Reviews and Comments

როლი: ქართულ თანამედროვე ისტორიოგრაფიაში არსებული შიდა წინააღმდეგობებიდან და პრობლემული დისკურსებიდან ("ეროვნული vs სოციალისტური") გამომდინარე, ამ მიმოხილვის თემა ალბათ ბევრისთვის მოულოდნელ საკითხებს და ფაქტებს მოიცავს, რაც კარგია - არ შეიძლება საკუთარი ისტორიის მიმართ მუდმივ სიბნელეში და გამოგონილ ნარატივებში ცხოვრება.

შინაარსი: იმ ფიგურების პოლიტიკური ნიჭის ისტორიის შემონახვას, რომლებმაც ქართული სოციალ-დემოკრატიის (რომელიც მაშინ, დღევანდელი უხერხემლო სოციალ-დემოკრატიული მოდელისგან განსხვავებით, დიდწილად სოციალიზმთან იყო ასოცირებული) ტრადიცია შექმნეს და შეინარჩუნეს ყველაზე რთულ პირობებში, 30 წელი არ უნდა დასჭირვებოდა, მაგრამ სჯობს გვიან, ვიდრე არასდროს.

გადმოცემის ფორმა: არ ვიცი, ავტორის წერის შედეგია თუ თარგმანის, მაგრამ ეს ამ წიგნის დიდი ნაკლია. განმეორებული თემები გადმოცემულია განმეორებულ ფორმებში, რაც კითხვაში არასაჭიროდ დამღლელი ძალისხმევის და მოთმინების ჩართვას ითხოვს. შეიძლებოდა ამ ყველაფრის 1/3 ნაკლებ მოცულობაში და უფრო საინტერესოდ დაწერა.

There is more than enough coverage of US imperialism in contemporary media to fill days of airwaves, but not that much material that speaks through the words of the imperial management itself. This collection of documents showing views on the rest of the world by American policy leaders, strategists and special service heads mirrors the glasses through which other global powers in history saw countries and people subjected - or to be subjected - to their rule. Reading this documentary material leaves nobody with enough space to claim we live in a post-imperial era.

K-Punk's inimitable talent in connecting the most crucial junctions of our socio-economic being with the most acute experiences of our cultural creation and consumption is displayed in Ghosts of My Life as vividly as in Capitalist Realism, if from a different angle. It is a reminder of how much we miss his ability of capturing and raising traces of material reality on artistic work, in references to a "failure of the future" in works of music and cinema.

No society survives effects of its material existence on social, economic, political, cultural and personal lives. K-Punk knows like nobody else how to describe the burden of the consumerist society on its every member, from the moment of their waking up to the second of their going to sleep. The ubiquitous presence of market demands, propaganda of individualist existence, and economic hardship which, for most people, leaves no space and time for analysis and introspection, is conveyed in his usual, rare eloquence, and even rarer emotional intelligence.

A series of conversations about the internet, privacy, digital surveillance, the militarisation of cyberspace and more, from the people whose vision of digital freedoms has been under siege by both state power and corporations the world over for many years now. And it is not only specific topics on technology but also occasional philosophical forays into questions of types of freedoms and their fundamental nature.

Unlike The Empyrean Age, this work is a much more compatible style of storytelling for the New Eden universe. I don't know if the difference in physical formats of the two books - the other one an almost-pocket-size print, this one a proper one - should've been a giveaway from the start, but Gonzales offers an enjoyable path of more elaborate stories, and less cheap exchanges between the personalities detailed.

The typical Hollywood-esque narrative of a protagonist embarking on a journey of personal quest is often hollow to the point of irritation, however when placed in the realm of the universe of New Eden, the place where life in EVE Online unfolds, it regains some of the credibility. Following the diverse faces of the novel throughout the vast expanses of space in their goals and struggles was enjoyable.

Even though the internet has changed the balance of power in media reporting and information dissemination since the era of the 20th century US gangster imperialism analysed in the work, what has not changed is the liberal intellectuals' and mainstream media organisations' service to causes of the Empire. They have never had potent arguments against Chomsky and others' analyses of their role, and reading about their actions that aided the military-industrial complex's rampant pillaging in the name of global power and corporate profits is important.

An example of contrasts in storytelling - detailings of high-level political and corporate dealings and backstabbing is well-presented, but then there are the scenes with regrettable levels of shallowness in them. Drones speaking with human tendency of unscripted investigation, action-packed sequences that have no deeper origins or consequences, and more cases of overly Americanised narration of an entirely non-Hollywood-esque universe.

What is collected here is a testament to how a digital universe can enable people to create stories of a far future world now, and, at the same time, a reminder of how creators of the said digital realm went so wrong in their design after 2013. This is how magical New Eden used to be, and this is the evidence of what that world lost with CCP's marketing decision to transform it from a unique open-world science fiction reality to just another microtransaction-fuelled PVE pastime.

Beautifully illustrated texts introducing the people, events, customs and history of the New Eden, one of the most well-detailed universes in online videogames. These visions of the devs in Reykjavik, and backstories accompanying them are a great example of what sets some MMOs apart from others.

"In different ways, the fate of democracy as at stake in Madison, Wisconsin, no less than it is in Tahrir Square", Chomsky writes in this work, and the collection of brief analyses of global interventions - as well as power plays by the governments engaging in them - unveils that assumption in the work. The plight of Palestinians, desperation of Rust Belt working class left at the hands of neoliberal policies, and many more stories shed light on the kind of big picture look that Chomsky is always recognised for.

Rocker does a lot of great service in presenting historical currents and events in his detailing of anarchist movements, revolutions and ways in which the communities in question organised themselves, however I found a little less in the way of theoretical exploration of concepts than expected.

"From Tuskegee to Guatemala via Nuremberg" is the title of one of the chapters in this book, and one that conveys a theme running through it. The climate crisis afflicting the globe's populations but paid little more than lip service by political and economic elites; US meddling and interventions in some of the world's poorest countries; Apartheid crimes of global corporations; the racism crisis in the heart of the Empire, and many more subjects illustrate the plight - and occasional wins - of the organised working class.

How brittle and small the WikiLeaks staff was in its early years, or how Assange's often unpredictable and less-than-cordial personality and management style shaped it, are some of the questions that have almost become academic in the midst of developments around the platform, and its creator, in recent years. But they are in full display here, and Domscheit-Berg's humble narration and personality aids the exploration greatly.