tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post4136087704345189467..comments2024-03-29T03:19:09.227-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: THE ESTABLISHMENTRobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-63013289556593080692016-02-26T19:28:36.312-05:002016-02-26T19:28:36.312-05:00Just an additional observation.
One can talk abo...Just an additional observation. <br /><br />One can talk about THE establishment (as in the one and only) but that is sometimes a bit misleading. Throughout the social world that are lot of little establishments, people & groups who exercise power and influence in virtue of their station, but only over restricted groups of people. Thus it might be perfectly sensible to talk about the establishment within a relatively small radical party or the 'theoretical establishment' in literary studies, which for a while, at least, was dominated by the high priests of high theory. This means that is possible for a member of one establishment to be a rebel against another. Another way of making the point is to say that 'X is member of the establishment' looks like a one-place predicate when it is in fact a two-place predicate with the second place contextually specified. To evaluate the claim that Chloe is a member of the establishment, you need to know which sector of the social domain we are talking about. Chloe may be a member of the establishment with respect to the London Socialist Front (I'm making this up as I am not trying to get at anyone in particular) but not a member with respect to the UK as a whole. <br /><br />This is a point that has moral significance for the following reason. If you are a member of a mini-establishment you may rightly believe yourself to be relatively powerless and THEREFORE suppose that you cannot be guilty of the abuse of power., even when you are quite obviously abusing your powers as a member of that mini-establishment. This is all the more likely is you fancy yourself in the role of a rebel, so that the very thought that you are a member of SOME kind of establishment is psychological anathema to you. This is a partial explanation (though only, of course, a partial explanation) of l lot of the bad behaviour that one witnesses on the Left. (And I speak as one of who devoted much of his leisure for fourteen years of his life to left-wing activism.) <br /><br />That said, I agree with most of Professor Wolff's remarks with the proviso that the establishment he is talking about is the overall establishment in the US. Given this proviso it is absurd to suppose that Clinton is anything other than an establishment candidate. She represents Reaganism with a less ugly face. This is not to say, of course, that she isn’t a hell of a lot better than the truly hideous faces of Reaganism to be met with in the Republican party.Charles Pigdenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01131765562671298571noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-44588408818522625082016-02-25T11:34:50.243-05:002016-02-25T11:34:50.243-05:00Astute piece, though I have to register my annoyan...Astute piece, though I have to register my annoyance with Hilary for making me find a new epithet re. 'Da Man.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13327328087892111406noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-77630773633174684072016-02-24T18:23:52.974-05:002016-02-24T18:23:52.974-05:00Ahh, that's a very nice stout. About time we g...Ahh, that's a very nice stout. About time we got around to the important stuff.<br />(There's no landscape that couldn't be improved by an inn in the foreground.)David Auerbachhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15612242467208247588noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-73060268076493468182016-02-24T13:32:42.942-05:002016-02-24T13:32:42.942-05:00Hahahaha!
We upgraded to large amounts of opium, H...Hahahaha!<br />We upgraded to large amounts of opium, Hemlock is so 400s BC.<br />Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08250295324149056708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-60536366977760803382016-02-24T13:27:09.868-05:002016-02-24T13:27:09.868-05:00No one was drinking hemlock in anticipation of a T...No one was drinking hemlock in anticipation of a Trump presidency?Tom Cathcarthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16136970056480275148noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-3275726169120233142016-02-24T13:21:09.133-05:002016-02-24T13:21:09.133-05:00I always drink a stout, porter, or Irish Whiskey. ...I always drink a stout, porter, or Irish Whiskey. So 'Left Handed Nitro Milk Stout' was the happy hour beer.<br /><br />The other two people were probably drinking a pale ale (bleh!). And one was drinking just coffee.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08250295324149056708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-37026592866480633732016-02-24T12:20:31.195-05:002016-02-24T12:20:31.195-05:00Wow! No better place to discuss such matters. Wh...Wow! No better place to discuss such matters. What was everyone drinking?<br /><br />Robert Paul Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-25141114263267034162016-02-24T12:16:23.144-05:002016-02-24T12:16:23.144-05:00I started a Mannheim reading group on campus, and ...I started a Mannheim reading group on campus, and we spent 2 hours at the bar discussing the ways in which Mannheim's analysis helps to highlight the medias conspicuous, albeit unconscious, effort to promote Hillary and denigrate Bernie. Much of the conversation revolved around this very blog, and your youtube lectures. Thanks!Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08250295324149056708noreply@blogger.com