GRGR: Todorov and Buchanan on the Holocaust

[davemarc]

> From: rj <rjackson at mail.usyd.edu.au>

> But to dismiss Todorov, or
> his advocates, on the grounds that they are Holocaust-deniers who want
> to make way for "another book on the Y2K crisis or another autobiography
> by a presidential candidate... (i.e. Buchanan)" is both hysterical and
> irresponsible (and, yes, ignorant) imo.

So who has dismissed Todorov or his advocates, etc., etc.?

Based on my readings at the NYTimes website, Todorov's ideas strike me as
thought-provoking rather than impeccable.  In some instances they seem to
be inadvertently and insultingly remote from the situational realities of
Nazi camps *and* Soviet camps.  But perhaps that's the limit of his brand
of structural morality.

On another topic, I would hazard a guess that one "difference" between
being a "race" prisoner and a "class" prisoner is that those in the former
category are literally born guilty.  In comparison, being a "class"
prisoner may be more contingent.  

Regarding this quote from the SMH review--

  "To speak of absolute or inexplicable evil in connection with the
extermination of European Jewry is not merely inaccurate but highly
dangerous because it distracts attention from the possibility that
similar atrocities may arise even in banal or commonplace circumstances."

--I don't see any evidence, aside from the trivial and anecdotal, that
speaking of any kind of evil in terms of the Holocaust is dangerous because
it has distracted attention from the possibility that similar atrocities
might arise in commonplace circumstances.  That's a vast overstatement.

I do wonder if it's time to stop dwelling on these Todorov reviews.  If the
thinking summarized or expressed in the reviews can shed light on GR, then
I'd like to see more focus on its application to GR.  No need to get lost
in Todorov review-land....

d.