Figures 1 and 2 are what resulted from this line of thought.
Note the distinction between the topology (where there is a structure on a set of elements) and the topography (which is simply descriptive) of the two-party system.
By topologies I mean the following: take the set of all statements made in a well-defined bounded discursive space (the two-party space).
First, the rhetorical elements form two disjoint
sets.
Second, there is a structure on each data set: a left structure and a right structure. Each data set has both a psychoanalytic and a cognitive dimension.
Second, there is a structure on each data set: a left structure and a right structure. Each data set has both a psychoanalytic and a cognitive dimension.
These psychological-semiotic structures are provided by Simon Clarke, Social Theory, Psychoanalysis and Racism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003). The Clarke text is deployed as interpretive grid. The psychoanalytic framework is the basis for
The GOP as the Stupid
Party: an Inadequate Conceptualization
Ressentiment and the Mechanisms of Defense: the Current American Scene
Ressentiment and the Mechanisms of Defense: from the First Crusade to the Limbaugh Tirade
Ressentiment and the Mechanisms of Defense: the Current American Scene
Ressentiment and the Mechanisms of Defense: from the First Crusade to the Limbaugh Tirade
Without this framework it is impossible to understand the rhetorical performances of right-wing political actors--and the responses of their right-wing audiences.
The cognitive-semiotic structures are provided by standard developmental theory (page, bibliography). Pre-operational and gestural cognitive modalities dominate the right rhetorical set (Fox News). Concrete operational and pre-operational cognitive modalities dominate on the left (MSNBC). Notwithstanding MSNBC's ostensible committment to science, in practice a smug dogmatism combined with mathematical and scientific incompetence better describes MSNBC's discursive practices.
from Levi R. Bryant, Difference and Givenness: Deleuze's Transcendental Empiricism and the Ontology of Immanence (Northwestern University Press, 2008)
A style or essence
is what we might refer to as an identity of
difference, or an identity produced through difference. It is
not a type or a kind, but rather a rule of production, a genetic
factor. It is an identity that maintains itself through topological variations.
It is for this reason that we speak of morphological essences
or diagrams of becoming. 68
Although Deleuze himelf never makes reference to the notion of topological essences, the theme can be seen to run throughout his work. . . . Insofar as a topological identity is produced between the variations a structure can undergo, Deleuze is also able to maintain the being of concrete universals which are no longer opposed to particulars. 70-71
Although Deleuze himelf never makes reference to the notion of topological essences, the theme can be seen to run throughout his work. . . . Insofar as a topological identity is produced between the variations a structure can undergo, Deleuze is also able to maintain the being of concrete universals which are no longer opposed to particulars. 70-71
from Nietzsche, Twilight of the Idols, p. 55
Moral
judgement belongs, as does religious judgement, to a level or ignorance
at which even the concept of the real, the distinction between the real
and the imaginary, is lacking: so that at such a level 'truth' denotes
nothing but things which we today call 'imaginings'. To this
extent moral judgement is nrever to be taken literally: as such it
never contains anything but nonsense. But
as semiotics it remains of incalculable value: it reveals, to the
informed man at least, the most precious realities of cultures and
inner worlds which did no know enough to ‘understand’ themselves.
Morality is merely sign-language, merely symptomatology."
We are changing, of course, but
that does not necessarily mean we are progressing. Combined with
all the forces that today exhort us to look into our own private lives,
the “civilization of change” has stimulated a massive interest in
psychic disorders. It can be heard from all quarters, and it
takes form in the many marketplaces that offer inner balance and
tranquility. Today, many of our socials tensions have been
expressed in terms of implosion and depressive collapse or, in a
similar way, its flip side: explosions of violence, rage, the search
for new sensations. pp. 185-6
As addictive explosion reflects depressive implosion, so the drug-taker’s search for sensation reflects the depressed person’s lack of feeling. Depression, that crossroads of pathology, serves as a canvas upon which to sketch out the changes in modern subjectivity, the displacement of the hard task of being healthy. In a context in which choice is the norm and inner insecurity the price, these pathologies make up the dark side of contemporary private life. Such is the equation of the sovereign individual: psychic freedom and individual initiative = identity insecurities and the incapacity to act. p. 232
As addictive explosion reflects depressive implosion, so the drug-taker’s search for sensation reflects the depressed person’s lack of feeling. Depression, that crossroads of pathology, serves as a canvas upon which to sketch out the changes in modern subjectivity, the displacement of the hard task of being healthy. In a context in which choice is the norm and inner insecurity the price, these pathologies make up the dark side of contemporary private life. Such is the equation of the sovereign individual: psychic freedom and individual initiative = identity insecurities and the incapacity to act. p. 232
Figure 2.
