Totally OT now (Off-Topic)

by Cody Miller , Music of the Spheres - Never Forgot, Monday, May 12, 2014, 11:38 (3638 days ago) @ SonofMacPhisto
edited by Cody Miller, Monday, May 12, 2014, 11:54

EDIT: I see it's from 1971? I've been reading a lot of his recent stuff (since 2000 anyway), I wonder how it will compare.

Interestingly his writings from post 9/11 are what finally convinced me he isn't so great :-p

He's got the chops when it comes to linguistics, make no mistake. But in terms of politics, he's completely out of touch and anti-intellectual.

I think if you watch the entire debate, you'll see that while both he and Foucault grasp language and media as a form of social control, Foucault has a far better and more correct understanding of dominance by power. Chomsky still appeals to ideas of fairness and justice in modern writings, yet Foucault points out that these concepts are actually internalized expressions of authority's control over you. Instead of appealing to those, you should get to what IS, not what OUGHT to be, and seize power for yourself.

But anyway, since the subtopic is Teachers who helped you through writing even if there wasn't an official teacher / student relationship, I'd say if you could only read two 20th century writers, they'd be Foucault and Baudrillard. Both are on my list of 'teachers'.