escaped modernity but are firmly rooted in it. As long as that is the case, they must conform to the expectations of modernity (e.g., by offering their own alternative grand narrative) or become irrelevant.<br /><br />Post-Keynesians like Steve Keen have clearly avoided the PoMo turn, as they are offering alternative models and solutions, not just criticisms.Tao Jonesinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10041034009270339963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634628224045926034.post-10543509416424322362014-01-07T20:24:16.472-08:002014-01-07T20:24:16.472-08:00"Sorry for the digression . . ."
Not at..."Sorry for the digression . . ."<br /><br />Not at all. Thanks for the comment.<br /><br />"What precisely do you mean by PoMo?"<br /><br />That's a very good question; unfortunately, I don't have any good answer: frankly, I wasn't able to find any clear definition beyond "umbrella term for post-structuralism, deconstructionism/deconstructivism and related 'isms'."<br /><br />See for instance:<br />"That postmodernism is indefinable is a truism. However, it can be described as a set of critical, strategic and rhetorical practices employing concepts such as difference, repetition, the trace, the simulacrum, and hyperreality to destabilize other concepts such as presence, identity, historical progress, epistemic certainty, and the univocity of meaning."<br />Aylesworth, Gary, "Postmodernism", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2013 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = .<br /><br />In fact, in my opinion, even postmodernists themselves seem to mean different (sometimes wildly different) things when they use the PoMo label.<br /><br />Which should give us pause for thought, if you ask me.Magpiehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07528637318288802178noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3634628224045926034.post-89371045209684393212014-01-07T08:50:37.239-08:002014-01-07T08:50:37.239-08:00What precisely do you mean by PoMo? The term seem...What precisely do you mean by PoMo? The term seems overused and is often applied haphazardly to any criticism that argues, at least in part, that status quo paradigms are grounded in power relationships (for example). The funny thing is that many arguments/philosophies that are labeled PoMo existed in Plato's day (Plato was countering such approaches).<br /><br />I also find it curious that Heidigger is labeled a PoMo philosopher when to me all he really did was try to dress up Eastern philosophy (e.g., Taoism) in Western clothes. You can pretty much sum up Heidigger's thinking as "the truth is not a fixed thing but a flowing event," a concept that significantly predates Plato, at least in Asia.<br /><br />Sorry for the digression . . .Tao Jonesinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10041034009270339963noreply@blogger.com