From chapter 8 of Wealth of Networks:
Liberal political theory needs a theory of culture and agency that is viscous enough to matter normatively, but loose enough to give its core foci – the individual and the political system – room to be effective independently, not as a mere expression or extension of culture.
Let’s see if I can’t parse that. Firstly, I would have used “cohesive” instead of “viscous” in that sentence, but what does it mean for a cohesive or viscous theory to “matter normatively?” I seem to recall from my linguistics class that a normative (or prescriptive) grammar is one that defines a language as the linguist thinks it should be. Contrast that with a descriptive grammar, or one that seeks to understand the fluid and ever-changing nature of human language. So a theory that matters normatively is one that we can use to construct ideal sociopolitical systems. The rest of the sentence makes it clear that our system shouldn’t be so narrow that individuals or political systems have no meaning or texture outside their culture, much as “If Mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy,” has no meaning in a grade school grammar text.
Now, part of me is happy that I feel like I understand Benkler’s sentence, but I’m a bit put off by the fact that I had to read it three times and think out the paragraph above to be able to move on. I have to think that there’s a way to express this kind of critical theory that doesn’t erect significant barriers to entry. I don’t feel like I can really talk about Benkler over dinner. Maybe that says more about who I eat dinner with than about his critical theory, but I don’t think so.
Benkler has reshaped/reinforced my attitudes about Linux, wikis, etc. I feel like the chairman of the FCC really should read this book. But… can’t this book be expressed as a series of cartoons? I’m only half joking. Maybe I’ll magically convince zefrank and the League of Awesomeness to make a cartoon version of Benkler’s book.
First, though, I need to finish this and two more chapters.
Peace.
{ 1 } Comments
So, I’m going to tip my hand here and say explicitly that I think the LoA *is* a cartoonish expression of Benkler’s book in some ways. People don’t need a well-articulated critical theory to be able to produce a modern, networked folk culture. We just need a few hubs like zefrank.