http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2013/01/31/drones-and-the-logic-of-the-post-neoliberal-moment Comments On: Drones and the Logic of the Post-Neoliberal Moment by Charles Mudede en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Sat, 25 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Sat, 25 May 2013 06:45:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Posted by Doodah]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 15:38:47 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Reader01]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:45:13 -0800 The Stranger
But after reading through it carefully I have no idea what the hell is going on here.
Posted by blip]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:34:36 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Stranger'sWorstNightmare]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:15:53 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:38:16 -0800 The Stranger Posted by sirkowski]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:37:57 -0800 The Stranger
I don't think it can be salvaged.
Posted by Theodore Gorath]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:36:23 -0800 The Stranger
"What the drone reveals is that policing now connects those domains established by and distinct in previous moments of history. The development of such connections, as a whole, charts the 400-year development of a method of social reproduction, initiated in Europe after the Islamic age of the Mediterranean, that has since been urbanizing and globalizing the human condition."

Of course, now that I've scanned that out the "400-year" phrase don't quite jibe with the use of 'since', which implies a thing once developed now exerts influence but is not still developing, which is against the notion that the use of contemporary use of drones is further extending and modifying that previous development.

Otherwise, I thought the original paragraph fairly coherent in form. You may perhaps have been distracted by Charles's style of using double descriptives -- "established by and distinct", "urbanizing and globalizing", "the shape or character", "historically and economically" -- which I believe he is fairly effective in employing for a more oral tone in his writing.


Posted by psbirch]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:31:13 -0800 The Stranger Posted by spoons]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:26:46 -0800 The Stranger
"A Marxist critic can't help but see the sudden prevalence of drones as not a mere accident"

Alternatives that may allow a more straightforward understanding:

"A Marxist critic can help seeing the sudden prevalence of drones as more than a mere accident"

"Marxist criticism can help to see the sudden prevalence of droves as more than a mere accident"

Also, "accident" is pretty lonely there at the end of the sentence. Making "accident" modify a signifier of historical perspective might make a stronger segue to the remainder of the paragraph, i.e., "accident of history", or "accident of circumstance", such that the full line might read:

"A Marxist critic can easily dissemble the sudden prevalence of drones in so many seemingly unrelated social domains as more than a mere accident of convenience. It is the expression of the shape and character our contemporary solutions to historically and economically determined crises have assumed. What the drone reveals ... "



Posted by psbirch]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:10:04 -0800 The Stranger
--

This is, quite literally, incomprehensible.
Posted by warreno]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:04:07 -0800 The Stranger I'm afraid I got lost in your comment. I don't think I understood it.

It appears from the CNN snippet that drones can be of use in preserving endangered species by spying on potential poachers. I find that very useful and benign. I would have thought satellite technology was already undertaking such activity, that is monitoring both the critters and potential poachers. But, I reckon it's quite expensive. If these drones can be of service (for all of us BTW) in preserving endangered species then so be it. I see no issue with it from either a Marxist or Capitalist viewpoint.
Posted by lark]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:36:20 -0800 The Stranger
Go back to school.
Posted by hey guys]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:27:49 -0800 The Stranger
Clip looks like it was made with the random SyFy channel movie generator.

Why does he need an oxygen mask to fly a remote control plane?
Posted by GermanSausage]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:20:17 -0800 The Stranger
Also, there's an idiom conflict in the opening sentence after the quote:

"A Marxist critic can't help but see the sudden prevalence of drones in so many seemingly unrelated social domains as a mere accident"

Taking out the parenthetical clause, this sentence reads:

"A Marxist critic can't help but see the sudden prevalence of drones as a mere accident"

I believe the remainder of the paragraph implies the opposite -- that the Marxist critic cannot *dismiss* the sudden prevalence of drones as a mere accident.
Posted by psbirch]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:18:51 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Karlheinz Arschbomber]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 10:07:16 -0800 The Stranger