Topologies
of the
Two-party System
LEFT
RIGHT
TOPOLOGY depressive* paranoid-schizoid*
POLITICAL STYLE progressive proto-Dorian
COGNITIVE MODE concrete & pre- pre-operational + psuedo-
operational concrete + gestural
TOPOLOGY depressive* paranoid-schizoid*
POLITICAL STYLE progressive proto-Dorian
COGNITIVE MODE concrete & pre- pre-operational + psuedo-
operational concrete + gestural
*Simon
Clarke, Social
Theory, Psychoanalysis and Racism (Palgrave
Macmillan, 2003)
Thus, pro- and anti-war demonstators' signs provide two distinct topologies on the semiotic manifold of the public sphere.
Rabids vs. Thoughtfuls also provides two distinct topologies on the semiotic manifold.
From these two cases (the demonstation signs and the comments sent to the Conn. Post) it was evident that there was . . .
. . . . a rule of production, a genetic
factor . . . an identity that maintains itself through topological variations. (Deleuze-Bryant)
These psychological-semiotic structures are provided by Simon Clarke, Social Theory, Psychoanalysis and Racism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2003). The Clarke text is deployed as interpretive grid. (See chapter 8, "Melanie Klein, Racism and Psychoanalysis," and chapter 9, "Projection, Projective Identification and Racism.")
The cognitive-semiotic structures are provided by standard developmental theory. Pre-operational and gestural cognitive modalities dominate the right rhetorical set. More abstract (formal operational) and factual (concrete operational) dominate on the left.
The cognitive structures on the discursive manifold are provided in Developmental Divergence: Cognitive Development in History.
Note that the psychological dimension of the Right is discussed in CITED ABOVE The Mechanisms of Defense provide the structure on the set of all right-wing semiotic productions. In Clarke's text, this is the paranoid-schizoid position (after Melanie Klein): rage seeking a target; exclusion; centration.
The psychological structure on the set of all left-wing semiotic productions is given by the depressive position (Melanie Klein again): concern for others; inclusion; capacity for abstraction.
Postscript: this only begins to scratch the surface of political semiotics. The whole problem of nihilism hangs over the performances of the liberal media. The emphasis on "rights" coupled with the trope of victimhood requires much further thought.
from CNN newscast, 4:00 to 6:00 PM, 9-15-07: pro- and anti-war demonstrators' signs (applying the concept of cognitive regime):
pro-war
demo signs: "Traitors Go to Hell!"
"Deport
Anti-war Protesters!"
"Treason!"
"Treason!"
anti-war
demo signs: "End
the War Now!"
"U.S. Out of
Iraq!"
"Support the Troops! End the War!"
2. rabids vs. thoughtfuls
Analysis of comments sent to Connecticut Post, August 31, 2006 re. Jonathon Edington murder case (article no longer accessible)
Why
Klein? In relation to the two-party discursive field, Klein's
concepts work: they
provide a map of the territory (Clarke). Second answer: sadism
and greed most explicitly dealt with by Kleinians (Ninivaggi).
But Kleinians outside mainstream? Must recap history of
psychoanalysis (See Mitchell and Black, Freud and Beyond: A History of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought): Freud (drive theory); Hartmann (ego theory); Klein et. al. (object relations theory); Kohut et. al. (self theory).
The upshot? Freud's drive theory and Klein's dark vision help us understand fascism in all its forms (including the Tea Party) as well as the kind of stupendous greed exemplified by Wall Street, but are of little use in understanding the antithesis of fascism/ressentiment: Progressivism and the New Deal.
as a psychological and cultural phenomenon. Alcorn, Narcissism and the Literary Libido: Rhetoric, Text, and Subjectivity is essential reading.
