We do - I do - suffer from a certain amount of confusion when it comes to the question of the right way to work as a left intellectual. By "right way to work," I don't so much mean the specific frame of engagement, whether to work in the academy or in the papers or on the streets or make art etc. Rather, I am confused about the bearing of the work that I should be doing within the practical framework that I have chosen (or which has chosen me). I mean, would it be best to plan, to advertise, or to design? Are the most useful answers at this point practical or conceptual or ethical? Should one be a hauntologist, a pragmatic engineer, or a philosopher of the question itself?
Has anyone written anything interesting about the role of philanthropy in the resurrection and ultimate victory of communism? I don't think Lucy or Sean has taken this up at all in their triumphalist discourse on social capital markets. After the Revolution, when power has returned to the people throughout the western hemisphere, and wealth is distributed to those who need it most, not by philanthropy but at the tip of bayonet, these hegemonic philanthropy mavens will cut sugar cane in the fields with their clients under the direction of my brother, Raoul. (Link and commentary via personal communication from Fidel Castro, posted with permission. He says he is in good health and wishes CR well.)
