tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post5939820150527445453..comments2023-04-02T10:36:48.653+01:00Comments on Wandering Naval Gazer: Bob Dylan and Post-Structuralism?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-15786943333391111172007-04-09T17:59:00.000+01:002007-04-09T17:59:00.000+01:00^^ I absolutely agree with your argument about aca...^^ I absolutely agree with your argument about academia. There has to be some practical element to research that I think is sadly missing nowadays. I do also believe that all academics should have to justify their use or be shot, a la the Cultural Revolution, but I'm a bit of a radical on this front.<BR/><BR/>I think consumerism, however, has changed over time. I think it's taken over the slot that religion used to hold, in a sort of worship fetishism thing. I think people were very self-involved with religion rather than the point of it which was to go out and actually help people in the name of God. Consumerism doesn't have the altruistic aspect I suppose, so people are perhaps more self-involved in that sense. Consumerism will probably go the way of religion in a hundred years as people are beginning to realise (certainly in the West) that it isn't going to make their lives complete. ( See the ludicrious rise in "alpha courses" etc)<BR/><BR/>I think that the sheer scale of poverty/war etc that we have become aware of through mass media has a part to play. People become more apathetic when the odds seem insurrmountable. On the whole though, I do agree with you that there is a major issue with it. It bugs me too, the apathy, but what can you do? (Delicious irony...)Mark Bucklandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12768276061717716441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-72096004258193458622007-04-08T13:06:00.000+01:002007-04-08T13:06:00.000+01:00First of all, apologies for taking a while to repl...First of all, apologies for taking a while to reply to this. I wanted to mull it over before I added my thoughts to your comment. <BR/><BR/>I do agree with your point that people are less involved with idealism. However, I think it's a different issue when it comes to Western academia. A small part of me wonders what the benefits are of awarding a grant to a sociologist to investigate advertising on young children when contrasted with people starving in areas of the world. Which project will achieve the greater good? <BR/><BR/>It's interesting to contrast the 'great' social movements in the 60s and 70s. Can you imagine today's students protesting against war, nuclear armament, poverty? As our dear Strathclyde Telegraph reported recently, apathy has become a part of student life. Many people want to go to university to get a degree, get a good job and get all those lovely consumer goods society wants to hoist onto us. <BR/><BR/>It is going off the beaten track somewhat but I do believe consumerism has made people more self-involved. <BR/><BR/>I'd be interested to hear what you think.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17684400154894645235noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2288000153753902960.post-6308724774687646892007-04-03T16:44:00.000+01:002007-04-03T16:44:00.000+01:00I actually thought the Charles Taylor you were ref...I actually thought the Charles Taylor you were refering to was the Liberian warlord who has business relations with Pat Robertson. Think of what you said in that way and it becomes quite strange.<BR/><BR/>I would disagree with this though. If you take these two musical (I won't say pop culture cause that demeans both) references and compare, all it says is that the last 30 years has seen disillusionment with being able to change the world, hence Radiohead. I don't believe people are anymore narcisstic now, par example, you think hippies wore beads because they helped them tap into ley lines or something? <BR/><BR/>People aren't necessarily more self involved, its just they're less involved with idealism. I'm not sure which would be worse.<BR/><BR/>Just a thought.Mark Bucklandhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12768276061717716441noreply@blogger.com