•On the Left the psychological elements are fundamentally different. In Kleinian terms, reparations as the psychological mechanism of inclusion, the other presented not as demon but as victim, and enlightenment values present albeit in diluted, even enfeebled form, but still evident. The difference between the liberal-left semiotic field and the revolutionary-left is Bildung and the Will to Power. I.e., liberal vs. revolutionary individualism/individuation. The latter involves dialectic of individuation through collective project. (Dupre)
From the standpoint of cognitive performativity, the Right is far more primitive than the Left. Nevertheless, it must be noted 1. that the Left/Liberal rhetorical-cognitive performances rarely if ever rise to the formal operational level; and 2. the Nihilism of the left semiotic field (see Hall). This must be further developed. Victim/rights talk as expression of nihilism.
But keep in mind the hegemonic role of elites*** in controlling the production of discourse, even if the raw materials that they manipulate are ontologically prior. Two of these ontologies are seen in action at the right (Rabids vs. Thoughtfuls). Note that the thoughtfuls' comments are more sophisticated than those found in the left semiotic field: these comments are more abstract, more formal operational, than those routinely seen in the (media-dominated) left semiotic field. Formal operational thought in politics is found in the elite discursive fields of Progressivism: Brandeis, the Taylor Society.
What is not directly seen is the media manipulation that shaped this praxis (and the financial and other institutions that use their media). At the street level all one sees is the theatrical expression of ressentiment and the as yet unnamed ontology. (See the QHD-5.)
Figure 2, Topologies of the Two-Party System, is the result of applying key texts of psychoanalysis (as summarized by Clarke, Social Theory, Psychoanalysis and Racism), developmental psychology (Piaget, Vygotsky, Bronfenbrenner, Ceci et. al.), history (Cash's concept of the proto-Dorian convention, Carter + Lowndes) to the mass of images, statements and performances available over the internet. Figure 2 refers only to the "masses," a term that I will now define as the set of all humans who are the objects of elite manipulation. This use of the term "masses" may offend some. One could also refer to the same set of humans as P: the "people." as the union {∪} of all audiences that are the objects of elite manipulation: P = ∪ {Ai}. This obviously does not include all humans, even in media-saturated America. One may go further and distinguish the {Ai} in terms of the degree of media penetration into their habitus as well as the semiotic nature of that habitus.
from Werner Stark, Sociology of Religion: A Study of Christendom (Fordham University Press, 1966-72) vol. 1, p. 188
This now requires a look at "elites" in their dialectical relationships to various subsets of P.
The upshot? Freud's drive theory and Klein's dark vision help us understand fascism in all its forms (including the Tea Party) as well as the kind of stupendous greed exemplified by Wall Street, but are of little use in understanding the antithesis of fascism/ressentiment: Progressivism and the New Deal.
as a psychological and cultural phenomenon. Alcorn, Narcissism and the Literary Libido: Rhetoric, Text, and Subjectivity is essential reading.
Back to
Semiotic Regimes: Two sets of simple rhetorical
maneuvers and elements (shibboleths, epithets). On the Right what one sees is a few floating
signifiers (or one continuously evolving chain of
sigifiers--Lacan/Atwater) that provide the theatrical framework for,
and legitimation
of, the expression of rage against the other.
This is developed in detail in {the Stupid Party and Ressentiment
and the Mechanisms of Defense.} The basic defense
mechanisms of projection and displacement are the real content of the
right wing political performativity of exclusion (racism,
etc.). These defense mechanisms cloth themselves in
"traditional values." ("the
'sacred institutions' of the family, relgion and property."
See also Carter, From
George Wallace to Newt Gingrich.) One need only
watch the news to see this all play out.
