2010/1/14 D. Göçmen <dogangoecmen@aol.com>
> I used the term "empire" very consciously in present tense. The time of
> empires is gone at least since WWI as non of the imperialist countries can
> rule over the world for a long period of time without being challenged by
> other imperialist countries.
>
This is certainly not true, several European states maintained themselves as
territorial empires after WWI. De-colonization was a process that
accelerated only after WWII.
> You know very well whom I am referring to and I know where you have this
> term from. Is it not Hardt and Negri who serve you?
>
These are mere fantasies on your part. I didn't get the term 'empire' from
academic fashions but from my relatives who lived under it. My theoretical
understanding of its meaning was first formed by a historian, Eric Hobsbawm.
>
> I think you avoid to look at the truth as you antecedent to the facts and
> reason want to justify some sort of social democratism. The facts speak the
> language of change.
>
Again, a speculative imagination run loose. I have not laid out any specific
political position, but theoretical points that you quite consistently fail
to address.
> To come back to the concept of 'empire': it non-sense as it concentrates on
> one country as an imperialist country.
>
May I suggest that you consult a dictionary on this? In no way have I
suggested that only a *single* empire can exist at one time.
Even if we apparently do not speak the same language, the theoretical issue
remains: the victims of British empire on the Indian subcontinent or of
French empire in Northern Africa where subject to fundamentally different
mechanisms of oppression or exploitation than the oppressed and exploited
people of these regions today. The struggles and sacrifices to end the
operation of classical territorial empires meant a lot, one should not
obscure this fundamental difference.
//Dave Z
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Received on Thu Jan 14 04:43:12 2010
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