Nick wrote:
>
>What social movements rely on is rhetoric and propoganda, analysis comes
>later, and is often a reaction to political defeat, as in the women's
>movement, which, under the influence of philosophers, post-modernism and
>post-structualism has,since the mid-80's increasingly moved towards the
>concept of sexual difference as opposed to sexual politics.
I find it interesting that you feel you need to respond to Shelley by
citing history as neatly compartmentalised and stage-specific - when
Shelley, in my reading, was referring to the substantial influence of
particular philosophers on different movements, not that they were the ONLY
philosophers who did so. I am also concerned that you see philosophy solely
in terms of reactionary 'analysis', and that it doesn't seem possible to
see 'analysis' and action as occurring simultaneously and feeding into each
each other. This sounds like a cart and horse argument which never got
anyone anywhere. Indeed I can't think of one such argument that has been
resolved successfully. Most contemporary writing on social movements
alludes to the idea of 'philosophy' as an important part of the cultural
production of social movements which is far from the reactionary role that
you give it.
>
>One could argue that philosophy is itself reactionary. So Gramsci tries
>to explain in his prison writings why revolution in Italy failed.
Gramsci followed Marx and retained many aspects of historical Marxism.
Many, many others, pragmatists, metaphysicists and political theorists
among them, have moved beyond Gramsci since. Sometimes it feels like we
have only nostalgia for the 'greats' of the past and so, perhaps, we
re-create the past.
Best wishes
Mairian
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"To understand what I am doing, you need a third eye"
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Mairian Corker
Senior Research Fellow in Deaf and Disability Studies
University of Central Lancashire
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