•On the Left the psychological elements are fundamentally different. In Kleinian terms, reparations as the psychological mechanism of inclusion, the other presented not as demon but as victim, and enlightenment values present albeit in diluted, even enfeebled form, but still evident. The difference between the liberal-left semiotic field and the revolutionary-left is Bildung and the Will to Power. I.e., liberal vs. revolutionary individualism/individuation. The latter involves dialectic of individuation through collective project. (Dupre)
From the standpoint of cognitive performativity, the Right is far more primitive than the Left. Nevertheless, it must be noted 1. that the Left/Liberal rhetorical-cognitive performances rarely if ever rise to the formal operational level; and 2. the Nihilism of the left semiotic field (see Hall). This must be further developed. Victim/rights talk as expression of nihilism.
But keep in mind the hegemonic role of elites*** in controlling the production of discourse, even if the raw materials that they manipulate are ontologically prior. Two of these ontologies are seen in action at the right (Rabids vs. Thoughtfuls). Note that the thoughtfuls' comments are more sophisticated than those found in the left semiotic field: these comments are more abstract, more formal operational, than those routinely seen in the (media-dominated) left semiotic field. Formal operational thought in politics is found in the elite discursive fields of Progressivism: Brandeis, the Taylor Society.
What is not directly seen is the media manipulation that shaped this praxis (and the financial and other institutions that use their media). At the street level all one sees is the theatrical expression of ressentiment and the as yet unnamed ontology. (See the QHD-5.)
Figure 2, Topologies of the Two-Party System, is the result of applying key texts of psychoanalysis (as summarized by Clarke, Social Theory, Psychoanalysis and Racism), developmental psychology (Piaget, Vygotsky, Bronfenbrenner, Ceci et. al.), history (Cash's concept of the proto-Dorian convention, Carter + Lowndes) to the mass of images, statements and performances available over the internet. Figure 2 refers only to the "masses," a term that I will now define as the set of all humans who are the objects of elite manipulation. This use of the term "masses" may offend some. One could also refer to the same set of humans as P: the "people." as the union {∪} of all audiences that are the objects of elite manipulation: P = ∪ {Ai}. This obviously does not include all humans, even in media-saturated America. One may go further and distinguish the {Ai} in terms of the degree of media penetration into their habitus as well as the semiotic nature of that habitus.
from Werner Stark, Sociology of Religion: A Study of Christendom (Fordham University Press, 1966-72) vol. 1, p. 188
As democratic convictions became
settled . . . 'the people' emerged increasingly as the true sovereign,
and the conception gained ground that 'the people' is sane and sound,
and its voice, at least to some extent, is sacred.
This now requires a look at "elites" in their dialectical relationships to various subsets of P.
Selectted Comments to Conn Post re. alleged child molestation
(Click on Rabids vs. Thoughfuls to see all comments.)
Rabid (n=3/10)
1. Put me down for 100.00$ for this guys defence. He was kind. In Texas they would have never found the body. I tored of all the nambepambe judges letting these monster room free. . . .
2. This father is hero. Hopefully, those of us who feel the same will continue to lobby the law makers to pass laws making any indecent contact with a child AND dealing in any way with kiddie-porn, a felony, carrying HEAVY jail sentences. The fact that this dad is an attorney and knows the watered-down, perp-favored laws, says volumes. He meted out justice, swiftly and fairly. God bless you, Mr. Edington!
3. About time someone takes the law in their own hands
Thoughtful (n=3/8)
1. I heard the child was 2. Most 2 year olds barely talk and most not capable of making up a story. How did the child tell the mother about this incident?
2. So many are making comments without knowing the facts. What really did happen? Think about both families and how they are both feeling. In the USA we are supposed be to innocent until proven guilty. And does being convicted of driving under the influence make this an automatic assumption of guilt. Learn the facts before you judge............
3. I find it extremely disturbing that a man can be tried, convicted and executed without one shred of evidence, in the court of public madness and extremism. Has our paranoia become so intesified that we are ready to commit cold blooded murder merely on speculation and rumor? The article stated: MacNamara said James did not have a criminal record and was not under "any investigation alleging inappropriate activity regarding children." On May 1, 2001, James pleaded guilty in Superior Court to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and was sentenced to six months, suspended after two days, followed by 18 months probation. He was also fined $500. If people think the above charges warrant the death penalty by stabbing, then the real danger to society are the majority of the posters here.
1. Put me down for 100.00$ for this guys defence. He was kind. In Texas they would have never found the body. I tored of all the nambepambe judges letting these monster room free. . . .
