<html><div style='background-color:'><DIV>Rorty's Achieving our Country (1998 HUP) provides a good context for understanding recent speeches of President Bush his team and congressmen from right and left, not to mention that of younger partner and his entrouge. Let me summerise bit of it for you as it seems relevant to debates on our lists especially on Habermas list (which seems to me much more informed and indepth than foucault list). </DIV>
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<DIV>A concern for social democracy is central to Rorty. This in his view can be built only on the basis of a renewed "national pride". Such national pride must emphatically reject the view that democracy has become a farce. The "traditional left" had national pride in Rorty's view - they were agents of social change not mere spectators. They believed that "our country, its democratic system and its prosperous future are beyond suspicion" (Rorty 1998 p 10). They cherished the American myth and "there is no non mythological, non ideological way of telling a country's story for objectivity is of little use when one is trying to decide what sort of power or nation to be. There are no neutral objective criteria dictating (this) choice" (Rorty 1998 p 13).<BR></DIV>
<DIV>The modern left seems to Rorty to have no vision for America. It must endorse Dewey and Whitman's de christianizing secularism. Rorty quotes Whitman.<BR>"And I call to mankind. <BR>Be not curious about God.<BR>For I who am curious about each am not curious about God".<BR>(Leaves of Grass p. 16).</DIV>
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<DIV>Americans should "spend the energy past nations spent on discovering God's desire on discovering one another's desire" (Rorty p.16). Hegel taught Dewey and his followers "to look forward not upward" (Rorty p.19) and "to purge oneself of orthodox Christianity" (Rorty 1998 p. 20). "America is the first nation state with nobody but itself to please - not even God. We are the greatest power because we put ourselves in the place of God ? we redefine God as own future selves" (Rorty p.22). </DIV>
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<DIV>Rorty stresses the need "to treat evaluative terms such as "true", "right" not as signifying a relation to some antecedently existing thing but as "expressions of satisfactions" (Rorty p 26). We "should abandon the question; why should we prefer democracy to obedience in favour of the question given the preference we Americans have what should we say about truth, knowledge, reason, virtue" (Rorty p.27-28). The preference for self-creation and rejecting God's authority needs no justification. In Rorty, this commitment to democracy justifies national crimes such as the whole scale massacre of the Red Indians and the slaughter of the Vietnamese (Rorty 1998 p. 32). Rorty follows Dewey in rejecting the possibility of sin (Rorty p. 33). Social democracy must return to the pragmatism and secularism of Dewey and Whitman and use democratic institutions to serve the cause of "social justice". The "cultural Left" should return to social democracy and abandon "the politics of difference". It should think less about stigma and more about money, "more about laws that need to be passed" (Rorty p. 78), "combining political freedom with centralized economic decision making" (Rorty p. 79). Social democrats should target growing economic inequality and economic insecurity. Rorty sees possibilities of populist revolt in the "prolitarianisation of the Americans bourgeois ie." (Rorty p. 83).<BR></DIV>
<DIV>Rorty believes that "things will get much worse much faster ? The world economy will soon be owned by a cosmopolitan upper class which has no sense of community with any workers anywhere" (Rorty p 85). Rorty also deplores America's growing dependence on foreign capital (Rorty p 86) and increased free trade (Rorty p 88). He sees a conspiracy "of the super rich to keep the minds of the population elsewhere - to keep the bottom 75 percent of Americans busy with ethnic and religious hostilities" (Rorty p 88) and fears that fascism may be America's future (Rorty p. 89). " The non suburban electorate will decide that the system has failed" (Rorty p. 91). Social democrats should counter this by (a) putting a moratorium on theory - forgetting the awkward questions raised by Lacan, Leyotard, Foucault and Derida about the multiple incoherences characteristic of this type of vulgar communitarianism (b) mobilise national pride in being American (c) " give both religion and philosophy a pass" (Rorty 1998 p. 95) and reaffirm faith in the projects of the old fashioned reformist liberals and (d) concentrate political attention within the context of the nation state and "construct inspiring images of the country" (Rorty 1998 p. 99). In sum left should forget about the possibility of revolution, resistence and accept the inevitability of the hegemony capitalism and America.