Re: Political Correctness + Nobel Prize

["Umberto Rossi" <urossi@programatic.it>]

> An interesting comment on the future of sociology from the UK sociologist
> Zygmunt Baumann in a recent article of his suggests that all these left
> academic discourses circulate in a closed system - in other words that
> they are profoundly irrelevant and ignored by the rest of society, which
> keeps on functioning in its nasty old capitalistic way. "Real politics" 
> exists and functions mostly outside the academy. "Political correctness" 
> thus remains a loud irritation for most people in the Uni, and an object 
> of ridicule for most people outside it. 

Dear John,

You're totally right (also about my spelling error), and I agree with
Mr. Baumann's (should I use Professor?) analysis.  You know, I have
two lives.  I work in a social research institute, and that gives me
info about how the "rest of society" works, and attend a literary
seminar every second saturday, so I can tap the "closed system". 

That's exactly how it works.  The more the smaller academia circuit
is sealed, the more it becomes aggressive and intolerant (while
pretending, consciously or unconsciously, to herald ideas of
tolerance and democracy).  The rest of the world (which almost
coincides with "the world, period") goes on with its total
mobilization (one of the great concepts Juenger coined and we can
always spend...), which now is reaching cloning and genetic
materials.

Thank you for your appreciation of Professor Eco, but I think his
only literary achievement was the first novel of the series, i.e. Il
nome della rosa.  Il pendolo di Foucault was spoiled by the hidden
anti-deconstructionist polemic, and the third novel, L'isola del
giorno dopo (or was it "del giorno prima"?) seems to be a deadly
bore.  But here I should perhaps shut up because I hadn't time to
read it, and have to rely on comments from some acquaintance of
mine. And this is not a good way to deal with somebody else's
literary efforts, isn't it? 

Ah, did anybody know if Juenger dealt with genetic engineering in 
some of his texts?

And, second, would you accept the definition of Eumeswil as 
"Science-fiction novel"?  (ok, we often mistrust definitions, but 
sometime we have to deal with them...)

(John, with "real politics" you have translated Realpolitik, didn't 
you?  is that a customary translation?)

Umberto Rossi

"A commission is appointed 
To confer with a Volscian commission 
About perpetual peace"--and nobody told me!