[-empyre-] laws, outlaws & golden pirates

[marc garrett]

Hi Gabriela & all,

Great to hear from a 'real' anthropologist on the matter...

 > many work every now and again for corporations, including Coke, beer
 > companies, phone companies and pretty much anything they can get.

It reminds me of psychoanalysts working for marketing companies and 
governments. A situation which has its own dangers, which Ian Curtis 
Highlighted in his documentary 'The Century of the Self' was broadcast 
on British Television in 2002. "The Freud dynasty is at the heart of 
this compelling social history. Sigmund Freud, founder of 
psychoanalysis; Edward Bernays, who invented public relations; Anna 
Freud, Sigmund's devoted daughter; and present-day PR guru and Sigmund's 
great grandson, Matthew Freud." 
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/century_of_the_self.shtml

 > Those of us with actualjobs  are in a bind: should we censure these
 > practices? If we do, how do we expect them to make a living applying
 > what they learned?

There are many in working environments where they have to compromise 
their beliefs and ethics, in order to survive. Years ago, a friend of 
mine, used to work for a local council, and it made him feel a whole lot 
better when he regularly made anarchist booklets by using their 
photocopying machine as a part of his usual production. A small example 
of self-empowerment in a system which one does not necessarily agree 
with, politically or ethically. We all have to make compromises, what 
matters is how we decide act when we are caught in a system we do not 
respect?

I really would not advocate typical heroics, in situations of 
traditional normalization and hegemonic practice as the only way. Every 
little bit counts. For instance, it may serve one's emotional well being 
to join groups outside of any system which, as part of its function 
denies humanist forms of emotional and situational expansion. Fighting 
the macho way, is not always the best way. Not all forms of power needs 
to declare itself, showing power off can be detrimental in the wrong 
environment. We all need to meet others, where we can explore mutual 
reasonings in ways that expand our depths in rich ways.

So, post-modern
 > anthropologists are very often underemployed or even unemployed
 > anthropologists, and neoliberalism shows no signs of haltering or 
faltering
 > in its evil ways.

In regard to our relationship with work, which of course is a form of 
social engineering. If the idea of work loses its foundation; as in we 
lose our job, we are then seen as 'job seekers'. A new role is given to 
us, we are then re-appropriated in terms of 'social worth', which in 
turn creates a definition of our status. The worth of what we do and who 
we are, loses its once accepted cache amongst 'official' defaults, 
unfortunately these readily accepted mechanisms and frameworks are 
already in place, reflecting not the reality of an individual's 'actual' 
value to the community and more, but usually in terms of economic worth. 
Thus other forms of definitions are also set in gear, in accordance to 
signifiers and values misrepresenting most individuals, with pseudo 
judgements of others with the façade of 'prestige'; closely related to 
narcissism.

of course, on occasion we meet those who support notions of rationality 
above situational context. Official protocols demand such values, but 
may miss out on more deeper, resonances due to an emotional reliance or 
belief of rationality as an absolute. Another unfortunate stumbling 
block around ideas of rationality, prestige and status, is how 
rationality is assumed to be a strong bed fellow to money. 
Neo-liberalism possesses this advantage, where an immediate respect 
occurs from those who value top-down forms of power, over less defined 
or obviously aggressive functions, of human endeavours and interaction.

"The connection between money thinking and rational thinking is so 
deeply ingrained in our practical lives that it seems impossible to 
question it; our practical experience is articulated in one whole school 
of economic theorists who define economics as the 'science which studies 
human behaviour as a relationship between ends and means which have 
alternative uses.'" Rationality and Irrationality. The Filthy Lucre. 
p234. Life Against Death: The Psychoanalytical Meaning of History. 
Norman O.Brown.

So, the idea that money is a rational state of being, is a myth with the 
reliance of scarcity declares how irrational such acceptance of this 
behaviour really is...

Wishing you well.

marc

www.furtherfield.org
> Dear all,
>
> I am an anthropologist and would like to differ from what Marc says here,
> but unfortunately I concur with his description of the general situation.
> 'Anthropology' has now become 'the anthropology job market', so that it is
> very difficult to go against whatever neoliberals come up with to expand the
> power of corporations.  Those of us who are older are seen with suspicion by
> the younger generations who think WE keep them out of jobs.
>
> For unemployed anthropologists and other social scientist, piracy has lost
> many of its negative connotations, since they really cannot afford
> 'regularized' information goods (which are the goods of our trade).  So,
> they download books and articles without paying for them, find ways to
> download music and in general poach stuff from the web.  Besides, many work
> every now and again for corporations, including Coke, beer companies, phone
> companies and pretty much anything they can get.  Those of us with actual
> jobs are in a bind: should we censure these practices? If we do, how do we
> expect them to make a living applying what they learned?  So, post-modern
> anthropologists are very often underemployed or even unemployed
> anthropologists, and neoliberalism shows no signs of haltering or faltering
> in its evil ways.
>
> Best to all, and thanks for this great discussion,
>
> Gabriela
>
> ----
> Gabriela Vargas-Cetina
>
> http://sites.google.com/site/representacionesculturales/vargas-cetina
> http://antropuntodevista.blogspot.com