Sep 9·edited Sep 9Liked by Musa al-Gharbi, Free Black Thought
This looks really interesting.
I'm really keen to hear the arguments put forward. I already intuitively believe the premise of the book, but to have it articulated would be great.
I often think about International Development in this way. From the outside, it looks altruistic and benevolent but, below the surface, it's about helping countries participate in a game they can only lose.
I became aware of theory creep in the 90s when PC started leaking out of academia into the commons. I instinctively knew it was toxic and ineffective and that it would end up dehumanizing people but I wasn't a sophisticated enough thinker to articulate why I felt that way in my gut. Plus, I was busy trying to survive and overcome poverty. It wasn't a priority.
Fast-forward 20+ years to the George Floyd murder. I started reading for several hours a day to try to understand the cultural shift toward authoritarianism and root causes for the madness I saw erupting around me. I now have a much more sophisticated grasp about theory creep and other influences that are feeding our current moment but every article and book I read helps improve my understanding. I am looking forward to reading this book.
My hope is that enough other people are trying to gain a deep understanding of the woke phenomenon that a critical mass will be reached and we can turn the toxic tide of this mindset.
I am still firmly convinced that enlightenment principles are the best course humans can take to achieve the maximum levels of prosperity for individual human lives. Healing of the whole can not be imposed. Collective individual volition where we choose to govern our choices in a way that creates a conducive whole is the only rational way forward (you could call it enlightened self determination). Institutions and systems can lead and help guide, but can't dominate.
Well, the East Asians figured out how to win. If the world had pushed their experiences instead of foolish feel-good "altruism" there would be a lot less poverty in the world. Even in Latin America you can see obvious differences among countries making good decisions and countries making bad ones (Chile vs Argentina, Costa Rica vs Nicaragua).
The baseline of balanced government budgets, subsidize PEOPLE not industry, never take advantage of farmers, especially when they are your entire economy, build basic infrastructure first, then build fancy hospitals and universities later, and finally, keep a laser focus on corruption.
The experience of Korea, Taiwan and even China, who got away with a lot of terrible corruption and senseless subsidies because they did infrastructure so good, they all offer a roadmap that can work for anyone. I was fascinated with developmental economics, and I lived in East Asia and saw that those cultures had so much to teach the world (especially the US), but those ideas became uncool in the 2000's, and the result was a continuation of poverty.
Development is not some magical mystery. It was solved decades ago. The World Bank and the IMF literally give their advice away for free, but the world decided that thuggish Chinese-style politics and national-interest first policies were the only way to go.
I wish more development professionals had the math and econ skills to learn and understand developmental economics better. I know many bad policies are intentionally so, but so many are simply a result of ignorance. Most "poor" countries could jump to middle income in 20 years with good policies. The problem is getting them to do so when such policies are unfashionable.
Like chapters 4-6, in my substack I try to document the effects of and trace how my discipline’s scholars and scholarship have impacted students. Framing them as symbolic capitalists who are elites that leverage the marginalized initially maps with my experience for the last decade. They wield enormous power and privilege to enact their epistemic sovereignty over those they teach (students) and mistakenly expect most to assimilate to this disjointed moral vision…no matter the cost.
Having followed your work with HxA (and being a member myself for 6yrs who now supports a HxA group at Virginia Tech), I found this summary of your book a compelling argument front the perspective of the symbolic capitalist. Can’t wait to read your viewpoint in full.
VERY excited for this! Several of your blogs/articles helped me immensely as I started questioning the industry I nicknamed “Groupthink, Inc.” and my role in it. Heading to the preorder link now 👏🏾
What we need is less ideology and more action. I fit your initial definition of 'symbolic capitalist' in that I am a recovering academic and have since worked in media, but I do not see myself as an activist or savior. I do want to help contribute to society becoming more egalitarian, but I want to do it in concrete ways and not via rhetoric.
This looks really interesting.
