Western Philosophy
The Coming Insurrection by the Invisible Committee, reviewed by PM
"Glen
Beck and the French government agree--this is a 'left wing terrorism
manual.' Actually, this is no bomb-making guide, but rather an
incendiary polemic set in the context of consecutive youth riots in
France and the December [2008] insurrection in Greece. Civilization is ending, let's make it a choice rather than a fact."
#Political/Social Theory #What Pisses Off Glenn Beck and Makes Us Laugh
The Coming Insurrection by the Invisible Committee, reviewed by Rudy
"Taking
cues and inspiration from celebrated Italian philosopher Giorgio
Agamben, the Invisible Committee have written a book which has received
infamy from it's coverage on both Fox News and in the NY Times. The book
is often described as 'anti-State communist,' but don't expect any
Marxists to approve. In fact, the anti-political mentality is too much
for even some anarchists. Many enjoy the critique of modern society and
their ideas on 'strategy' though."
#Political/Social Theory #What Pisses Off Glenn Beck and Makes Us Laugh
Coming of Age at the End of History by Camille de Toledo, reviewed by Josh
"This
snappy little manifesto means to voice the despair of the 'children of
the collapse': those that come of age between the 11/9 '89 (collapse of
the Berlin Wall) and 9/11 2001. By way of a great critique of
Situationist theory, and indictment of hipster cynicism, blaming the
empty liquidity of modernity on a misreading of Deleuze and Guattari and
finally, a re-reading of Hakim Bey's TAZ, de Toledo calls convincingly
for a renewed resistance to the one united world of capital. Beware the
tacky metaphors though."
#Western Philosophy #Total Weirdo
Coming to Writing and Other Essays by Helene Cixous, reviewed by FG
"Labelled
a deconstructionist and influenced by Derrida and Rimbaud, Cixous plays
with language, art, gender and revolt in beautiful and stunning prose."
#Western Philosophy #What I Read When I Want to Feel Inspired
Did Someone Say Totalitarianism? by Slavoj Zizek, reviewed by Josh
"Did
somebody say Totalitarianism? Yes, Zizek did, over and over and over
again with 'ironic' comments about Stalin, Mao, and Mousselinni. It
amounts to an attempt at being the GG Allin of theory--or, more
accurately, being like one of those hipsters that has a moustache and a
cowboy hat to be ironic and funny, but after awhile everyone else who
sees them just thinks they're a fucking idiot with a moustache and a
cowboy hat. Is a book length justification of totalitarianism funny?"
#Western Philosophy
The Examined Life by Robert Nozick, reviewed by ER
"This book is the transcription from the documentary by the same name. It is a great intro
for anyone who is interested in philosophy but has never been able to
get into it before. In the book, I loved Cornell West's thoughts on
death and love. In the movie I loved listening to Peter Singer and some
of the things Judith Butler and Sunaura Taylor had to say. Good primer
on Western Philosophy!"
#Western Philosophy
Introduction to Civil War by Tiqqun, reviewed by PM
"85
poetic theses introducing us to civil war as the free-play of
forms-of-life. A moving indictment of the established order, building
off and combining the ideas of Debord, Foucault, Deleuze, Agamben, etc.
Includes 'How Is It to Be Done.' So good!"
#Western Philosophy
Liquid Life by Zygmunt Bauman, reviewed by Eve
"Bauman
makes brilliantly original observations and extrapolations of late/post
capitalist (read: consumerist) society and the way this climate affects
identity and decision making-making processes. The values of 'liquid
modern society' reinforce the lifestyles and social experience of the
privileged classes, those who can afford to practice liquid values while
ignoring the experience of those at the bottom of the global economic
hierarchy. Good read!!"
#Western Philosophy
Molecular Revolution in Brazil by Felix Guattari, reviewed by Lucas
"A
molecular revolution is a deviation from commonly accepted
subjectivities, an interstitial way of being/becoming that redefines and
undermines. It is a way to keep in check the tendency that people, even
in radical groups, have of generalizing about others. It is the reason I
don't believe in identity politics."
#Western Philosophy
Multitude: Between Innovation and Negation by Paolo Virno, reviewed by Lucas
"One
of the original members of the Autonomia movement in Italy, in this
book calls for a complete revision, or rather restructuring, of the
social apparatus based on diversity and fluidity, through means gleaned
from the linguistic characteristics of jokes. It's so good."
#Western Philosophy
A Thousand Machines: A Concise Philosophy of the Machine as Social Movement by Gerald Raunig, reviewed by PM
"Critical
but accessible short overview of he machine as a non-technical concept
as explored by Marx, Deleuze and Guattari. Illuminated through clever
literary criticism and the recent history of May Day. Fun."
#Western Philosophy
Violence by Slavoj Zizek, reviewed by Bo
"Have
you ever met someone whose sole purpose was to use dynamic linguistic
skills and sharp wit to dismantle every point of view you possess? This
is what Zizek does, this latest work catalogs and tries to diagnose the
layers of violence associated with this modern global community. He
makes a variety of valid points that are submerged in scholastic
bullshit."
#Western Philosophy
Violence by Slavoj Zizek, reviewed by Josh
"We
at Left Bank tend to not feature such Stalinist circumlocution as
Zizeks works, but recently 'the Stranger' stuck its tongue so far up his
ass that we thought maybe some Seattleites will read the review and be
intrigued. Besides, the provocations of Zizek, 'the GG Allin of Laconian
theory' are as amusing as any other clown show."
#Western Philosophy #Josh Reaaaally Hates This Guy
The Western Illusion of Human Nature by Marshall Sahlins, reviewed by Josh
"In
this concise little essay Sahlins traces the Hobbesian view of bestial
human nature (and modern genetic determinists as well) back to
Thucydides, proceeds to poke many a hole in the concept; shows us other
groups who thrive with important kinship relations. Questions the modern
state and opens the door to an anarchistic conceptualization of human
relations. Yahoo!"
#Western Philosophy