</DIV></div><br clear=all><hr>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at <a href='http://go.msn.com/bql/hmtag_itl_EN.asp'>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></html>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>A concern for social democracy is central to Rorty. This in his view can be built only on the basis of a renewed "national pride". Such national pride must emphatically reject the view that democracy has become a farce. The "traditional left" had national pride in Rorty's view - they were agents of social change not mere spectators. They believed that "our country, its democratic system and its prosperous future are beyond suspicion" (Rorty 1998 p 10). They cherished the American myth and "there is no non mythological, non ideological way of telling a country's story for objectivity is of little use when one is trying to decide what sort of power or nation to be. There are no neutral objective criteria dictating (this) choice" (Rorty 1998 p 13).<BR></DIV>
<DIV>The modern left seems to Rorty to have no vision for America. It must endorse Dewey and Whitman's de christianizing secularism. Rorty quotes Whitman.<BR>"And I call to mankind. <BR>Be not curious about God.<BR>For I who am curious about each am not curious about God".<BR>(Leaves of Grass p. 16).</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Americans should "spend the energy past nations spent on discovering God's desire on discovering one another's desire" (Rorty p.16). Hegel taught Dewey and his followers "to look forward not upward" (Rorty p.19) and "to purge oneself of orthodox Christianity" (Rorty 1998 p. 20). "America is the first nation state with nobody but itself to please - not even God. We are the greatest power because we put ourselves in the place of God ? we redefine God as own future selves" (Rorty p.22). </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Rorty stresses the need "to treat evaluative terms such as "true", "right" not as signifying a relation to some antecedently existing thing but as "expressions of satisfactions" (Rorty p 26). We "should abandon the question; why should we prefer democracy to obedience in favour of the question given the preference we Americans have what should we say about truth, knowledge, reason, virtue" (Rorty p.27-28). The preference for self-creation and rejecting God's authority needs no justification. In Rorty, this commitment to democracy justifies national crimes such as the whole scale massacre of the Red Indians and the slaughter of the Vietnamese (Rorty 1998 p. 32). Rorty follows Dewey in rejecting the possibility of sin (Rorty p. 33). Social democracy must return to the pragmatism and secularism of Dewey and Whitman and use democratic institutions to serve the cause of "social justice". The "cultural Left" should return to social democracy and abandon "the politics of difference". It should think less about stigma and more about money, "more about laws that need to be passed" (Rorty p. 78), "combining political freedom with centralized economic decision making" (Rorty p. 79). Social democrats should target growing economic inequality and economic insecurity. Rorty sees possibilities of populist revolt in the "prolitarianisation of the Americans bourgeois ie." (Rorty p. 83).<BR></DIV>
<DIV>Rorty believes that "things will get much worse much faster ? The world economy will soon be owned by a cosmopolitan upper class which has no sense of community with any workers anywhere" (Rorty p 85). Rorty also deplores America's growing dependence on foreign capital (Rorty p 86) and increased free trade (Rorty p 88). He sees a conspiracy "of the super rich to keep the minds of the population elsewhere - to keep the bottom 75 percent of Americans busy with ethnic and religious hostilities" (Rorty p 88) and fears that fascism may be America's future (Rorty p. 89). " The non suburban electorate will decide that the system has failed" (Rorty p. 91). Social democrats should counter this by (a) putting a moratorium on theory - forgetting the awkward questions raised by Lacan, Leyotard, Foucault and Derida about the multiple incoherences characteristic of this type of vulgar communitarianism (b) mobilise national pride in being American (c) " give both religion and philosophy a pass" (Rorty 1998 p. 95) and reaffirm faith in the projects of the old fashioned reformist liberals and (d) concentrate political attention within the context of the nation state and "construct inspiring images of the country" (Rorty 1998 p. 99). In sum left should forget about the possibility of revolution, resistence and accept the inevitability of the hegemony capitalism and America.</DIV></div><br clear=all><hr>Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at <a href='http://go.msn.com/bql/hmtag_itl_EN.asp'>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></html>