I'm really keen to hear the arguments put forward. I already intuitively believe the premise of the book, but to have it articulated would be great.
I often think about International Development in this way. From the outside, it looks altruistic and benevolent but, below the surface, it's about helping countries participate in a game they can only lose.
I became aware of theory creep in the 90s when PC started leaking out of academia into the commons. I instinctively knew it was toxic and ineffective and that it would end up dehumanizing people but I wasn't a sophisticated enough thinker to articulate why I felt that way in my gut. Plus, I was busy trying to survive and overcome poverty. It wasn't a priority.
Fast-forward 20+ years to the George Floyd murder. I started reading for several hours a day to try to understand the cultural shift toward authoritarianism and root causes for the madness I saw erupting around me. I now have a much more sophisticated grasp about theory creep and other influences that are feeding our current moment but every article and book I read helps improve my understanding. I am looking forward to reading this book.
My hope is that enough other people are trying to gain a deep understanding of the woke phenomenon that a critical mass will be reached and we can turn the toxic tide of this mindset.
I am still firmly convinced that enlightenment principles are the best course humans can take to achieve the maximum levels of prosperity for individual human lives. Healing of the whole can not be imposed. Collective individual volition where we choose to govern our choices in a way that creates a conducive whole is the only rational way forward (you could call it enlightened self determination). Institutions and systems can lead and help guide, but can't dominate.
Well, the East Asians figured out how to win. If the world had pushed their experiences instead of foolish feel-good "altruism" there would be a lot less poverty in the world. Even in Latin America you can see obvious differences among countries making good decisions and countries making bad ones (Chile vs Argentina, Costa Rica vs Nicaragua).
The baseline of balanced government budgets, subsidize PEOPLE not industry, never take advantage of farmers, especially when they are your entire economy, build basic infrastructure first, then build fancy hospitals and universities later, and finally, keep a laser focus on corruption.
The experience of Korea, Taiwan and even China, who got away with a lot of terrible corruption and senseless subsidies because they did infrastructure so good, they all offer a roadmap that can work for anyone. I was fascinated with developmental economics, and I lived in East Asia and saw that those cultures had so much to teach the world (especially the US), but those ideas became uncool in the 2000's, and the result was a continuation of poverty.
Development is not some magical mystery. It was solved decades ago. The World Bank and the IMF literally give their advice away for free, but the world decided that thuggish Chinese-style politics and national-interest first policies were the only way to go.
I wish more development professionals had the math and econ skills to learn and understand developmental economics better. I know many bad policies are intentionally so, but so many are simply a result of ignorance. Most "poor" countries could jump to middle income in 20 years with good policies. The problem is getting them to do so when such policies are unfashionable.
Like chapters 4-6, in my substack I try to document the effects of and trace how my discipline’s scholars and scholarship have impacted students. Framing them as symbolic capitalists who are elites that leverage the marginalized initially maps with my experience for the last decade. They wield enormous power and privilege to enact their epistemic sovereignty over those they teach (students) and mistakenly expect most to assimilate to this disjointed moral vision…no matter the cost.
Having followed your work with HxA (and being a member myself for 6yrs who now supports a HxA group at Virginia Tech), I found this summary of your book a compelling argument front the perspective of the symbolic capitalist. Can’t wait to read your viewpoint in full.
VERY excited for this! Several of your blogs/articles helped me immensely as I started questioning the industry I nicknamed “Groupthink, Inc.” and my role in it. Heading to the preorder link now 👏🏾
Thank you both for the kind words and the preorder!
I pre-ordered, and I’m excited to read it!
Thank you so much!!
What we need is less ideology and more action. I fit your initial definition of 'symbolic capitalist' in that I am a recovering academic and have since worked in media, but I do not see myself as an activist or savior. I do want to help contribute to society becoming more egalitarian, but I want to do it in concrete ways and not via rhetoric.
I like the phrase “symbolic capitalism” but it a quite old. Banking goes back a long way, as does teaching.