"A common way to show that one has sharpened one’s critical thinking is to display an ability to see through or undermine statements made by (or beliefs held by) others. Thus, our best students are really good at one aspect of critical thinking­—being critical. For many students today, being smart means being critical. To be able to show that Hegel’s concept of narrative foreclosed the non-European, or that Butler’s stance on vulnerability contradicts her conception of performativity, or that a tenured professor has failed to account for his own “privilege”—these are marks of sophistication, signs of one’s ability to participate fully in the academic tribe. But this participation, being entirely negative, is not only seriously unsatisfying; it is ultimately counterproductive."

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“Beyond Critical Thinking” at the Chronicle of Higher Education (via leoninineclaire, radicallyhotoff)

I’m really glad someone else has written this so I don’t have to.  it’s really encapsulating a lot of my feelings around organising/movement at the moment.  obviously if you have radical politics it’s because you’re not satisfied with the world as it is and that doesn’t mean you are just a negative person.  anarchists in particular are often accused of being anti-everything which is very annoying. 

but I get SO BORED of critique being so centered in radical politics.  obviously it is incredibly necessary.  but is there a tactical analysis behind our focus on critique?  because I’m not into the politics of “speaking truth to power” if “power” is understood as institutionalised power.  we should be working together to build something new, not just pointing out flaws in the current system and hoping someone will notice.  to me that means we need to start, like, talking about things we like? 

also I have often wondered what the effect of the centering of critical thinking in my cultural inheritance has been on my personal happiness.  I am hyper-critical to the point where it’s a running gag among my friends.  It’s  not something I’m proud of or that I enjoy.  literally the first thing I do when I see something new is pick out the things in it that are problematic, hegemonic, boring, privileged, gauche.  it’s automatic.  and sometimes I value this capacity but — is my life really improved because I have awesome critiques of lady gaga as a queer/feminist icon to the point that I curl my lip when bad romance comes on?  am I just the political equivalent of the stereotypical pitchfork writer who secretly hates music?  I think sometimes I am.  the people I know who have the sharpest critiques of everything are also some of the most depressed anxious people I know.  I don’t know if there’s a causal relationship but I don’t think it’s coincidence.