Rorty

Rorty’s Globalization…..

In this essay, Rorty is responding to the idea that the present resurgence of historically connected animosities and cultural concerns stem from a postmodern skepticism and philosophically rooted fragility of universality. He does not agree that philosophy can be the ground on which the world fractures, since this is not the residing place of publicly shared utopian hopes.
He suggests that these two hopes of constructing a classless society have been embodied within Marx’s scenario as well as within the intellectuals’ belief in peace through technological progress, a democratic system and a free market. He then clarifies his opinion that neither of these are happening at present, pointing out the similarities between America and Brazil.
The fact that globalization has driven the economy beyond the control of political boundaries is a problem that Rorty believes to be rectifiable only through a globalization of the political institution. He does not believe that philosophical discourse is capable of changing things on a global scale. He sees the rampant philosophical skepticism to be a symptom of the present state rather than a cause of it. Historically, utopian philosophers have been parasitic to historical narrative. He sees the only progress within this discourse since the time of Mill being the power of philosophers to identify “blind spots”, places that need further attention.
I don’t know if I agree with Rorty or not. Or should I say I don’t know whether he would agree with me or not. I do as well think that philosophy is symptomatic of its time, but I also think that the fusion of philosophy and politics together is the way to create the most dramatic and long-lasting changes. In this situation it is ideally the philosophy that would be the controlling force, and thus can in this sense truly be the root of something new. Perhaps it is not the philosophy that is focusing on defining the present so much as the philosophy that is revealing the present that matters. I suppose the difference is between truly understanding something and forcing something.