Postmodernism was a reaction to modernism. Where modernism was about objectivity, postmodernism was about subjectivity. Where modernism sought a singular truth, postmodernism sought the multiplicity of truths.Miguel Syjuco Postmodernism is the enlightenment gone mad.Stanley Rosen Confused thinking leads nowhere in particular and can be indulged indefinitely without producing any impact upon the world.Stanislav Andreski Those … Continue reading The Postmodern Condition
The Sheer Sophistry of Critical Theory
The Sophists have a bad reputation. The word sophistry has an avowedly negative connotation, referring as it does to the art of making convincing but ultimately fallacious and misleading arguments. The Sophists were wandering philosophers and teachers in 5th century Greece who inquired into the nature of language and culture, and who employed rhetoric to persuade or … Continue reading The Sheer Sophistry of Critical Theory
Disinformation in Gaza
We live in a confused age of post-truth, disinformation, and propaganda made worse with technology that permits us to easily manufacture or modify digital information. It is for this reason that I'm always very careful about sources. In spite of my care, when it comes to the "situation" in Gaza, I have been fooled twice … Continue reading Disinformation in Gaza
Palestinian Resistance
Palestine has a right to resist occupation. This is abundantly clear from international humanitarian law, the legal framework within which belligerent state actors and non-state actors are permitted to conduct warfare in situations of armed conflict and occupation. In Palestine, especially after 1967, it is occupation that matters most. Israel is an occupying power, as … Continue reading Palestinian Resistance
Russian and Soviet Imperialism in the Middle East
Imperialism is nothing new, it's been with mankind since the rise of civilization. Russia is no exception. It was, and is, an imperial power. It was once a considerable imperial power, having 125.6 million subjects according to the 1897 census. This was the third-largest population in the world at the time, after China and India. Like all large empires, the … Continue reading Russian and Soviet Imperialism in the Middle East
The Just Assassins
What follows is an excerpt from Act 2 of Albert Camus' play Les Justes, known in English as The Just Assassins. This section of dialogue has much to say about the moral dilemmas posed by assassination and terror. The play is based on the true story of a group of Russian socialist revolutionaries who assassinated the Grand Duke … Continue reading The Just Assassins
Edward Said’s Two Tests of Knowledge
Warden of the Mosque, Damascus (1891) by Gustav Bauernfeind. I admire Edward Said. I think his insights into geopolitics are incredibly valuable. The Question of Palestine (1979) and Peace and its Discontents (1995) are examples of near-perfection in political writing. He writes beautifully, and when he's right, he's right. However, I'm not gone on his … Continue reading Edward Said’s Two Tests of Knowledge
Douma — دوما
If in some smothering dreams, you too could paceBehind the wagon that we flung him in,And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,His hanging face, like a devil’s sick of sin;If you could hear, at every jolt, the bloodCome gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs... I made my first attempt to enter the Syrian Arab … Continue reading Douma — دوما
Achcar’s Three Principles of Anti-Imperialism
In a brilliant article in The Nation magazine in April, 2021, Professor Gilbert Achcar, from London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), proposed three guiding principles for the anti-imperialist movement. First and most important: Truly progressive positions—unlike red-painted apologetics for dictators—are determined as a function of the best interests of the peoples’ right to … Continue reading Achcar’s Three Principles of Anti-Imperialism
US Interventions since WW2
Every so often, I notice a similar image circulating on social media. There are different variations, and the variations are themselves interesting. The image is a list of US interventions since the Second World War. My first question is: why do the lists vary? What makes different people add or subtract entries to and from … Continue reading US Interventions since WW2
Rationis Capax 
