What is neoliberalism? And what has it done to higher education? To literaary and film criticism? To free speech? To feminism?
Neoliberalism is antithetical to the agenda of this Latina Democratic Socialist. She won the primary!
vs.
Hillary Clinton - Universal healthcare will 'never, ever come to pass'
Jamie Peck, "Why did Hillary Clinton endorse Cuomo over Cynthia Nixon?" May 24, 2018
What Exactly Is Neoliberalism?
Tony Benn - 10 minute History Lesson for Neoliberals
The Daze the (Neoliberal) Earth Stood Still:
TEDs Controversy – 3 Threatening Talks They Tried to Censor
Arthur Schopenhauer, The Art of Being Right: 38 Ways to Win an Argument
"Stupid Shit: (In)security in the Age of Twilightenment" (2008)
1. Higher Education
STEAM (not STEM) "A" stands for "Arts," as in Liberal Arts
"Neoliberal Arts" Harper's Magazine 2015
Dickens, Charles. 1852. "A Ragged School," Harper's Magazine
What is neoliberal "leadership?" As opposed to management?
"The company eagerly cultivates an academic aura, and the facility is
referred to as its “campus.” The campus bookstore sells dozens of
business books, of the kind ubiquitous in airport newsstands. Typical
selections included The World’s Most Powerful Leadership Principle:
How to Become a Servant Leader (featuring a jacket blurb from the
Senior Vice President of Operations for Chik-fil-a) and Leading with
Soul: An Uncommon Journey of Spirit. Alas, they did not have my
favorite managerial tome of all time, If Harry Potter Ran General
Electric: Leadership Wisdom from the World Of Wizards, which is a
genuine, honest-to-God book that you can look up and purchase."
https://www.currentaffairs.org/2016/06/the-unendurable-horrors-of-leadership-camp
If you need to relax . . . . (go directly to time stamp 1:54)
At Berkeley (dir. Frederick Wiseman, 2013)
Neoliberalese at the corporate university: Raising Awareness
Laura Kipnis May 29, 2015 "My Title IX Inquisition"
Jeannie Suk Gersen, "THE TROUBLE WITH TEACHING RAPE LAW" 2014
2. WAR
Penderecki: Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima
So much for multiculturalism: We (Americans) get oppressed groups; They (non-Americans) get geo-groups to whom we are failing to bring "democracy," aka "regime change."
Combat High
America’s addiction to war
Andrew j. Bacevich: We’re meeting here at West Point more than sixteen years after US forces entered Afghanistan and almost fifteen years after invading Iraq. I think it’s fair to say that these wars and our military experiences elsewhere since 9/11 have not gone as expected. Even though we have the world’s best-trained and best-equipped military—as each of you knows from your own service—we seem unable to achieve conclusive success. Organizations that engage in terrorism continue to proliferate, especially in Africa, and we’ve failed to establish a stable democracy in either Afghanistan or Iraq. Our conflicts just drag on. So let me ask you: Why don’t we win? . . . .
Daddis: It allows the blame to be shifted to the local government: “We created the space, we did our job; it’s not our failure, it’s the failure of the locals.”
Dempsey: That’s one of the most fascinating things—the excuses you hear about why we are not successful in Afghanistan. You can boil every single one of them down to: “Our strategy in Afghanistan would be going perfectly if only Afghanistan were a different country.”
Simplicius Simplicissimus and the Thirty Years War and The Peace of Westphalia
3. THE ECONOMY
On Contact: A New McCarthyism with Ellen Schrecker
Nomi Prins: How Central Bankers Rigged the World
"Charity Is the Opiate Of Capitalism" - Nellie McKay
Progressive On Dems - "Only Pragmatic Way Is Out" w/Nellie McKay
The Billionaire Class is Not Fit to Rule - Paul Jay
4. To so-called critical thinking.
Pre-School Politics
From "I Get That" to "I Don't Get That."