2. This father is hero. Hopefully, those of us who feel the same will continue to lobby the law makers to pass laws making any indecent contact with a child AND dealing in any way with kiddie-porn, a felony, carrying HEAVY jail sentences. The fact that this dad is an attorney and knows the watered-down, perp-favored laws, says volumes. He meted out justice, swiftly and fairly. God bless you, Mr. Edington!
3. About time someone takes the law in their own hands
Thoughtful (n=3/8)
1. I heard the child was 2. Most 2 year olds barely talk and most not capable of making up a story. How did the child tell the mother about this incident?
2. So many are making comments without knowing the facts. What really did happen? Think about both families and how they are both feeling. In the USA we are supposed be to innocent until proven guilty. And does being convicted of driving under the influence make this an automatic assumption of guilt. Learn the facts before you judge............
3. I find it extremely disturbing that a man can be tried, convicted and executed without one shred of evidence, in the court of public madness and extremism. Has our paranoia become so intesified that we are ready to commit cold blooded murder merely on speculation and rumor? The article stated: MacNamara said James did not have a criminal record and was not under "any investigation alleging inappropriate activity regarding children." On May 1, 2001, James pleaded guilty in Superior Court to driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and was sentenced to six months, suspended after two days, followed by 18 months probation. He was also fined $500. If people think the above charges warrant the death penalty by stabbing, then the real danger to society are the majority of the posters here.
The comments summarized in the table were sent to the Connecticut Post at the end of August, 2006 in response to an awful story of mistaken revenge. These comments are no longer available online.)
from Jonathon Edington, wikipedia
Jonathon
Edington (born October 29, 1976[1]) is a Fairfield, Connecticut, United
States, patent lawyer who achieved national notoriety when, on August
28, 2006, he murdered his neighbor, Barry James, after being told that
James had molested Edington's two-year-old daughter. There has been no
evidence found that Barry James molested Edington's daughter or anyone
else.[2] On August 30 Edington was released on $1 million bond. It was
widely expected that Edington would attempt to mount a psychiatric
defense at his murder trial,[3] however Edington instead pled guilty to
the crime and was sentenced to 12 years in prison on August 31, 2007.[4]
The
story generated a large amount of press coverage in the
United
States and overseas.
The responses to the Connecticut Post story have been organized into two categories--rabids and thoughtfuls.
These two sets of responses also provide two distinct topologies on the semiotic manifold of the public sphere.
The responses to the Connecticut Post story have been organized into two categories--rabids and thoughtfuls.
These two sets of responses also provide two distinct topologies on the semiotic manifold of the public sphere.
Elites (functional, role)
Political discourse occurs at five levels. First, at the level of strategic elites--commodities in int'l trade, securities bloc, Keynesian elite (see Person to Cooke; think tanks). see KE in New Deal State; FF to FDR
Second, higher order national interest groups (e.g., Titan Tire et. al.). These might be thought of as implicitly strategic: Titan Tire is bound to the strategy of national infrastructure development
Third: U.S. Chamber of Commerce: this is truly an interest group: it is the average mid-sized manufacturer writ large, rather than a synthesis at a higher level of a strategic perspective (i.e., cotton industry 1933 (Galambos) (thus, Times article on corp contributer to tea party regrets
Fourth, at the level of economically defined lower-order (non-elite) interest groups (local Chambers of Commerce, wealthy taxpayers, union members). [Mayberry Machiavellis], Miles; Iowa camapain contributions. NYT Aug 5, 2015 article, The Kansas Experiment. This is the mileu in which the GOP is rooted at the local and state level. Racist appeal; Goldwater
Fifth, at the theatrical level of mass politics the theater of ressentiment AND DESIRE that politics provides, wherein the manipulation of the inner logic of the paranoid schizoid and depressive positions governs the rhetorical productions of political actors. This page and Ressentiment and the Mechanisms of Defense are concerned only with the theatrical (mass) dimension of political discourse.
ADD: primordial elites
Note that the discursive manifold of the public sphere does not include elite discursive activity (by definition not present in the public sphere), such as the internal correspondence of the Keynesian elite. (see Person to Cooke)