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Firing Back
Book by Bourdieu, Pierre
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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162 people want to read
About the author
Pierre Bourdieu
357 books1,349 followersBourdieu pioneered investigative frameworks and terminologies such as cultural, social, and symbolic capital, and the concepts of habitus, field or location, and symbolic violence to reveal the dynamics of power relations in social life. His work emphasized the role of practice and embodiment or forms in social dynamics and worldview construction, often in opposition to universalized Western philosophical traditions. He built upon the theories of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, Edmund Husserl, Georges Canguilhem, Karl Marx, Gaston Bachelard, Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, Erwin Panofsky, and Marcel Mauss. A notable influence on Bourdieu was Blaise Pascal, after whom Bourdieu titled his Pascalian Meditations.
Bourdieu rejected the idea of the intellectual "prophet", or the "total intellectual", as embodied by Sartre. His best known book is Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, in which he argues that judgments of taste are related to social position. His argument is put forward by an original combination of social theory and data from surveys, photographs and interviews, in an attempt to reconcile difficulties such as how to understand the subject within objective structures. In the process, he tried to reconcile the influences of both external social structures and subjective experience on the individual (see structure and agency).
Bourdieu rejected the idea of the intellectual "prophet", or the "total intellectual", as embodied by Sartre. His best known book is Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste, in which he argues that judgments of taste are related to social position. His argument is put forward by an original combination of social theory and data from surveys, photographs and interviews, in an attempt to reconcile difficulties such as how to understand the subject within objective structures. In the process, he tried to reconcile the influences of both external social structures and subjective experience on the individual (see structure and agency).
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
March 15, 2014
When he died in 2002 Pierre Bourdieu had managed to make that all-too-rare shift from being an academic sociologist to high profile trenchant critic of the state, economy and politics – he was, for many, the go to intellectual on the Left, more culturally nuanced than Chomsky, less burdened with a Marxist past than Hobsbawm. This excellent little collection of essays and speeches from 1999-2000 shows why; whether exploring the politics of ‘scholarship with commitment’, the subtle (or not so subtle) ways the powerful secure our consent to their rule, the meaning of globalisation as a process managed in the interests of an élite the demands acts it will not itself take, the need for artists and cultural workers to take action to defend culture from corporate encroachment or the shape and form of a European Social Movement to resist the corporate, neo-liberal European Union (that is, to redefine Europe) Bourdieu shows his very great skill at expressing complex ideas in accessible (not simple, but accessible) ways.
The underpinning intellectual activity and scholarship is outstanding and worn lightly; the papers may be 15 years old but it is to his credit that the ideas and even much of the expression remains current – just as the political struggles he is commenting on remain topical if not still in process. The stand out essay for me is ‘Against Depoliticisation’ – a powerful critique of the transformation of politics into management, of the rule of technocrats (think; Major, Blair, Schroeder and pretty much any other leader of an OECD state since the early 1990s as well as the bank-appointed governments of Italy, Greece and elsewhere in Europe since 2009/10) where ‘politics’ is surrendered to the boardrooms and governments manage the economy and society….. this is a call for socially active trade unions, alliances of activists and academics and an open-ended social movement of alliances. Similarly, ‘Culture is in Danger’ highlights the need for cultural workers, often those who see themselves as individually creative, to become an international(ist) social movement to resist corporate globalisation where they may retain their autonomy as cultural workers by abandon their autonomism to collective struggle against the limitations imposed by corporatisation.
At anything from 2 to 14 pages each these are fast, sharp and insightful – and a marvellous reminder of the Bourdieu’s brilliance, of the potential of critical public intellectual activism and the shape of the struggles we are continuing to wage.
The underpinning intellectual activity and scholarship is outstanding and worn lightly; the papers may be 15 years old but it is to his credit that the ideas and even much of the expression remains current – just as the political struggles he is commenting on remain topical if not still in process. The stand out essay for me is ‘Against Depoliticisation’ – a powerful critique of the transformation of politics into management, of the rule of technocrats (think; Major, Blair, Schroeder and pretty much any other leader of an OECD state since the early 1990s as well as the bank-appointed governments of Italy, Greece and elsewhere in Europe since 2009/10) where ‘politics’ is surrendered to the boardrooms and governments manage the economy and society….. this is a call for socially active trade unions, alliances of activists and academics and an open-ended social movement of alliances. Similarly, ‘Culture is in Danger’ highlights the need for cultural workers, often those who see themselves as individually creative, to become an international(ist) social movement to resist corporate globalisation where they may retain their autonomy as cultural workers by abandon their autonomism to collective struggle against the limitations imposed by corporatisation.
At anything from 2 to 14 pages each these are fast, sharp and insightful – and a marvellous reminder of the Bourdieu’s brilliance, of the potential of critical public intellectual activism and the shape of the struggles we are continuing to wage.
June 6, 2017
Two years ago I read Contre-feux, Tome 1: Propos pour servir à la résistance contre l'invasion Néo-libérale, a small collection of essays, interviews, colums, etc. about the rise and (negative) impact of neoliberalism with regards to social welfare, jobs, the economy, and more. This first compilation was a sort of kick in the butt of the political parties, organisations, ... of the left, since they too have since quite some time lost track of their ideals, choosing to fish in the pond of the right for whatever reason.
The heavy style, however, was a bit of a burden. Bourdieu, as a sociologist, had a way with words. Or, the main phrases were riddled with subordinate clauses, making you lose track of what the main phrase was. This isn't any different in this second little compilation, which makes it very difficult to wade through. Of course, not every text is affected, but most are. You do need a very decent knowledge of the French language, I find, to understand Bourdieu's argumentation.
