finding the flexible personality

What am I trying to do with the network culture book? Very much what Brian Holmes sets out to do in his essay the Flexible Personality. Toward a Cultural Critique. This is one of the best things I’ve read in a while. In an era that undoes its historicity, it’s more urgent than ever to understand the present historically. In an era that undoes critique, it’s more urgent than ever to critique.

Make no mistake, I don’t set out to sing the praises of network culture.

There are plenty of people who do that. Sure, there are tactical necessities to arguing against increasing restrictions of copyright or for network neutrality or in praise of amateur cultural production. Don’t get me wrong on that, but let’s not lose sight of the big picture. This isn’t a happy ending for class struggle. Or did you notice that the über-class is getting richer and richer while we live paycheck to paycheck? As Deleuze wrote in one of his moments of greatest lucidity, "The coils of a serpent are even more complex that the burrows of a molehill." Most definitely. 

 

What am I trying to do with the network culture book? Very much what Brian Holmes sets out to do in his essay the Flexible Personality. Toward a Cultural Critique. This is one of the best things I’ve read in a while. In an era that undoes its historicity, it’s more urgent than ever to understand the present historically. In an era that undoes critique, it’s more urgent than ever to critique.

Make no mistake, I don’t set out to sing the praises of network culture.

There are plenty of people who do that. Sure, there are tactical necessities to arguing against increasing restrictions of copyright or for network neutrality or in praise of amateur cultural production. Don’t get me wrong on that, but let’s not lose sight of the big picture. This isn’t a happy ending for class struggle. Or did you notice that the über-class is getting richer and richer while we live paycheck to paycheck? As Deleuze wrote in one of his moments of greatest lucidity, "The coils of a serpent are even more complex that the burrows of a molehill." Most definitely. 

 

2 thoughts on “finding the flexible personality”

    • Hi Nam,
      Oh gosh, doubled

      Hi Nam,

      Oh gosh, doubled http’s are the bane of my existence. They drive me nuts… My otherwise great WYSIWYG editor is at fault. That plus constant user error. 

      Reply

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