.. The commodification of ignorance .. In his uncharacteristically angry book ‘Down to Earth: Politics in the New Climate Regime’, Bruno Latour describes Ignorance on the part of the public as a “precious commodity” justifying immense investments. And in a useful footnote he points to the great manual on the active production of ignorance in the case of the tobacco industry being Robert Procter’s Golden Holocaust: Origins of the Cigarette Catastrophe and the Case for Abolition (Berkley, CA: University of California Press, 2011). David Garcia From: <nettime-l-bounces@mail.kein.org> on behalf of Sean Cubitt <sean.cubitt@unimelb.edu.au>
Date: Saturday, 22 January 2022 at 00:25
To: "nettime-l@mail.kein.org" <nettime-l@mail.kein.org>
Subject: Re: <nettime> CfP: Critical reflections on pandemic politics: left-wing, feminist and anti-racist critiques some notes from a manuscript on Truth I've been working on: the problem seems to be one of inadequate distrust.... The problem with neo-populists is not that they distrust the media but that they trust them too much (and trust the wrong media). They do not seem to distrust advertising, software, fiction and the twitter feeds of billionaires. Their trust makes them angry, and the amplifications of their trusted media mobilise anger as hatred. ‘Freedom’ as war cry allows isolated, fearful and therefore combative people to feel they follow a common purpose, never noticing the paradox that following is unfree. On the other side, ‘trusting the science’ is as dubious as trusting the Lord: both have a sorry record of condoning and causing genocide and ecocide from the Inquisition to Hiroshima. This is why methodical distrust is essential, why we need the analytic aspect of consideration of – to consider where we are, what we can do and what effects our actions might take, informed by consideration for – caring, nurturing, loving (the alien): considering the consequences of truth statements, practices or performances of truth. Truth is a practice, but so is untruth, and they cannot be distinguished by whether they are successful or not, by whatever measure we apply. The natural, social and human sciences no longer pretend to possess absolute truth. It is in general a hallmark of neo-populist, not to say neo-fascist politicians and political movements to claim that they do. They proclaim their one true God, the alternate fact, that trumps all collective wisdom that says there is no single truth and no single place to interpret it from. Truth is not whole, stable, coherent, universal or eternal: truth is performed. There is much more to say about the dispersed subjectivity of the network condition and the in-built tendency to managerialism (we should be translating 'cybernetes' as 'manager') in the no-longer humancyborg corporations that manage networks; about the epidemic of anxiety and bewilderment and the anger they breed. Etcetera.
From: nettime-l-bounces@mail.kein.org <nettime-l-bounces@mail.kein.org> on behalf of nettime-l-request@mail.kein.org <nettime-l-request@mail.kein.org>
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Today's Topics:
1. Re: CfP: Critical reflections on pandemic politics:
left-wing, feminist and anti-racist critiques (hans christian voigt)
2. Re: CfP: Critical reflections on pandemic politics:
left-wing, feminist and anti-racist critiques (Ana Teixeira Pinto)
3. Re: CfP: Critical reflections on pandemic politics:
left-wing, feminist and anti-racist critiques (Ana Teixeira Pinto)
4. Re: CfP: Critical reflections on pandemic politics:
left-wing, feminist and anti-racist critiques (Hoofd, I.M. (Ingrid))
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2022 19:10:26 +0200
From: hans christian voigt <sozwiss@gmail.com>
To: "nettime-l@kein.org" <nettime-l@kein.org>
Subject: Re: <nettime> CfP: Critical reflections on pandemic politics:
left-wing, feminist and anti-racist critiques
Message-ID: <98BA5664-8A22-42A0-A57C-BADA5BBCD0D1@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
I?d say the verdict "an excellent example of [..] 'left? thinking that has completely fallen for the government and big-pharma propaganda" was the end of any critical discussion.
That and further indication that Florians doubts don?t seem far fetched.
chr.
