While reading Gabriel Rockhill’s exposé on Slavoj Zizek what stood out to me a lot was the brief mention of postmodern philosopher Jacques Derrida being involved in “anti-communist political activism against the government in Czechoslovakia”.
While I’ve always known that Postmodernism is an enemy of Marxism, this makes it sound like postmodern philosophers are also feds. The source Rockhill cites for Derrida’s anti-communist praxis is the 1999 book The Velvet Philosophers by Barbara Day. Has anyone read this book? What specifically is said about the topic in it?
Anti communism can be explained with post structuralist and postmodern language. The communist, in conjunction with orientalist visions and bourgeoisie fears, is rendered a simulation that both replaces the communist with a bourgeoisie construction in a way that then even seeps into the heart of the actual communist and can cause an identity crisis which changes the quality of the communist. Thus we have the western marxist anti communist, a creation of liberal simulation of communism, a product of power and language, a refined weapon against class struggle.