Season's Greetings from Occupy Harvard

[dthomas9444]

I didn't know that Harvard accepted moronic students.

[mobility987]

Do I dare ask which published materials of Niall Ferguson speak of bigotry,sexism,or any sort of stereotyping of people?or will I be labelled as a racist/bigot for doing so?

Please name just one page out of all his published work that is racist/sexist/ or disadvantageous to a group.

what i find amazing is that asian countries are adopting the ideas of capitalism and are creating foundations to are starting to push ahead of the west-while the youth of the west bitch about'greed'shown on fox news

[492Cafe]

Ummm ...that's charcoal, which is made from wood. Coal is mined. ...in coal mines.

[TheOccupyPeople]

may I have your permission to post this on our media group's site at McPherson Media?

[Pinuktank]

@TheOccupyPeople It's creative commons so that everyone can share it, thanks for doing so.

[christyc463]

"“it certainly seems strange that being capable of rape can make a person better qualified for greatness, but it’s probably true.” --mansfield. yikes, i can't imagine anyone who says this kind of thing getting a job anywhere, but apparently it's possible at harvard...

[Pinuktank]

I don't see how that is even close to supporting invasion of Iraq, The colonization of Americas, or in defending against the accusations, referring to 'indian inferiority complex'. So, no, I wouldn't see that as equally problematic. Again, I am not dismissing his economics theories based on his sideline bigotry, I am talking about the bigotry alone(though I personally don't agree with his extrapolation of the british colonialism as a reason for post-colonial success in respective countries)

[zeekle]

Here's a hypothetical example of how he's being taken out of context: Niall doesn't believe that China will supersede the West because they lack one of the West's "6 killer apps", democracy. It's a very interesting idea and it's worth thinking about but you would probably use this as another example of 'problematic discourse' because I found every other quote that you provided me to be equally harmless. Have you read his books or are you just reading cherry picked quotes provided by others?

[MissRoguey]

Hey! That's me at 2:09.. and I thought you guys were so sweet for delivering Mr. Summers a present :(

[danielwilson321]

Grow up you silly, irrelevant brats.

[hanspy2]

Love it. Happy Times,Xmas and Holydays and a great 2012. Strength for you all from Holland

[barracudabq]

Oh, yeah, one more thing:

Have any of you actually read any of his books or watched his documentaries? Only then will your opinion matter.

(Spolier: In "War of the World", Ferguson repeatedly speaks of how the racism exercised by the axis powers was awful, and was one thing that led to their eventual defeat)

Occupy a book, why don't ya.

[barracudabq]

Niall Ferguson is a great man. His ideas are respectable, and at least in my opinion, true. You accuse him of neo-imperialism when he merely speaks of what good the U.S. is capable of. You obviously don't understand what civilized debate is.

As far as I'm concerned the whole "Occupy" movement should go occupy a desk.

[timjohan]

NIall ferguson is fine...come on bigots...you are really showing your ignorance....just using the word bigot is being a bigot

[zeekle]

I enjoy Niall Ferguson's economic analysis - he is not a bigot - he's a great thinker who's ideas have shaken the foundation of economists but since they can't win the economic debate, they have resorted to personal attacks. I believe it was Confucius who said: "He who throws the first argumentum ad hominem admits they got pwned."

[Pinuktank]

@zeekle Niall Ferguson "The Apache and the Navajo had all sorts of admirable traits. In the absence of literacy we don’t know what they were because they didn’t write them down. We do know they killed a hell of a lot of bison. But had they been left to their own devices, I don’t think we’d have anything remotely resembling the civilisation we’ve had in North America."

[zeekle]

@Pinuktank I agree with that statement. It's the same point that was made in Jared Diamond's book "Guns, Germs and Steel". I hope we don't start calling Jared a racist for trying to figure out why technology took off in the west but not elsewhere e.g. Papua New Guinea.

[Pinuktank]

@zeekle as he is a neo-imperialist, It should be clear that he does not intend it in the same way. Also, this was only one small excerpt that came to mind. You can follow his argument with Mishra for more.

I also did not say he was racist, not in accompaniment of that quote anyhow, that was an example of unabashed anglophilia and contentment with white dominance.

[zeekle]

@Pinuktank I've seen Niall on many tv programs and debates and I never sensed anglophilia or neo-imperialism. I think his ideas are very exciting and insightful. Niall is under attack for reopening the debate on a subject that most academics think is closed: economics. Our current economic models are a failure - economics is still the dismal science but certain people are trying to preserve the old way of thinking and have even resorted to swiftboating. Niall is an ally, not an enemy of O.W.S.

[Pinuktank]

@zeekle I am sorry, I will try to provide more links on Ferguson when I have the time. I fully agree that economics is a dismal science, you can see some of the teach-in videos in that regard.

on his imperialism,

"Let me come clean. I am a fully paid up member of the neoimperialist gang. Twelve years ago—when it was not fashionable to say so—I was already arguing that it would be “desirable for the United States to depose” tyrants like Saddam Hussein."

[Pinuktank]

@zeekle he also talks about the violence of anglo-saxon colonization in trivial terms while christening it as the greatest accomplishment of the empire. I remember a Robin Blackburn article that elaborates further on this point on the new left review quite a while back. This is not to say that I am standing on any side of the argument, but if this is a discussion, I would appreciate some more substance than 'exciting' and 'insightful'.

[zeekle]

@Pinuktank I think you just hit upon the source of the vitriol. Niall's "Ascent of Money" was electrifying - it woke me up to the brutality of economics. Meanwhile, Krugman choses to write/speak academically but feels his turf is being trampled on by a "poseur" (which btw, is a really snobby term). Niall prefers to write/speak in bold statements and as a result, his writings are easily taken out of context - this is character assassination. Economics is ugly and we're killing the messenger.

[Pinuktank]

@zeekle Nowhere did I dismiss the entirety of Ferguson's economical critique based on other his stance on other issues. He publishes profusely on the matters that I pointed out -see Empire or Colossus, along his other books- that contain problematic discourse based on western superiority. I don't see how anything is out of context in this regard.

[jcrowley1985]

Ironically, these corporate crooks already own all the coal (and other fossil fuels) and are happy to be making huge profits off them.

[lionboy9]

If you don't get WHY giving Fat Larry a Harvard Crimson stocking filled with coal is both so very apt and so very cool, you really don't get anything at all.

[zombiestripper85]

I'm part of Occupy UPenn and I think this is awesome!

[connorwaterous]

Who's gonna pay back the owner of the Harvard Tour company for business losses? Who's going to pay for wages lost? Who's going to convince the rest of America Harvard hasn't devolved into a haven for society's most intellectually inept?

Of course your movement has had benefits. At the very least the Admissions Office will be able to revise its practices to ensure this never happens again.

Take down the dome, go to class, learn economics, and if your still unhappy, run for public office.

[Pinuktank]

@connorwaterous we have a playlist of the teach-in if you'd like to learn about economics. It's a pity that Harvard chose to interrupt your tours.

If your only concern -it certainly isn't mine as the world doesn't turn around me- is the individuals who lost profit from a unilateral contract that the yard would remain open, I would argue that individuals of lesser income (securitas guards) made much more in total from the university's decision.(in case we are playing logicians)

[incomprableslinn]

Fuck. Yes.

[timjohan]

Harvard sucks! You have become a JOKE!

[theGuyByTheDoor]

So proud to have slept with you all! [y'all?] In Robert Rubin's defense, he did show his ID to me when he came to the library. Nan Keohane wanted me to admit her on her say so. Fortunately her picture is on Wikipedia :)