>
>
> From: Florian Cramer <flrncrmr@gmail.com>
> Sent: Thursday, 20 January 2022 13:00
> To: Hoofd, I.M. (Ingrid) <I.M.Hoofd@uu.nl>
> Cc: nettime-l@kein.org
> Subject: Re: <nettime> CfP: Critical reflections on pandemic politics: left-wing, feminist and anti-racist critiques
>
>
> - Government propaganda and censorship around lockdown and vaccination
> [...]
> - The role of mass and social media in anti- or pro-lockdown or vaccine propaganda, political polarization and forms of media virality (eg. via covid-19 memes)
> [...]
> - Mandatory vaccine rollouts as assaults to the feminist appeal to bodily autonomy
> [...]
> - Ethical considerations regarding mass experimentation, moral shaming and lateral citizen surveillance
> [...]
> - Teleological and theological narratives of science as salvation (eg. via vaccinations)
>
> All beautiful examples of a "Querfront" discourse where extreme right positions are packaged in left-wing rhetoric. Not a single point, however, on minorities and vulnerable people and communities endangered by anti-vaccer egoism, and neo-Darwinist politics - for example in the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands, of "herd immunity" through survival of the fittest.
>
> You should invite Dutch experts Willem Engel and Thierry Baudet as keynote speakers.
>
> -F
>
> # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
> # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
> # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
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------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2022 14:00:52 +0100
From: Ana Teixeira Pinto <a.n.a.t.e.i.x.e.i.r.a.p.i.n.t.o@gmail.com>
To: "Hoofd, I.M. (Ingrid)" <I.M.Hoofd@uu.nl>
Cc: "nettime-l@kein.org" <nettime-l@kein.org>
Subject: Re: <nettime> CfP: Critical reflections on pandemic politics:
left-wing, feminist and anti-racist critiques
Message-ID:
<CAJDk3ALoyADSu=sgx6yms9xn7jKH8ZZOfjBDCvxpgSvuwXNfMg@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
I would not call Florian's response a knee-jerk reaction, and also find it
difficult to sketch out an anti-racist position without addressing vaccine
equity, or the adjacency of anti-vaccine rhetoric to narratives of reverse
colonialism entailing the subjugation of white people; not to mention their
rabid antisemitism. I would not foreclose a left-wing critique of
government policy but would agree with Florian that its dangerous to couch
far-right sentiment in left wing discourse.
On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 1:06 PM Hoofd, I.M. (Ingrid) <I.M.Hoofd@uu.nl>
wrote:
> Your knee-jerk response is an excellent example of elitist and
> false-oppositional ?left? thinking that has completely fallen for the
> government and big-pharma propaganda, and forgets to think critically about
> power structures, knowing very well that right-wing and left-wing, while
> also entertaining huge differences, are not pure opposites. Baudet would be
> proud of you; he can rake in the spoils.
>
> Cheers, Ingrid.
>
>
>
>
>
> *From:* Florian Cramer <flrncrmr@gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Thursday, 20 January 2022 13:00
> *To:* Hoofd, I.M. (Ingrid) <I.M.Hoofd@uu.nl>
> *Cc:* nettime-l@kein.org
> *Subject:* Re: <nettime> CfP: Critical reflections on pandemic politics:
> left-wing, feminist and anti-racist critiques
>
>
>
>
> - Government propaganda and censorship around lockdown and vaccination
>
> [...]
>
> - The role of mass and social media in anti- or pro-lockdown or vaccine
> propaganda, political polarization and forms of media virality (eg. via
> covid-19 memes)
>
> [...]
>
> - Mandatory vaccine rollouts as assaults to the feminist appeal to bodily
> autonomy
>
> [...]
>
> - Ethical considerations regarding mass experimentation, moral shaming and
> lateral citizen surveillance
>
> [...]
