After-thought added 15 May 2012
I'm not mentioning names here until I have a better developed story to tell...but...
I am beginning to suspect that there is a new sort of literary criticism which approaches texts with a theory in mind, and sees what it wants to see---ignoring the rest.
It is much akin to a certain sort of history, or history of philosophy which concentrates on producing a certain smooth narrative......
Of course a proponent of the new literary criticism can add footnotes conceding that the major claims are not exactly true of a given text....And thereby protect himself against criticism...
Yet, I have the feeling that what we've got here is a new Procrustean bed.......
A related phenomenon is the treatment of "communism" in Central Europe as though it were
obvious to all what it really was, and that it was obviously bad, and that anyone associated
with it in any way must have been in need of confessing----All mostly unstated, but, I think, an idea that floats around and hinders real understanding......
An after-thought
Do I mean thereby to say that the thing they call "communism" was good? Surely not. But, even granting that it was a bad system, there is room for further thought and analysis. Moreover, it wouldn't be surprising if it had advantages not possessed by current capitalism. It is a commonplace, e.g., among those old enough to remember the old system that then they had more time for friends and families. I intend to deplore the tendency to say/think: that's in the past, so let's not talk about it.
A related phenomenon is the treatment of "communism" in Central Europe as though it were
obvious to all what it really was, and that it was obviously bad, and that anyone associated
with it in any way must have been in need of confessing----All mostly unstated, but, I think, an idea that floats around and hinders real understanding......
An after-thought
Do I mean thereby to say that the thing they call "communism" was good? Surely not. But, even granting that it was a bad system, there is room for further thought and analysis. Moreover, it wouldn't be surprising if it had advantages not possessed by current capitalism. It is a commonplace, e.g., among those old enough to remember the old system that then they had more time for friends and families. I intend to deplore the tendency to say/think: that's in the past, so let's not talk about it.
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