Radical theory must move beyond the 1968 imaginary that still hold it hostage
Evidence
MF: I would say that, in many ways, the politics of 68 haven’t collapsed enough. 68 is a spectre which still hangs over theory. Yet the forces which 68 railed against no longer exist; there is no Stalinist Party or State that we need to blow apart with a Cultural Revolution. Which isn’t to say that we should want to return to Stalinist authoritarianism, or that it is possible to do so; the oscillation between these two options is the sign of a failure of political imagination. It’s necessary to go all the way through post-Fordism, to keep looking ahead, especially at times when there seems to be nothing ahead of us. — Mark Fisher (edited by Darren Ambrose), K-Punk, 2079
Categorization
- QUESTION: Pursue what ‘going all the way through post-Fordism’ concretely means for political strategy in the present.
- XREF: connects to: Post-1968 Western radicalism abandoned belief in domestic socialist revolution — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Classes, Nations, Literatures, 126; Increasing theoretical radicalism coincided with growing political pessimism — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination: A History…, 772; Post-1968 literary theory abandoned solidarity with labor movements — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory: Nations, Classes, Literatures, 8 (+3 more)
Broader Connections
- The radical literary-theory current was absorbed into poststructuralism and de-radicalized
#exemplifies(0.82) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 243 - Sixties radical thought was still committed to totalized utopian master narratives
#corroborates(0.80) — Marianne DeKoven, Utopia Limited, 669 - Post-1968 Western radicalism abandoned belief in domestic socialist revolution
#exemplifies(0.78) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 126 - Post-1968 literary theory abandoned solidarity with labor movements
#exemplifies(0.75) — Aijaz Ahmad, In Theory, 8 - Increasing theoretical radicalism coincided with growing political pessimism
#qualifies(0.73) — Martin Jay, The Dialectical Imagination, 772 - Renegade radical thinkers from the tradition sought to recuperate radical theory from Marxism’s blunders
#expands(0.72)