Ian Bunn | Political & Popular Culture Arts

Johan Galtung the 82 year old Norwegian sociologist, mathematician and the founder of the Peace Research Institute Oslo in 1959, has published an article on the Inter Press Service titled ‘Preventing World War III’ in which he states “A Third World War is not impossible, but fortunately is rather unlikely. Let us explore why, and what can be done to prevent it. The worst-case scenario is a world war between the West – NATO, U.S., EU with Japan-Taiwan-South Korea – and the East – the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) with Russia, China, Central Asia as members and India, Pakistan, Iran as observers. With four nuclear powers on each side, and West versus Islam as a major issue. In the centre is the explosive mix of a divided territory (Israel-Palestine) and Jerusalem, a capital divided by a wall. …The United Nations vote showed a 3/4 world united in YES for Palestine, NO to USA-Israel. Both are turning any moral high ground into moral deficit through continued expansion-occupation-siege and invasion-occupation-extrajudicial killings. The world is not against U.S.-Israel defending true homeland borders or 1967 borders but against the force and excesses they seem incapable of reversing. Reverse those policies and they could regain the moral high ground. …Islam, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, covers more of the world territory and population than the West, but has few friends outside; unlike the West, emulated and admired by Russia-China-India, by Latin America and Africa. In all but Israel, Islam has a huge and growing diaspora by immigration-birth-conversion. Not a superpower, not an alliance, only “Islamic cooperation”; but present everywhere. The result is uncertainty and fear: what do they want? A challenge to other worldviews, guaranteed by the freedoms of speech and religion. Islam offers healing togetherness and sharing to a West suffering from materialist individualism and egoism.”

Inspired by Inter Press Service ow.ly/gwRNj image source Facebook ow.ly/gwRJT

Despina Lalaki the Greek Sociology doctoral candidate in Hellenic Studies and University Lecturer has published an article on Aljazeera titled ‘The Greek crisis as racketeering’ citing the Greek government’s classic mobster tactic of offering citizens protection from threats it has itself created. In the article Lalaki states “Sociologist Charles Tilly drew a compelling analogy between the state as the place of organized means of violence, and racketeering. He defined the racketeer “as someone who creates a threat and then charges for its reduction”, in order to gain control and consolidate power. In this regard, a state and its government differ little from racketeering, to the extent that the threats against which they protect their citizens are imaginary or are consequences of their own activities. Considering the pain, the humiliation, and the social degradation that the economic and political policies of the Greek government have inflicted upon the country the past four years, Tilly’s analogy may offer us a useful tool to both describe and evaluate the current crisis and the regime of fear that the state has unleashed on the Greek public. …In defiance of this fear, an awakening of political consciousness is taking place in Greece’s squares, streets, and online social networks, not merely condemning the policies of austerity and social degradation but collectively working towards new types of political resistance. It is becoming clear that only the people of Greece can deliver and ultimately save themselves from the racketeering, criminal practices of their “protectors”.”

Inspired by Aljazeera ow.ly/coJd1 image source Academia ow.ly/coJbM

Message will be written on wet sand (May 7th 2012)

Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon the Spanish Sociologist editor of the OII-edited journal Policy and Internet. Gonzalez-Bailon specializes in how online networks influence exposure to ideas and political debates, and how the internet technologies shape the flow of information. Gonzalez-Bailon published an article on Aljazeera stating, “Under the slogan “Real Democracy Now”, the protests [Spain May 2011] mobilised tens of thousands of people of all ages and affiliations, demanding better forms of political representation. Many protesters proclaimed in their placards that the Spanish Revolution was coming, a prophecy soon turned into a trending hashtag in Twitter and reverberating fast across the galleries of social media. …In the rare context of mass mobilisations, online networks behave exceptionally well: they are fast and efficient in transmitting information and spreading awareness. But they cannot do much to help a mass movement articulate their aims: they give expression to a cacophony of voices but when the lights of the protest go out, all these opinions fall like confetti after a party. …Can social media transform bursts of political activism into stable forms of participation? …Otherwise, their revolutionary message will be written on wet sand.”

Inspired by Aljzeera http://ow.ly/aEaiN image source http://ow.ly/aEaeM

Choice is a perfect pacifying mechanism (March 27th 2012)

Renata Salecl the 49 year old Slovenian philosopher, sociologist and legal theorist has discussed the challenge of choice confronting the Occupy movement with Nikolas Kozloff in reference to her book ‘The Tyranny of Choice’. Salecl states “I realised that the ideology of choice is a perfect pacifying mechanism for post-industrial capitalism in that it encourages this inward turn. People have the illusion that they can make it and are masters of their own destiny, and thus they feel guilty about disadvantages and experience anxiety and a constant feeling of inadequacy. In society, we have observed a shift from the notion of mere consumer choice to the idea of choosing oneself… Given the American ideology that anyone can make it and it’s all up to us, then you’d have to say that on a certain level Occupy was a surprise. I’ve always been perplexed how people who don’t have health insurance would still be against universal health insurance. In essence, what they’re doing is following the idea of choice, even though this winds up being very detrimental to their own well-being. It’s clear that something shifted in people’s perceptions with the Occupy movement…”

Inspired by Nikolas Kozloff http://ow.ly/9E7p6 image source Finance.si http://ow.ly/9E8ql

Lasting peace is a “cosmopolitan right” (December 9th)

Jürgen Habermas the 82 year old German Sociologist and Philosopher renowned for his theory on the concept of ‘communicative rationality and the public sphere’, has been the subject of an article published on Die Welt by Eckhard Fuhr. Fuhr refers to Habermas as a realist. “He shows that much has already been accomplished towards achieving a ‘transnational democracy, in Europe, even if the Lisbon Treaty is a pact among states, not a constitution … Habermas uses this double perspective like 3-D glasses to take a look into Europe’s future, even as he reaches back to explore the history of democracy … an attempt to set the ground for a new European narrative that frees the continent from its 20th century experiences of war and destruction by transcending them – and looks ahead to a time when lasting peace is a “cosmopolitan right” (Kant).”

Inspired by Eckhard Fuhr http://ow.ly/7G8qy image source Wolfram Huke http://ow.ly/7G8pc

Concentration of wealth a central issue (November 28th)

Frances Fox Piven the 78 year old US sociologist and political scientist has published an article on Aljazeera supportive of the Occupy Wall Street Movement. Piven states “… (OWS) movement has already made the concentration of wealth at the top of this society a central issue in US politics … By making Wall Street its symbolic target and branding itself as a movement of the 99 per cent, OWS has redirected public attention to the issue of extreme inequality, which it has recast as, essentially, a moral problem … Economic policy, including tax cuts for the rich, subsidies and government protection … was shrouded in clouds of propaganda  … Now, in what seems like no time at all, the fog has lifted and the topic on the table everywhere seems to be the morality of contemporary financial capitalism.

Inspired by Frances Fox Piven http://ow.ly/7zk0v image source moonbattery http://ow.ly/7zk5U