RICHARD TRENHOLM, 'The Cleaners' dishes dirt on social media JANUARY 29, 2018
The Forum: Right to Say: Freedom, Respect, and Campus Speech
Political correctness: a force for good? A Munk Debate May 20, 201
Friedrich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo: How One Becomes What One Is, pp. 3-76
FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE, Genealogy of Morals,Third Treatise
5. The Internet:
6. Race Relations
Consider This: You can talk about racism in academia as long as you're not saying anything about it. (The discourse of civility, conversation, dialogue, and diversity is just as much of an elitist neoliberal discourse as is anti-fa doxing and no-platforming. Everyone is in their comfort zone. Almost anyone can play the game. It's about as challenging as Tic-tac-toe.)
IMO, the only thing more stupid than Social Justice Keyboard Warriors who are into identity politics, spend their time watching superhero movies, and take seriously questions like this one in Deadpool; I say, I think the only thing more stupid are white, male academics who criticize them in idiotic ways. Oh, wait. Perhaps even dumber are academics who talk earnestly about students needing "critical thinking skills." And I forgot about the people who ask if someone has "gone too far." What a meaningless question. Am I being uncivil now? Unprofessional? Ugly? Even hateful?
“Effective Evil” or Progressives’ Best Hope? Glen Ford vs. Michael Eric Dyson on Obama Presidency
White Like Me SNL 12/15/84
Racial Bias In St.Louis Revealed Via Hidden Camera - Diane Sawyer PrimeTime 1991
Joseph P. Williams, "Segregation's Legacy Fifty years after the Fair Housing Act was signed, America is nearly as segregated as when President Lyndon Johnson signed the law" April 20, 2018
Andrew W. Kahrl, "The North’s Jim Crow," May 27, 2018
The Strange Things About The Johnsons (2011)
If you need to relax . . . . (go directly to time stamp 1:54)
If you really tried to talk about racism in academia, you couldn't. Because it would be unthinkable. Because you would have to know something, learn something beyond you. Talking about something deeply disturbing doesn't necessarily mean you feel better afterwards.
Stream of Consciousness Raising:
William Faulkner, Intruder in the Dust (1948)
Film adaptation of Intruder in the Dust (1949)
vs.
Suburbicon Official Trailer #1 (2017)
Racism and White Trash Abuse in William Faulkner, "Barn Burning"
Patti Smith, "Rock 'N' Roll N-word"
Joseph P. Williams, "Segregation's Legacy Fifty years after the Fair Housing Act was signed, America is nearly as segregated as when President Lyndon Johnson signed the law." April 20, 2018
I Am Not Your Negro James Baldwin and Race in America
Trevor Phillips, Things we won't say about race that are true Mar 22, 2015 (Just because something is true doesn't mean it matters.)
Lester Spence, How Neoliberalism Infiltrated Black Politics
Do Not Resist Official Trailer 1 (2016) - Documentary
The Powell Memo (also known as the Powell Manifesto)
The Powell Memo was first published August 23, 1971
Pankaj Mishra, "Why do white people like what I write?" Vol. 40 No. 4 · 22 February 2018
What if identity politics is a way of NOT talking about race, class, gender, or sexuality, the promotion of vacuous, inconsequential, content-free, market-tested slogans rather than concrete public policies and legislation (aka an agenda)?
8. DEMOCRACY
James Baldwin Debates William F. Buckley (1965)
Matt Taibbi, Secrets and Lies of the Bailout The federal rescue of Wall Street didn’t fix the economy – it created a permanent bailout state based on a Ponzi-like confidence scheme. And the worst may be yet to come January 4, 2013
Matt Taibbi ,Obama's Big Sellout: The President has Packed His Economic Team with Wall Street InsidersThe president has packed his economic team with Wall Street insiders intent on turning the bailout into an all-out giveaway December 13, 2009 Rolling Stone
Ken Silverstein, "Barack Hoover Obama," June 18, 2009
Dive into the heart of the Roland-Garros atmosphere! Chapter 4: joy.
If you need to relax . . . . (go directly to time stamp 1:54)
Why the Elites Hate Democracy?
DNC Unity Member LOVES Superdelegates
In American politics, a superdelegate is an unpledged delegate to the Democratic National Convention who is seated automatically and chooses for themselves for whom they vote.