>
> - Teleological and theological narratives of science as salvation (eg. via
> vaccinations)
>
>
>
> All beautiful examples of a "Querfront" discourse where extreme right
> positions are packaged in left-wing rhetoric. Not a single point, however,
> on minorities and vulnerable people and communities endangered by
> anti-vaccer egoism, and neo-Darwinist politics - for example in the UK,
> Sweden and the Netherlands, of "herd immunity" through survival of the
> fittest.
>
>
>
> You should invite Dutch experts Willem Engel and Thierry Baudet as keynote
> speakers.
>
>
>
> -F
>
>
> # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
> # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
> # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
> # more info: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/BLL_C1WZKqhM3NlQJtLV6TF?domain=mx.kein.org
> # archive: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/S6fMC2xZLrcp1zgD5u1H5ot?domain=nettime.org contact: nettime@kein.org
> # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
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Message: 3
Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2022 18:30:44 +0100
From: Ana Teixeira Pinto <a.n.a.t.e.i.x.e.i.r.a.p.i.n.t.o@gmail.com>
To: Ted Byfield <tedbyfield@gmail.com>
Cc: nettime-l@kein.org
Subject: Re: <nettime> CfP: Critical reflections on pandemic politics:
left-wing, feminist and anti-racist critiques
Message-ID:
<CAJDk3AKV7EG0ujp=KLLZ2eAtHihR-j2xO+w08=f7-pPjpRwi6A@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
What is "pro-vax imperialism"? To what concrete, real, policy does this
term apply? It seems to suggest that vaccines are being foisted on the
global south when the actual problem is hoarding...
On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 6:06 PM Ted Byfield <tedbyfield@gmail.com> wrote:
> This kind of 'concern trolling'?esque appropriation of leftish discourse
> in the service of rightish agendas is becoming pervasive in the US at least
> ? and elsewhere, I'm sure, albeit with less detail.
>
> As with most of these discursive tendencies it's first and foremost
> impersonal, which can make it hard to counter without opening oneself up to
> charges of relying on ad hominem. I think that helps to account for its
> rise as a rhetorical strategy: it 'works' mainly because it lays basis for
> a scripted form of pseudo-argument ? pious platitudes about science,
> openness, debate, democracy, whatever. But, as I think you suggest,
> Florian, it would be a serious mistake to see it as merely rhetorical: it
> has concrete consequences.
>
> It might be useful to think of this turn in terms of rightist
> 'culture-jamming,' 'overidentification,' and related ideas.
>
> Cheers,
> Ted
>
> On 20 Jan 2022, at 7:00, Florian Cramer wrote:
>
> >> - Government propaganda and censorship around lockdown and vaccination
> >>
> > [...]
> >
> >> - The role of mass and social media in anti- or pro-lockdown or vaccine
> >> propaganda, political polarization and forms of media virality (eg. via
> >> covid-19 memes)
> >>
> > [...]
> >
> >> - Mandatory vaccine rollouts as assaults to the feminist appeal to
> bodily
> >> autonomy
> >>
> > [...]
> >
> >> - Ethical considerations regarding mass experimentation, moral shaming
> and
> >> lateral citizen surveillance
> >>
> > [...]
> >
> >> - Teleological and theological narratives of science as salvation (eg.
> via
> >> vaccinations)
> >
> >
> > All beautiful examples of a "Querfront" discourse where extreme right
> > positions are packaged in left-wing rhetoric. Not a single point,
> however,
> > on minorities and vulnerable people and communities endangered by
> > anti-vaccer egoism, and neo-Darwinist politics - for example in the UK,
> > Sweden and the Netherlands, of "herd immunity" through survival of the
> > fittest.
> >
> > You should invite Dutch experts Willem Engel and Thierry Baudet as
> keynote
> > speakers.
> # distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
> # <nettime> is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
> # collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
> # more info: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/BLL_C1WZKqhM3NlQJtLV6TF?domain=mx.kein.org
> # archive: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/S6fMC2xZLrcp1zgD5u1H5ot?domain=nettime.org contact: nettime@kein.org
> # @nettime_bot tweets mail w/ sender unless #ANON is in Subject:
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------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Fri, 21 Jan 2022 08:53:02 +0000
From: "Hoofd, I.M. (Ingrid)" <I.M.Hoofd@uu.nl>
To: Ana Teixeira Pinto <a.n.a.t.e.i.x.e.i.r.a.p.i.n.t.o@gmail.com>,
Ted Byfield <tedbyfield@gmail.com>
Cc: "nettime-l@kein.org" <nettime-l@kein.org>
Subject: Re: <nettime> CfP: Critical reflections on pandemic politics:
left-wing, feminist and anti-racist critiques
Message-ID:
<AM4PR05MB3506D80AFC7E9F0B04E3A40FB85B9@AM4PR05MB3506.eurprd05.prod.outlook.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"
Hi Ana, absolutely, the problem is one of past and present power imbalances. I am referring to the subordination in the former colonies of indigenous populations through vaccine mandates and ?western modern medicine? more generally. See for instance the interesting work of Anke Scherer, who spoke at the ?Epidemics and Othering? symposium a few months ago: https://protect-au.mimecast.com/s/7k8UC5QZOxCZEL2rktxzXWa?domain=epidemicsandothering.blogs.ruhr-uni-bochum.de.
Cheers, Ingrid.
From: nettime-l-bounces@mail.kein.org <nettime-l-bounces@mail.kein.org> On Behalf Of Ana Teixeira Pinto
Sent: Thursday, 20 January 2022 18:31
To: Ted Byfield <tedbyfield@gmail.com>
Cc: nettime-l@kein.org
Subject: Re: <nettime> CfP: Critical reflections on pandemic politics: left-wing, feminist and anti-racist critiques
What is "pro-vax imperialism"? To what concrete, real, policy does this term apply? It seems to suggest that vaccines are being foisted on the global south when the actual problem is hoarding...
On Thu, Jan 20, 2022 at 6:06 PM Ted Byfield <tedbyfield@gmail.com<mailto:tedbyfield@gmail.com>> wrote:
This kind of 'concern trolling'?esque appropriation of leftish discourse in the service of rightish agendas is becoming pervasive in the US at least ? and elsewhere, I'm sure, albeit with less detail.
As with most of these discursive tendencies it's first and foremost impersonal, which can make it hard to counter without opening oneself up to charges of relying on ad hominem. I think that helps to account for its rise as a rhetorical strategy: it 'works' mainly because it lays basis for a scripted form of pseudo-argument ? pious platitudes about science, openness, debate, democracy, whatever. But, as I think you suggest, Florian, it would be a serious mistake to see it as merely rhetorical: it has concrete consequences.
It might be useful to think of this turn in terms of rightist 'culture-jamming,' 'overidentification,' and related ideas.
Cheers,
Ted
On 20 Jan 2022, at 7:00, Florian Cramer wrote:
>> - Government propaganda and censorship around lockdown and vaccination
>>
> [...]
>
>> - The role of mass and social media in anti- or pro-lockdown or vaccine
>> propaganda, political polarization and forms of media virality (eg. via
>> covid-19 memes)
>>
> [...]
>
>> - Mandatory vaccine rollouts as assaults to the feminist appeal to bodily
>> autonomy
>>
> [...]
>
>> - Ethical considerations regarding mass experimentation, moral shaming and
>> lateral citizen surveillance
>>
> [...]
>
>> - Teleological and theological narratives of science as salvation (eg. via
>> vaccinations)
>
>
> All beautiful examples of a "Querfront" discourse where extreme right
> positions are packaged in left-wing rhetoric. Not a single point, however,
> on minorities and vulnerable people and communities endangered by
> anti-vaccer egoism, and neo-Darwinist politics - for example in the UK,
> Sweden and the Netherlands, of "herd immunity" through survival of the
> fittest.
>
> You should invite Dutch experts Willem Engel and Thierry Baudet as keynote
> speakers.
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