In this second work, the negative impact of neoliberalism is brought to the table again; the texts are from the late 1990s and 2000. Bourdieu states that governments have been influenced too much by this ideology and have been used to disable themselves to provide a safe and secure world for people to live and work in. Everything must be coordinated in favour of the free market, of the economy, of large enterprises. Not in the least, the American way must be distributed and implemented: less taxes, less (or rather, no) social security, more flexibility, cheaper workforces, and so on. Also, less money for culture and the arts. There's nothing really profitable there, so why invest in these things?
And that's sort of what happened (also) in Belgium: libraries, cultural organisations, and similar got less money from the government; the latter stating that the past years there had been a serious increase in debt, which meant: austerity, saving and cutting. And selling state-owned property.
Bourdieu calls for a more warm and united civilisation, across borders. Especially the left must get back on track again, because they've been out of touch with their base for far too long. Also, there's too much division among left-sided organisations, which results in people not trusting or, rather, lacking faith in, for example, the trade unions protecting the workers' rights. Especially when these unions also have accumulated large amounts of money these past decades. Credibility?
The European Union is another element of critique: Bourdieu wrote that the union is orientated towards the economy, towards the market, ... Point in case: ECB, IMF, European Commission, ... Hard towards other countries, but reluctant to punish the USA, when it comes to controlling the budget.
So yeah, in itself, this is another worthwhile little book, but the heavy style doesn't allow for a smooth reading, unfortunately. However, both these 'Contre-Feux' works offer a good introduction to Bourdieu's world.
The heavy style, however, was a bit of a burden. Bourdieu, as a sociologist, had a way with words. Or, the main phrases were riddled with subordinate clauses, making you lose track of what the main phrase was. This isn't any different in this second little compilation, which makes it very difficult to wade through. Of course, not every text is affected, but most are. You do need a very decent knowledge of the French language, I find, to understand Bourdieu's argumentation.
In this second work, the negative impact of neoliberalism is brought to the table again; the texts are from the late 1990s and 2000. Bourdieu states that governments have been influenced too much by this ideology and have been used to disable themselves to provide a safe and secure world for people to live and work in. Everything must be coordinated in favour of the free market, of the economy, of large enterprises. Not in the least, the American way must be distributed and implemented: less taxes, less (or rather, no) social security, more flexibility, cheaper workforces, and so on. Also, less money for culture and the arts. There's nothing really profitable there, so why invest in these things?
And that's sort of what happened (also) in Belgium: libraries, cultural organisations, and similar got less money from the government; the latter stating that the past years there had been a serious increase in debt, which meant: austerity, saving and cutting. And selling state-owned property.
Bourdieu calls for a more warm and united civilisation, across borders. Especially the left must get back on track again, because they've been out of touch with their base for far too long. Also, there's too much division among left-sided organisations, which results in people not trusting or, rather, lacking faith in, for example, the trade unions protecting the workers' rights. Especially when these unions also have accumulated large amounts of money these past decades. Credibility?
The European Union is another element of critique: Bourdieu wrote that the union is orientated towards the economy, towards the market, ... Point in case: ECB, IMF, European Commission, ... Hard towards other countries, but reluctant to punish the USA, when it comes to controlling the budget.
So yeah, in itself, this is another worthwhile little book, but the heavy style doesn't allow for a smooth reading, unfortunately. However, both these 'Contre-Feux' works offer a good introduction to Bourdieu's world.
January 23, 2023
"In the face of such a complex and refined mode of domination, in which symbolic power has such an important place, one must invent new forms of struggle. Given the particular role of "ideas" in this scheme, researchers have a key part to play. They have to provide political action with new ends — the demolition of the dominant beliefs—and new means — technical weapons—based on research and a command of scientific knowledge, and symbolic weapons, capable of undermining common beliefs by putting research findings into an accessible form" (p.36).
October 9, 2020
(a versão lida foi em português)
Interessante notar que esse compilado de reflexões, já antigas e sobre a Europa, estejam tão atuais e aplicáveis a realidade de países com o Brasil 20 anos depois.
Apesar de pequeno, o livro não é de leitura muito fácil e submete o leitor a diversas reflexões sobre a realidade a que está submetido pelo interesse de grandes potências mundiais.
Interessante notar que esse compilado de reflexões, já antigas e sobre a Europa, estejam tão atuais e aplicáveis a realidade de países com o Brasil 20 anos depois.
Apesar de pequeno, o livro não é de leitura muito fácil e submete o leitor a diversas reflexões sobre a realidade a que está submetido pelo interesse de grandes potências mundiais.
March 11, 2023
A measured call to resist neoliberalism that loses momentum largely due to its lack of engagement with revolutionary thought, namely Frantz Fanon, Antonio Gramsci, Walter Rodney, C.L.R James, and Vladimir I. Lenin. Hell, throw in Marx and treat it as an analytic rather than a dogma which Bourdieu tends to do.
August 15, 2020
nice to read some Bourdieu and actually understand it ! Maybe all of his books should have been transcriptions of lectures ... - some fab stuff about neoliberalism and really allowed me to understand the distinction between 'internationalism' and 'globalisation'!
January 1, 2025
Bourdieu calls for international academic solidarity for the engagement of ideological warfare against the neoliberal order.
August 5, 2025
3.5 stars.
October 19, 2015
A short anthology of six previous written speeches and essays which center on a critique of the neoliberal ideology. A short and concise read, and quite accessible. Bourdieu makes analyses that aren't unfamiliar to those who have read the ills of globalization and neoliberalism. Though, something I did greatly appreciate was his paradox of the state being used as a tool to diminish itself from the economic sphere.
October 4, 2007
Buku 2. Kumpulan tulisan
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews