Friday 16 August 2019
Dear Shameless Death - Latife Tekin
A novel based on the author's experience as a child of moving to the big city (Istanbul or Ankara) from her small isolated village in Anatolia. Many parts of the novel read like surrealism or magic realism but in large part I think instead it reflects the "magical" thinking of childhood and of people deeply embedded in a world of tradition, superstition and folk religion. I especially enjoyed the character of the young girl, Dermit, and think the author does an amazing job of entering into the perceptions and thinking of childhood, which is very hard for rational adults.
Thursday 8 August 2019
How Fascism Works - Jason Stanley
A well-written concise book looking at the way fascism/autocratic forms of government establish themselves in a democratic context. Step by step, technique by technique analysis. Reads like a "how to" manual for would-be dictators.
Each critical step draws examples from history, mostly Mussolini and Hitler, and then looks at these same steps being taken currently in various countries around the world from the U.S. to Turkey to Russia to many others.
It is both interesting and useful to look at these steps and ask which ones you see currently operating within your own society. Kind of a social health check-up.
Worth reading several times.
Also worth reading in tandem with Ece Temelkuran's recent book, "How to Lose a Country".
Each critical step draws examples from history, mostly Mussolini and Hitler, and then looks at these same steps being taken currently in various countries around the world from the U.S. to Turkey to Russia to many others.
It is both interesting and useful to look at these steps and ask which ones you see currently operating within your own society. Kind of a social health check-up.
Worth reading several times.
Also worth reading in tandem with Ece Temelkuran's recent book, "How to Lose a Country".
How to Lose a Country - Ece Temelkuran
Subtitled "The 7 Steps from Democracy to Dictatorship"
Brilliant book chronicling Turkey's slide into its current dictatorship/autocracy, with asides looking at the same process in other countries - U.S., Hungary, Russia, Poland, Britain.
She brings up the point that this structure of government can actually be called a form of mafia government.
A good companion read to "How Fascism Works".
Temelkuran points out some interesting techniques used by would-be leaders, particularly their use of the news cycle and the outrageous statement as a means to controlling the media's and people's attention, directing it towards controversial topics as the government gets on with some other agenda that it doesn't want attention on.
A very disturbing book. You have to worry about your own homeland heading in that direction. So far, Temelkuran has focused on the actions of the would-be dictator as he moves towards absolute power, but I am interested in the ground, the socio-political situation that makes his rise possible, that he exploits on his way up. My sense is the fertile ground lies in groups that see themselves excluded from the benefits of society as it stands. And it has to be a significant group in terms of numbers. When I consider Turkey, Russia and Hungary, it seems that desperate poverty is certainly one of those conditions of exclusion. Hence, the aspiring fascist/dictator groups get the support of these poor people by simply giving them some of the basic necessities of life for free. (Same thing was done in Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood - these poor people may not buy into the religious or nationalist message, but they sure appreciate the food and other necessities.) Or by creating low-paying fake jobs for them - as Orban is doing in Hungary. This, however, is not one of the basic techniques in the U.S. - their mythology is too strongly against any kind of social welfare...
So you can conclude here that increased income inequality, either within society as a whole or regionally, is one key element that helps prepare the ground for the rise of autocrats.
Another group to exploit would seem to be the people who see themselves excluded for religious or cultural reasons. In Turkey, the religious factor is obviously at play in several ways. First in the former dominance of a secular elite. Second, in some discriminatory laws around religious clothing that excluded people from higher education and government positions. Cultural exclusion can also be seen. At play, I suspect, was also a disdain towards the people and society of smaller, more traditional Anatolian towns and villages, which also suffered, coincidentally from higher levels of poverty. A would-be dictator gets their support by appearing to take them seriously, by speaking their cultural language, by granting them respect. Which "respect" also seems to be a big selling point for Trump in the eyes of many mid-western and small town Americans (who also experience higher levels of poverty and joblessness.)
A third issue also seems to be exploitable by would-be autocrats, the issue of "the other", of immigrants, (or of the "foreign" E.U regulations in some European countries). It is essentially a reverse side of cultural exclusion - the fear of becoming a cultural stranger in your own country due to immigrant culture or culture imposed from outside. This is the issue that can be used with the middle-class, secular citizen. This trope is being exploited in many countries, but alone it doesn't seem to get the would-be autocrat too far. Economic exclusion and cultural exclusion seem to be more powerful issues to exploit.
The other interesting idea she brings up, which is peculiar to our current technology and era, is the idea of the mob - how harsh it can be, how dangerous, how beyond reason. In situations like that of Turkey (and the U.S.) Twitter etc. essentially function as tools for the formation of mobs at lightening speed. The mob follows you everywhere because it infiltrates your online life. It can also easily track your address, your family and connections. This is a new and very scary tool for enforcing conformism and for silencing dissent through fear.
Brilliant book chronicling Turkey's slide into its current dictatorship/autocracy, with asides looking at the same process in other countries - U.S., Hungary, Russia, Poland, Britain.
