Author Archives: Teo Ballvé

Jameson: Representing Capital

Canadian magazine Rabble has an interview with Frederic Jameson about his new book Representing Capital: A Reading of Volume One. Jameson explains what he means when he writes in the book, “Capital is not a book about politics, and not … Continue reading

Posted in Critique, Dialectics, Karl Marx, Marxism, Political Economy | Comments Off on Jameson: Representing Capital

Robin Hood: Cultural Politics of the Law

An article at Yes! Magazine traces some pop-cultural coordinates around the always-evolving Robin Hood myth. Written by Paul Buhle, the somewhat meandering article is based on his recently published book, Robin Hood: People’s Outlaw and Forest Hero (2011, PM Press). … Continue reading

Posted in Bandits, Forests, Illegality, Law, Pirates | Comments Off on Robin Hood: Cultural Politics of the Law

Salty Geographies

A recent post by Andy Davies over at the Antipode Foundation’s blog raises some interesting geographical questions, particularly around labor, in light of the recent Costa Concordia shipwreck. On this blog we’ve noted some of the tricky problems the sea … Continue reading

Posted in Carl Schmitt, Historical-Geographies, Law, Pirates, Power, Sovereignty, Spatiality, The Sea, The State | Comments Off on Salty Geographies

Arendt, Foucault, Benjamin: On Violence, State, Law

This post discusses some scattered points raised about violence  by Hannah Arendt’s On Violence, Walter Benjamin’s “Critique of Violence,” and Michel Foucault’s Society Must be Defended. Arendt makes a worthwhile distinction between power and violence, while recognizing that the two rarely … Continue reading

Posted in Carl Schmitt, Critique, Illegality, Law, Michel Foucault, Power, Race & Ethnicity, Sovereignty, The State, Violence | 1 Comment

Gregory: The Everywhere War

A lecture given by Derek Gregory, a geographer at the University of British Columbia, is now online. Gregory discusses “The Everywhere War.” We now live in a world where death can be delivered across vast distances. Political geographer Derek Gregory examines three … Continue reading

Posted in Boundaries, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Peace, Sovereignty, Territory, Terror, The State, Violence | 2 Comments

Meow: The Politics of Anonymous

Quinn Norton, a writer with Wired, has published a fascinating three-part series titled, “Anonymous: Beyond the Mask” (Part I, Part II, Part III). She tracks the progressive politicization of Anonymous from its diaper days chatting on 4Chan to #Occupy by … Continue reading

Posted in #Occupy, Art, Bandits, Critique, Everyday Life, Illegality, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Law, Networks, Pirates, Science & Tech., Spectacle | 1 Comment

Afflicted Powers

Retort. 2005. Afflicted Powers: Capital and Spectacle in an Age of War. New Edition. London: Verso. Despite being a relatively short book, Afflicted Powers is a difficult one to summarize. Retort* sets for itself the immodest task of identifying the … Continue reading

Posted in #Occupy, Everyday Life, Guy Debord, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency, Peace, Power, Primitive Accumulation, Spectacle, Terror, The State, Violence | Comments Off on Afflicted Powers

A Nation of Workplace Junkies?

Anthropologist Arjun Appadurai recently published a column in Anthropology News on the proliferation of business-related news in U.S. media. He observes the “growing and now hegemonic domination of business news” both in print and on television. The business machine has … Continue reading

Posted in Critique, Everyday Life, Science & Tech., Spectacle | Comments Off on A Nation of Workplace Junkies?

Aaaaaand We’re Back

After having paid strict adherence to festivity schedules, this blog is now ready to ring in the New Year. The Year was welcomed from the hot and sunny Southern Hemisphere, watching the sunrise with family over the plains, beer in … Continue reading

Posted in Everyday Life, Jester | Comments Off on Aaaaaand We’re Back

Listserv Netiquette

Chances are you belong to a listserv. In fact, you probably belong to several. In recent weeks, I’ve been part of several discussions that basically boil down to questions around “Listserv Netiquette.” In one case, discussion surfaced over the volume … Continue reading

Posted in Work Hack | 2 Comments