Neoliberal Elitist Clintonista Elaine Kamarck
Why Black Lives Matter Had to Happen 2015
(Bernie Sanders gives over the microphone and stage to the protesters and lets them talk as long as they want to talk and say whatever they want to say. What matters is not so much what the protestors say but the fact that they can say it. This is called democracy.)
Compare the above to this scene: Democratic Convention of 1968 (debate over who has the microphone)
9. Politics
"Respectability Politics"
If you need to relax . . . . (go directly to time stamp 1:54)
10. HUMAN RIGHTS
Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Larry Siems (Editor) Guantánamo Diary 2015
How Guantánamo Diary Escaped the Black Hole
Habeas Corpus in the U.S. (Infinite Detention: the National Defense Authorization Act signed by President Obama on December 31st, 2011 / 2013)
Innocent and Guilty Prisoners: Eleven Years without Charges at Gitmo
11. FEMINISM
Michelle Obama Shames Women Time Stamp 7:39
Who is Michelle Obama blaming here for Trump's win? (Um, could it be . . . women?)
Michelle Obama & Tracee Ellis Ross in Conversation at the 2018 United State of Women Summit Time stamp 21:18
https://www.theunitedstateofwomen.org
"Barriers were meant to be broken," is the highly original and deeply meaningful conference slogan ("rules are meant to ee broken," 2.0). Sarcasm. "WERE meant"?! Not are?! Who wrote this?
"Getting Ahead" and "Trickle Down" Feminism: Sheryl Sandberg and "Lean In"
Dayna Tortorici "Lean Out Feminist struggles are labor struggles" November 2017
"Some people think little girls should be seen and but not heard. But I think . . . ."
9. Inspirational and Motivational Speaking
"Be excellent to each other. Party on, dudes." Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
2018-2019 Pay Program
June 6, 2018
Dear Faculty and Staff:
. . . . UF is blessed with exceptional faculty and staff, and I deeply appreciate your commitment to excellence.
Warm regards,
W. Kent Fuchs
President
University of Florida
Bill Readings, The University in Ruins 1997 (The University of Ideas vs. the University of Excellence)
Dorothea Lynde Dix, Remarks on Prisons and Prison Discipline in the United States
10. Cultural Appropriation and Literary Criticism (the word "culture" as an evacuation of class):
More literary "hate speech":
The n-word used 108 times in Paul Beatty's prize-winning 308 page long satirical novel
The Sellout.
Junot Díaz, MFA vs. POC New Yorker April 30, 2014
Jia Tolentino, Lionel Shriver Puts On a Sombrero New Yorker September 14, 2016
11. Free Speech.
Why Black Lives Matter Had to Happen 2015
(Bernie Sanders gives over the microphone and stage to the protesters and lets them talk as long as they want to talk and say whatever they want to say. What matters is not so much what the protestors say but the fact that they can say it. This is called democracy.)
Compare the above to this scene: Democratic Convention of 1968 (debate over who has the microphone)
After Gaza Massacre, Has Israel Lost Liberal American Jews?
So much for free speech and "hate speech":
43 Senators Want to Make It a Federal Crime to Boycott Israeli Settlements
The New Israel Anti-Boycott Act Is Still Unconstitutional
Landmark bill restricting criticism of Israel sneaks through South Carolina Senate
"The legislation codifies a definition of anti-Semitism that significantly changes the meaning of the word, and it requires the state’s colleges to use this new definition when determining whether an action is “discriminatory” and therefore prohibited. This new definition declares statements that are critical of Israel—even when factual—“anti-Semitic” and therefore impermissible."
South Carolina’s New Hate Speech Law Outlaws Criticism of the Israeli Occupation
In bill author Clemmons’ view, discussing the military occupation of the West Bank, a reality recognized even by Israel’s Supreme Court, would be considered anti-Semitic under the new South Carolina law.
