tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5425514987715337437.post9149599282549414968..comments2024-03-26T22:47:45.276-07:00Comments on Intro to Critical Reading: DemocracyAdamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5425514987715337437.post-1414219454335827932011-01-30T18:28:39.286-08:002011-01-30T18:28:39.286-08:00I think you should choose this paper for the revis...I think you should choose this paper for the revision, because it could become much better. I would like to see more of an expansion on the dictatorship metaphor as more of an explanation of how our democracy appears like one. <br />As Adam said, the "ideal" democracy statement was confusing, so try to rework that section to more accurately describe Butler's ideal, and why you know it's what she wants. Afterwards you connect this to the general population's distrust of politicians. Be careful with over-generalizations, but I do think this one is valid if you rework it a bit. Also, what about politicians leads to a sense of distrust, and why is that important in a discussion of true democracy?<br />One more note, you say "she seems to make a comment on..." I've gotten myself into trouble with vague statements like this. Instead of saying that she makes a comment, tell us what her comment is and why it's important.<br />Anyway, good luck with the revision. I think you've got a good start! :)<br />-LeahLeahhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06297423943913371160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5425514987715337437.post-52503212428716534522011-01-29T07:18:23.059-08:002011-01-29T07:18:23.059-08:00I think that you deliberately tackled a difficult ...I think that you deliberately tackled a difficult topic, and that you did very well in your initial discussion of both authors. Your discussion of Marcuse's views on democracy are clear and insightful enough that I'll probably make everyone in the class read it, as a way of continuing our discussion from last week. You have some great lines, too - Marcuse as understanding our democracy as a "starved shadow" of true democracy, and Butler as writing about the "death of American politics." These are lines which I wish I'd written (as someone who has published work on both Marcuse and Butler).<br /><br />That being said, I think your handle on Marcuse's understanding of democracy is much better than your handle on Butler's. I'm not at all clear on what you'd see as her ideal democracy, and I do think you make some clear intellectual errors in your discussion of Butler. For instance "Obviously, any law that supports any kind of slavery is not in the best interests of the electorate." This line is obviously wrong, in an important way: if the electorate consists of slaveholders, or potential slaveholders, the law supporting slavery might well be in their interest. It all depends on how we define "interest" and "electorate"; the interests and needs of certain minorities are, obviously, often completely ignored or overridden (and I'm not just talking about the U.S. - one might just as easily write about indigenous populations in Mexico, Peru, or Brazil).<br /><br />Weirdly, figuring out Butler's views on democracy is probably harder than figuring out Marcuse's - so I like this essay a lot, while also finding your discussion of Butler incomplete and flawed.Adamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16302919444091859459noreply@blogger.com