Yo!
Didn't intend to do another RSA one, but this has just dropped and it makes you think, that said, it is Zizek (who has a mad nervous tick that makes you think he is under the influence of a certain narcotic).
Quick note about Google Images which has been tweak recently if you didn't know. Best viewed in Firefox. Basically its added a couple of really cool little tricks that mess with your head a bit if you even slightly wonder how they did it.
So for example, search for "cake". Then if you see on the left hand side you can filter by colour. So say orange cake, or green cake.
Then search for something like the "Golden Gate Bridge". Hover over an image you like, and a link should appear saying "similar"... and it will search for images for images from the same perspective for example. So if there is a picture you like, but is blurry, you could find a sharper picture this way.
Finally a golden little statement that a colleague passed my way:
"I had a terrible childhood. People used to cover me in chocolate, cream and stick a cherry on my head. Life was tough in the Gateux."
2 comments:
nice one on the google image tip.
on zizek, i think there's some truth in the analysis, it's certainly true that charity/activism has very effectively been adopted by business and marketed as almost a product in itself (linked to slacktivism - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slacktivism). But there's very little on his imagined alternative, and indeed, how to get there. To restructure society in order that 'poverty is impossible' - but how? animation works well with it though
I liked the analysis a lot, in that it makes for uncomfortable watching. I think the only flaw in his argument is that he presupposes all charity is only concerned with alleviating the symptoms of poverty, rather than attempting to address some of the roots of the problem. While Starbucks hopping on the fairtrade bandwagon is one thing, there are charaties that attempt to readdress some parts of society in the hope that poverty may become impossible.
However, I guess his point is that these attempts can only go so far without a radical remodeling of society. Nevertheless, the favourite arguement of the pro-globalisation proponents, that being that globalisation should (and is) bringing up living standards for the poorest worldwide, is hard to refute. It all depends on how you define poverty I guess. People seem adverse to using the word 'class', but I feel his arguement is much more persuasive if you substitute the notion of the poor for the notion of the 'underclass/working class'. While standards of living have perhaps risen for this class, their prospects in terms of life-expectancy, education and employment are still lower than their richer counterparts, and the inequalities separating the richest and the poorest, can never (I would argue) be rectified in a society where free market economics and neo-liberalism are so revered. The national minimum wage coupled with working tax credit is a nice example of this. By effectively subsidising the lowest paid jobs, the working tax credit (paid out for those on a low enough income) effectively puts downward pressure on wages for the lowest paid (if you want the reference for this I can give it to you). You therefore have a system that supposedly rewards the lowest paid for entering work, but in fact continues to subjugate them.
Anyway, rant over. Really like both the RSA videos, must be a cool place to work.
Post a Comment