What I have come to understand is that transience – that is, the state of being transient – is a problem. For the past decade or so, I have been transient to one degree or another. You wouldn’t know it to look at me, performing as I do a certain middle-class identity in my dress, speech, and profession, but that is what I am. This is what it means to be part of the so-called “precariat”.
Read MoreI call this “the social zamboni.” It is something that smooths out the rough edges and fields of intensity. I do not think that this particular social formation is one that was designed – such thinking would be conspiracism – but one that has gradually emerged to make the environment in which it occurs more stable.
Read MoreDespite being an educator, you might notice that I don’t discuss education much on this site. Part of this is simply my attempt to put up a wall between my professional life and my public speech – I intend to drill a hole in this wall today, though I’m going to maintain a bit of privacy. I won’t be publicly naming the school(s) I teach at, for example. The reason I decided to write on this subject is quite simple: I’m pretty sure that the American College system is in a state of collapse
Read MoreI also tend to do much smaller book challenges than Edgar does, specifically so I can spend more time ruminating on things. Of course, this means that I don’t explore quite as much, and often end up picking through the remainder of their omnivorous ranging for my own reading.
Read MoreOn Page 20 of Capitalist Realism, Mark Fisher wrote “With the triumph of neoliberalism, bureaucracy was supposed to have been made obsolete; a relic of an unlamented Stalinist past. Yet this is at odds with the experiences of most people working and living in late capitalism, for whom bureaucracy remains very much a part of everyday life. Instead of disappearing, bureaucracy has changed its form; and this new, decentralized form has allowed it to proliferate.” What can be done?
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