A subject is what acts in an active verb and what transforms an infinitive of possibility into a fact of positive discourse. An object is what is acted upon. Transpose it into the subject position and the sentence becomes passive. In our minds and culture, we have embedded a grammar of passivity in which weContinue reading “The Grammar of Conversion (Part 3)”
Author Archives: pfannkuchea
Say, Don’t You Know Me? I’m Your Native Son: Clinton, Carl E. Person, and the 1911 Shopmen’s Strike (Part 2 of 3)
Written by Logan (Janicki) There is one thing that stands out like a mountain above a valley, and that is, that the strike suffered and was eventually lost because of the failure of the International offices to carry out the principles of federation. The Lizard’s Trial, by Carl E. Person. Emphasis present in original. AmongContinue reading “Say, Don’t You Know Me? I’m Your Native Son: Clinton, Carl E. Person, and the 1911 Shopmen’s Strike (Part 2 of 3)”
Say, Don’t You Know Me? I’m Your Native Son: Clinton, Carl E. Person, and the 1911 Shopmen’s Strike (Part 1 of 3)
Written by Logan (Janicki) Ever since [the Illinois Central Railroad] was built, it has been known as having the most frienly relations with its employes [sic] of any corporation in existence. The Facts About the Shopmen’s Strike, by W.L. Park, V.P. and general manager of the Illinois Central Railroad Whearas, on September 30, 1911 theContinue reading “Say, Don’t You Know Me? I’m Your Native Son: Clinton, Carl E. Person, and the 1911 Shopmen’s Strike (Part 1 of 3)”
Conversions: Falling in Love, Becoming Political (Part 2)
But I want to get back to the question. Now I want to formulate my thoughts about two kinds of life-transforming experiences: falling in love and becoming politically oppositional. Alain Badiou places them together under the heading of life-transforming events, though the first is personal and oriented toward one other and the second social andContinue reading “Conversions: Falling in Love, Becoming Political (Part 2)”
The Conversion Experience Revisited (Part 1)
In the first entry I wrote for this blog site, I claimed that I wanted to explore who we are and what we have in us to become. On several occasions, I wrote about what I referred to as the “conversion” experience. What I had in mind was that young people of the 60s generationContinue reading “The Conversion Experience Revisited (Part 1)”
National Power Starts at the Local Level
This article was originally published by YDSA’s The Activist on 17 January 2021, the original article can be found here. When I wrote this article, I had not yet let go of my personal mythology of social democratic “rejuvenation ” in America. The Bernie campaign — which was a warren of like ideas — hadContinue reading “National Power Starts at the Local Level”
The Plague of Capitalism
To any reader of my blog entries, I would like to apologize for the overwrought language of my recent writing. I was evidently working several thoughts out in my head, and since I wasn’t yet able to articulate them very clearly I instead resorted to bathos. One of the ideas taking shape was the continuumContinue reading “The Plague of Capitalism”
DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO ECONOMY MORI
How are people losing faith in institutions?! Since 2016 there has been no end to “good” liberals who are concerned with the rise of conspiracy theories (both real and imagined) and who are distraught at the lack of confidence Americans have in the mainstream media and “technocratic” institutions like the CDC, FBI, and CIA. SinceContinue reading “DULCE ET DECORUM EST PRO ECONOMY MORI”
Plague Analysis from France
You and Erik are thinking about what the study of history is or should be. The question interests us because we think in terms of radical change and because we entertain the question whether the way things are going now is inevitable or natural. I like the bracing Marxist perspective which proceeds from the realizationContinue reading “Plague Analysis from France”
Three Images of Masculinity
I am devastated by the news that Bloomington-Normal DSA has voted to dissolve itself and I will write a proper post-mortem about the organization soon. However, I only found out that DSA had decided to dissolve less than 24 hours before returning to America for Christmas with my family, I have not had the timeContinue reading “Three Images of Masculinity”
Normal Thoughts 