Candace Owens on Her Journey From Left to Right Sep 28, 2017
Neoliberalese ("very scientific!") and the privatized, corporate university
The Daze the (Neoliberal) Earth Stood Still:
TEDs Controversy – 3 Threatening Talks They Tried to Censor
Pankaj Mishra, "Why do white people like what I write?" Vol. 40 No. 4 · 22 February 2018
The Powell Memo (also known as the Powell Manifesto) The Powell Memo was first published August 23, 1971
12. HUMAN RIGHTS
Mohamedou Ould Slahi, Larry Siems (Editor) Guantánamo Diary 2015
How Guantánamo Diary Escaped the Black Hole
Habeas Corpus in the U.S. (Infinite Detention: the National Defense Authorization Act signed by President Obama on December 31st, 2011 / 2013)
Dorothea Lynde Dix, Remarks on Prisons and Prison Discipline in the United States
Lester Spence, How Neoliberalism Infiltrated Black Politics
Innocent and Guilty Prisoners: Eleven Years without Charges at Gitmo
Andrew W. Kahrl, "The North’s Jim Crow," May 27, 2018
Walter Benn Michaels, "Who gets ownership of pain and victimhood?"
From The New Yorker
In this cogent jeremiad, which is certain to be controversial, Michaels diagnoses America's love of diversity as one of our greatest problems. Not only does it reinforce ideas of racial essentialism that it claims to repudiate; it obscures the crevasse between rich and poor. Michaels, a scholar of American literature, suggests that the growth of economic inequality over the past few decades is the result of a deeply ingrained and unchallenged class structure. Scrutinizing current events and religion, he argues that our fixation with the "phantasm" of race promotes identity over ideology, and he rejects the idea that meritocracy prevails in America's elite universities. A believer in the power of progressive politics, he calls for a debate in which class, rather than identity, would be at the fore. "You can be black and upper middle class, you can be gay and upper class, you can be transsexual and upper class, you can be a woman and be upper middle class, you can be an immigrant and upper class, but you can't be working class and upper middle class. The University is (or was) an upper middle class institution and its culture and habitus (if you will) cannot tolerate working class culture: working class culture is what the University keeps out and what upwardly mobile students want to shed. As Walter Michaels says, they want to stop being working class. They don't want to do dangerous jobs, be poorly paid, have bad taste. . . . "
Walter Benjamin,"The Path to Success, in Thirteen Theses," in Walter Benjamin: Selected Writings, Volume 2: Part 1 1927–1930 ed. Michael Jennings, Harvard UP, 2005, pp
Dan Baum, Harper's, April 2016 issue "Legalize It All"
ency of any sort." Christopher Looby, "Introduction," Sheppard Lee Written by Himself
"Neoliberal Arts" Harper's Magazine 2015
Dickens, Charles. 1852. "A Ragged School," Harper's Magazine
Arthur Schopenhauer, "On University Philosophy" in Parerga and Paralipomena:Short Philosophical Essays Vol. 1 Ed. Christopher Janaway. (1851 / Cambridge University Press, 2015)
Arthur Schopenhauer, "The Art of Being Right" or, "The Art of Controversy"
Friedrich Nietzsche, "Schopenhauer as Educator" (1874)
Zero Squared #136: Lindsay Shepherd and Free Speech
Debunking the Bernie Bro Myth: Briahna Joy Gray Interview with Katie Halper
Jacques Derrida excoriating Giorgio Agamben in The Beast and the Sovereign Vol. 1, pp. 92-95 on "the first great thinker," adding "one no longer knows who was the first to define what." 2003
Jonathan Goldberg, What's with "Firsts" in (Good) Women Studies 1997
13. The neoliberal aesthetic
Documentaries:
Is the United States no longer a democracy? Is it now an oligarchy? (How democratic was it ever?)
Neoconservatism = Neoliberalism?: American Exceptionalism and Manifest Destiny
Against "Trigger Warnings" in Tablet: Jewish News
Is Multiculturalism Racism (and Sexism, etc)?
Is Israel Destroying Judaism? More
Meir Dagan, a former Chief of Mossad, "accused Netanyahu’s policies of being “destructive to the future and security of Israel."' (2015)
Yonatan Mendel in LRB on the Israeli elections of 2015.
Income inequality in the United States
Russell Brand on MSNBC
Russell Brand with Jeremy Paxson on why we should not vote
Farhenheit 451 paratext