near the end of history on the edge of the desert?
March 15, 2006 4:46 PM   Subscribe

Last Man, Las Vegas. Bernard-Henri Lévy and Francis Fukuyama discuss the habits and habitat of the American demos.
posted by Urban Hermit (12 comments total)
 
tl;dr
posted by keswick at 4:53 PM on March 15, 2006


This was an interesting read. FF has a right to be skeptical about the idea of a "pure" intellectual advanced by Levy, but he has a point when the neocons constantly roll out Wolfowitz and Bill Kristol as their intellectual artillery, when they've been proven wrong on so many issues, and have had either cosy, well-paid administration positions or virtual patronage in the form of conservative think tanks.

Of course, as a fan of Rorty, I've always found the whole quest for purity in anything intellectual and/or metaphysical to be inherently silly, if not self-defeating.
posted by bardic at 5:16 PM on March 15, 2006


Thanks for the post. The Garrison Keillor (of A Prairie Home Companion fame) NYT review of Bernard-Henri Lévy's book was so negative, that I'd love to see those two guys have a discussion about America.
posted by Staggering Jack at 5:25 PM on March 15, 2006


Why do people still believe Fukuyama has any sort of credibility? Gah.

And no, intellectuals aren't needed by anybody any more. The services that used to be provided by intellectuals are now provided by most everybody. Opinions, particularly critical opinions, are quite plentiful these days. The market has fulfilled this particular demand many times over. The success of the neocons would indicate that the content of opinions don't matter at all; it's all in the packaging. Does he really believe Kristol's opinions are the result of rigorous intellectual examination? And the whole "idealistic" versus "realistic" intellectual advanced by Levy is a sham. "Idealistic" and "realistic" are no longer signifiers of any underlying intellectual framework; they're marketing terms. When somebody like Rumsfeld describes himself as "realistic" that just means he's going to ignore your criticism in good faith.
posted by nixerman at 5:28 PM on March 15, 2006


Howard Hughes eliminated Mob influence in Las Vegas in 1967? tee-hee! Also, the Mormons run Utah, not Nevada.
posted by longsleeves at 5:40 PM on March 15, 2006


What Fukayama claims is that "The Mormons, after all, are the religious group with the deepest roots throughout Nevada." I think this is accurate.
posted by mr_roboto at 5:48 PM on March 15, 2006


Fascinating read, thanks for linking.
And no, intellectuals aren't needed by anybody any more. The services that used to be provided by intellectuals are now provided by most everybody.

you have teh brains
posted by undule at 6:23 PM on March 15, 2006


nixerman: after he wrote the comical book The End of History, his subsequent books should have had stickers placed on them with the statement "for entertainment purposes only." Alas, the past is something to be forgotten, not something to learn from. He certainly wasn't the first person to write a book about the natural perfection of the cultural, political, and economic environment of the time that he just so happened to benefit from.
posted by MillMan at 6:33 PM on March 15, 2006


Very good read; I thought that Levy won the discussion, but it was painfully obvious to me that Fukiyama was holding onto the glory of myths, not reality. Regarding Europeans and religion and Americans and religion, I don't think Fukiyama took into account those in Europe who actually practice their faith instead of dress it up in cheap crepe paper and papier mache' as do Oral Roberts, Billy Graham and Pat Robertson (along with Jerry Falwell and numerous others).
Regarding military islolationism, I think that's something that's been going on for many, many years now. Back in the late 60's, early to mid 70's before my father got out, me and my fellow military brats reflected the thinking of our parents: civilians are gullible, know-nothing sheep that will really never understand the way the world really works. Don't think this is naive', just the way the military indoctrinates it's troops.
I guess what bothered me most of all about this is that Fukiyama, the father of the neo-con movement, was just as deluded and idealistic as his Rush-loving followers.
If there was ever a need for aliens from space to descend and save the planet, this would be that time.
posted by mk1gti at 6:42 PM on March 15, 2006


If there was ever a need for aliens from space to descend and save the planet, this would be that time.

Too late.
posted by semmi at 11:17 PM on March 15, 2006


I hate Vegas
posted by Smedleyman at 9:31 AM on March 16, 2006


(Fukuyama is on with Lou Dobbs right now. A bit interesting--but it's hard not to think that FF is trying to distance himself from his fellow travellers since much of what they've touched in the last five years has turned to shit.)
posted by bardic at 3:41 PM on March 16, 2006


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