Comecon collapse threatened to replace Three Worlds Theory with eclectic difference-play

Evidence

The social collapse of the Comecon countries has, of course, complicated this matter of the ‘Three Worlds Theory’ a great deal, and it is likely that the category itself may now be abandoned altogether, more out of confusion than anything else, to be replaced simply with eclectic play, thus refurbishing the already hegemonic academic philosophies of ‘Difference’ We shall return to the political origins of the Three Worlds Theory, as well as some alternative ways of theorizing the global structure of imperialism in its current phase, in the concluding chapter of this book. — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 361

Categorization

• QUESTION: Ahmad forecasts that abandoning the Three Worlds category turns into depoliticized ‘Difference’ play — does this predict the fate of strategic essentialism too, once its political ground (Comecon-era tripartism) dissolved?
• XREF: Parallel to reader’s concern: when the political referent collapses, does ironic strategic essentialism become mere ‘eclectic play’ — same structurally evasive outcome Ahmad warns of here. — connects to: Theory survives new cultural phenomena when treated as an open horizon — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 728; Comecon socialisms entered a double crisis in the 1960s hidden by Third World revolutions — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, 119; Decolonial theory replaces universal worldviews with pluriversal ones and subaltern standpoints — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection: How Data Is…, 268 (+1 more)

Broader Connections

• Theory survives new cultural phenomena when treated as an open horizon #responds-to (0.75) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 728
• Decolonial theory replaces universal worldviews with pluriversal ones and subaltern standpoints #expands (0.75) — Nick Couldry & Ulises A. Mejias, The Costs of Connection, 268
• Comecon socialisms entered a double crisis in the 1960s hidden by Third World revolutions #qualifies (0.72) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 119
• The Third World has continually collapsed into competing national units #exemplifies (0.72) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 30