She brings up the point that this structure of government can actually be called a form of mafia government.
A good companion read to "How Fascism Works".
Temelkuran points out some interesting techniques used by would-be leaders, particularly their use of the news cycle and the outrageous statement as a means to controlling the media's and people's attention, directing it towards controversial topics as the government gets on with some other agenda that it doesn't want attention on.
A very disturbing book. You have to worry about your own homeland heading in that direction. So far, Temelkuran has focused on the actions of the would-be dictator as he moves towards absolute power, but I am interested in the ground, the socio-political situation that makes his rise possible, that he exploits on his way up. My sense is the fertile ground lies in groups that see themselves excluded from the benefits of society as it stands. And it has to be a significant group in terms of numbers. When I consider Turkey, Russia and Hungary, it seems that desperate poverty is certainly one of those conditions of exclusion. Hence, the aspiring fascist/dictator groups get the support of these poor people by simply giving them some of the basic necessities of life for free. (Same thing was done in Egypt by the Muslim Brotherhood - these poor people may not buy into the religious or nationalist message, but they sure appreciate the food and other necessities.) Or by creating low-paying fake jobs for them - as Orban is doing in Hungary. This, however, is not one of the basic techniques in the U.S. - their mythology is too strongly against any kind of social welfare...
So you can conclude here that increased income inequality, either within society as a whole or regionally, is one key element that helps prepare the ground for the rise of autocrats.
Another group to exploit would seem to be the people who see themselves excluded for religious or cultural reasons. In Turkey, the religious factor is obviously at play in several ways. First in the former dominance of a secular elite. Second, in some discriminatory laws around religious clothing that excluded people from higher education and government positions. Cultural exclusion can also be seen. At play, I suspect, was also a disdain towards the people and society of smaller, more traditional Anatolian towns and villages, which also suffered, coincidentally from higher levels of poverty. A would-be dictator gets their support by appearing to take them seriously, by speaking their cultural language, by granting them respect. Which "respect" also seems to be a big selling point for Trump in the eyes of many mid-western and small town Americans (who also experience higher levels of poverty and joblessness.)
A third issue also seems to be exploitable by would-be autocrats, the issue of "the other", of immigrants, (or of the "foreign" E.U regulations in some European countries). It is essentially a reverse side of cultural exclusion - the fear of becoming a cultural stranger in your own country due to immigrant culture or culture imposed from outside. This is the issue that can be used with the middle-class, secular citizen. This trope is being exploited in many countries, but alone it doesn't seem to get the would-be autocrat too far. Economic exclusion and cultural exclusion seem to be more powerful issues to exploit.
The other interesting idea she brings up, which is peculiar to our current technology and era, is the idea of the mob - how harsh it can be, how dangerous, how beyond reason. In situations like that of Turkey (and the U.S.) Twitter etc. essentially function as tools for the formation of mobs at lightening speed. The mob follows you everywhere because it infiltrates your online life. It can also easily track your address, your family and connections. This is a new and very scary tool for enforcing conformism and for silencing dissent through fear.
Tuesday 6 August 2019
Machines Like Me - Ian McEwan
Quite a brilliant book about living with intelligent robots. Has a bit of a futuristic/science fiction flare, but mostly sociology. It is the story of a couple who are living with one of the first highly advanced humanoid robots, programmed to programme itself through learning and through experience. In part, a consideration of practical, emotional and ethical issues that can arise when intelligent machines are making decisions for us. Mostly, a consideration of how complex, messy and emotional human "thinking" and decision-making is - far from logical in the computer science, programmed way. Also, a reflection of how messy the relationship is between our ideals, our messages and our actual behaviour. Actually, also a very interesting point with regard to how we see ourselves when we can conceive of intelligent machines as some kind of human stand-in. So, in the end, really a book about us humans.
The most touching part of the book is how many of these first intelligent robots end up self-destructing in some way as a result of interacting with us humans.... humorous point.
The most touching part of the book is how many of these first intelligent robots end up self-destructing in some way as a result of interacting with us humans.... humorous point.
Saturday 3 August 2019
Il Viaggio a Roma - Alberto Moravia
Storia di quattro persone che cercano in modo strano di farsi una famiglia. Un ragazzo alla ricerca delle tracce di sua madre, il suo padre alla ricerca del suo figlio di cui è separato da molto anni, e di farsi una nuova famiglia felice. C'è anche un'altra famiglia che incontra il ragazzo durante il suo viaggio a Roma: una madre alla ricerca di marito, e sua figlia alla ricerca e di un marito per sua madre, e anche di un padre/amante. Situazione complicata, pieno di sottintesi sessuali tra i vari personaggi. Il mondo che mostra Moravia fa schifoso. Pare che è il suo tema abituale; ha un senso cinico dell'uomo. Preferivo la collezione di storie, Racconti Romani, che ho letto prima - i personaggi sono schifosi ma le storie sono più interessanti.
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