INTELLECTUALS & THE DIVISION OF LABOR--SARTRE ET AL

[malgosia askanas]

> What is it about 
> Foucault, Derrida, Kristeva, Irigaray, etc. that resounds with the 
> psyche of the left.

When I read these people, it is for the same reason I read Adorno or
Benjamin: they represents my own culture's attemps at self-critique
and historical self-awareness.  To globally dismiss them as "criminal"
or "leading to fascism" is, in the immortal words of a friend of mine,
to wage war against bathwater:  undialectical, uncritical, and
rather quaint on a Frankfurt School list.  It makes one seriously doubt
the excellence of human reason.  I think I'll take in a little dose of 
Foucault or Deleuze to restore my faith. 


-m