Re: nettime: Three Book Reviews - Richard Barbrook

[t byfield <tbyfield@panix.com>]

Barbrook:

<...> Surprisingly, the most dialectical analysis of cyberspace is
> found within the American collection of essays: <...>

	This is a troll, yes? Or have our discussions devolved to the point at
which we're mere metonyms for our National Culture?
	If this were simply a matter of taking offense at a poorly conceived
remark about Americans, I'd skip it. But given the interest that McKenzie's
and Geert's meditations on the English language; on the relationship
between Soros/NGO/etc. activities and national cultures; on jurisprudence,
jurisdiction, enforcement, and electronic communications; etc., etc...
Given these things, there's no doubt that national culture is, more than
undeniable, important. And it's as complicated to think about as it *is*:
obviously, national cultures aren't monolithic, homogeneous, smooth, or
consistent. On the contrary, they're stratified, segmented, broken: and
they vary, for example, by juxtaposition ("Dutch" vs. "English",
"Amsterdam" vs. "Rotterdam", and so on).
	In any case, the notion that dialectics vary by nation is, to put it
politely, very curious indeed. Especially in this context.

Ted


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