L'Horreur d'Economie continued
Forrester has the ability to point out the aberrations and contradictions
of the contemporary capitalist system, especially between collective
and individual interests, "Is prosperity a benefit for the community
or for the "happy few" despite routine and efficient discourses
on "Forces vives de la nation"? She is a radical when she redefines
such familiar expressions as "assisted". She asks:
"Are they really unemployed people or heirs, assisted from the
cradle to the grave?"
(6) A quick tour of the internet illustrates the infatuation with
Forrester's perusal and the spiteful reactions ("On peut qualifier,
sans exagérer, cet essai de minable").
It is not surprising that the PCF (French Communist Party) has
received this book favorably (see the on-line journal Regards) even though Forrester's critique of traditional parties is very
scathing; that politicians of the PS (Socialist Party) quote Viviane
Forrester (even in debates in the Senate).
The "Cercle de la Cheminée" (Circle of Economic and Political Thought, a French liberal
club) has shelved this essay in the category "Books we hate".
In fact, she's quoted everywhere and "horreur économique" has
made its way into everyday French vocabulary (7).
This "Economic Horror" is, at the same time, fascinating and disappointing.
Fascinating for its power to revitalize the reading of capitalism
with quite an original approach and often a sensitive understanding
of the living conditions of underpriviledged classes.
It is disappointing because it is lacking a more serious scientific
analysis. It is not a sociological work originating from a university,
it is "just" an essay, and many assertions, for example with the
idea of the "end of work", remain to be proven.
One regrets this lack of detail in the text especially when one
expects a consolidation of her argument.
When I refer to the lack of ”detail", it doesn’t mean I am looking
for a "concrete instruction of how to fight neo-liberalism". We
can’t expect Forrester to provide some sort of ”combat handbook".
As a sociologists, it is not her job to find a "solution", but
first to give us tools for understanding. Does this book deal
with issues of the Economy? Well, this question was already answered
by the self-designated economy "specialists" (Alain Minc for example).
According to them, Ms Forrester is just a well-dressed leftist,
a novelist with a fertile fantasy, all but qualified to attack
an economic system! It's heresy to talk about such subjects without
statistic, and without a university degree, they could say.
Nevertheless, this work has everything to be a best-seller among
the readers of the Figaro (French Right) or the VSD (populist)
newspapers: an intelligent deconstructivist critique. It could
be an upcoming cult-book.
vincent battesti
Footnotes:
(6) "In the USA, Edmund S. Phelps noticed, employment is promoted
with prejudice for salaries whereas in Europe salaries were promoted
with prejudice for employment. Perhaps. But nothing, nowhere,
acts with prejudice for profit!" (p. 171, French edition, translated
by me)
Or:
"What reasonable correlation can exist, for example, between losing
a job and to get evicted, to find oneself in the street? The
punishment is beyond compare with the advanced motif, given for
obvious. That a lack of ability to pay, a lack of ability to
pay anymore is handled as a crime is in itself surprising if we
think about it. However, to be punished in this way, to be thrown
out on to the streets, for not having been in a position to settle
a rent payment because you have no more work (while employment
is missing obviously and officially everywhere) or because your
attributed job is low-renumerated, too low compared to the exaggerated
cost of too scarce housing, all this belongs to dementia or a
deliberate perversity. The more so as a domicile will be required
to keep or to find this job when this one is needed to find a
domicile."
(p. 68, French edition, translated by me)