Firing Back: Against the Tyranny of the Market

Two years ago I read [b:Contre-feux, Tome 1: Propos pour servir à la résistance contre l'invasion Néo-libérale|1773313|Contre-feux, Tome 1 Propos pour servir à la résistance contre l'invasion Néo-libérale|Pierre Bourdieu|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1188062766s/1773313.jpg|629751], a small collection of essays, interviews, colums, etc. about the rise and (negative) impact of neoliberalism with regards to social welfare, jobs, the economy, and more. This first compilation was a sort of kick in the butt of the political parties, organisations, ... of the left, since they too have since quite some time lost track of their ideals, choosing to fish in the pond of the right for whatever reason.

The heavy style, however, was a bit show more of a burden. Bourdieu, as a sociologist, had a way with words. Or, the main phrases were riddled with subordinate clauses, making you lose track of what the main phrase was. This isn't any different in this second little compilation, which makes it very difficult to wade through. Of course, not every text is affected, but most are. You do need a very decent knowledge of the French language, I find, to understand Bourdieu's argumentation.

In this second work, the negative impact of neoliberalism is brought to the table again; the texts are from the late 1990s and 2000. Bourdieu states that governments have been influenced too much by this ideology and have been used to disable themselves to provide a safe and secure world for people to live and work in. Everything must be coordinated in favour of the free market, of the economy, of large enterprises. Not in the least, the American way must be distributed and implemented: less taxes, less (or rather, no) social security, more flexibility, cheaper workforces, and so on. Also, less money for culture and the arts. There's nothing really profitable there, so why invest in these things?

And that's sort of what happened (also) in Belgium: libraries, cultural organisations, and similar got less money from the government; the latter stating that the past years there had been a serious increase in debt, which meant: austerity, saving and cutting. And selling state-owned property.

Bourdieu calls for a more warm and united civilisation, across borders. Especially the left must get back on track again, because they've been out of touch with their base for far too long. Also, there's too much division among left-sided organisations, which results in people not trusting or, rather, lacking faith in, for example, the trade unions protecting the workers' rights. Especially when these unions also have accumulated large amounts of money these past decades. Credibility?

The European Union is another element of critique: Bourdieu wrote that the union is orientated towards the economy, towards the market, ... Point in case: ECB, IMF, European Commission, ... Hard towards other countries, but reluctant to punish the USA, when it comes to controlling the budget.

So yeah, in itself, this is another worthwhile little book, but the heavy style doesn't allow for a smooth reading, unfortunately. However, both these 'Contre-Feux' works offer a good introduction to Bourdieu's world. show less

Contre-feux 2

Deuxième volet de textes inédits de Bourdieu pour armer son lecteur contre le « fléau néo-libéral ».

Ce deuxième tome complète parfaitement le premier. Il prend une certaine manière de la hauteur. Sans doute est-il un peu plus visionnaire puisque les thématiques sont plus internationalistes mais aussi plus politiques.

Contre-feux 2 est un appel au mouvement social, à l’unification de ce dernier, pour faire face aux dangers ultra-libéraux qui eux s’unissent déjà à l’échelle mondiale. Un appel aussi à l’engagement des sciences et des scientifiques pour qu’ils ne soient plus seulement spectateurs alors qu’ils sont pleinement acteurs.

L’analyse marxiste semble quelques fois transpirer de certains show more textes. On y trouvera également des pistes de réflexion inspirantes et des analyses socio-politiques pertinentes, notamment en matière de repolitisation du monde.

Enfin, en montrant quelles sont les pratiques des néo-libéraux, Bourdieu nous invite à utiliser les armes des libéraux contre eux et, quelque part, engager, à nouveau la lutte des classes. show less

L’illusio chez Pierre Bourdieu. Les (més)usages d’une notion et son application au cas des universitaires
https://journals.openedition.org/traces/2133