This is precisely the kind of elitism that Foucault's concept of the specific intellectual was meant to guard against. As his work in prisons and elsewhere show, he never assumed that the intellectuals knew the truth and others lived the lie. That kind of hubris is of the same vintage as Cheney's.
>>> Solipsist9@xxxxxxx 09/23/00 17:12 PM >>>
In a message dated 00-09-23 12:39:29 EDT, joudmc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
<< Has anyone read the last edition of "The Nation" (October 2/2000) ? There
is
> an article detailing the views of the Republican Vice-Presidential
> candidate's wife, Lynne Cheney- a right-wing culture warrior, ala William
> Bennett. Apparently, Mrs. Cheney wrote a book in 1995, titled "Telling the
> Truth," which seems to attack Foucault, as a defender of godless
relativism,
> I assume. According to the Nation, "Telling the Truth" declares that
> Foucault's ideas threaten nothing less than the survival of western
> civilization," going as far to blame Foucault for the murder of an
ice-cream
> vendor in Philadelphia, stating that "intellectual elites do no one a
favor
> by sending through society messages that there is no external reality in
> which we all participate, that there is only the game of the moment, the
> entertainment of the day."
> Does anyone have any comments, concerning Mrs. Cheney's views? >>
If I may adopt a Neitzsche-like view, she's right. Western civilization is
premised on the idea that the commoners obey and buy into the system. My
question is, without going into details, what's so wonderful about western
civilization? I think whether there is some god or not, or whether morality
is relative or not, is not the important issue. Do you want all or mst
individuals to NOT have a belief in something greater than themselves? Wasn't
it Voltaire that warned against this, lest ye be the one who gets his throat
cut by the servants? I am not an elitist, nor do i necessarily feel that I
should be privy to the "truth" while the regular folks live the lie. but
letting the rabble believe in a higher power does all of us much good, like
it or not, and screw political correctness. Most people can't handle the
truth, and would probably do nasty things with it, so I think it's better
that they believe the myth for my good, not their's.
John
PhD candidate
Government and Politics
University of Maryland-College Park
>>> Solipsist9@xxxxxxx 09/23/00 17:12 PM >>>
In a message dated 00-09-23 12:39:29 EDT, joudmc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
<< Has anyone read the last edition of "The Nation" (October 2/2000) ? There
is
> an article detailing the views of the Republican Vice-Presidential
> candidate's wife, Lynne Cheney- a right-wing culture warrior, ala William
> Bennett. Apparently, Mrs. Cheney wrote a book in 1995, titled "Telling the
> Truth," which seems to attack Foucault, as a defender of godless
relativism,
> I assume. According to the Nation, "Telling the Truth" declares that
> Foucault's ideas threaten nothing less than the survival of western
> civilization," going as far to blame Foucault for the murder of an
ice-cream
> vendor in Philadelphia, stating that "intellectual elites do no one a
favor
> by sending through society messages that there is no external reality in
> which we all participate, that there is only the game of the moment, the
> entertainment of the day."
> Does anyone have any comments, concerning Mrs. Cheney's views? >>
If I may adopt a Neitzsche-like view, she's right. Western civilization is
premised on the idea that the commoners obey and buy into the system. My
question is, without going into details, what's so wonderful about western
civilization? I think whether there is some god or not, or whether morality
is relative or not, is not the important issue. Do you want all or mst
individuals to NOT have a belief in something greater than themselves? Wasn't
it Voltaire that warned against this, lest ye be the one who gets his throat
cut by the servants? I am not an elitist, nor do i necessarily feel that I
should be privy to the "truth" while the regular folks live the lie. but
letting the rabble believe in a higher power does all of us much good, like
it or not, and screw political correctness. Most people can't handle the
truth, and would probably do nasty things with it, so I think it's better
that they believe the myth for my good, not their's.
John
PhD candidate
Government and Politics
University of Maryland-College Park