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On 11/15/2010 3:26 PM, Dan wrote: > So, as our common human heritage, all historical artifacts up to the > 19th century should, in all justice, be under the custody of an > international body responsible for preserving mankind's artistic > heritage, and should be on itinerant display on every continent. Six > months in one major city, six months in another, and so on... No more > permanent collections. > > Using the past to bolster a particuliar nation state under the pretext > that "these remarkable civilizations were our ancestors" is absurd. I originally wrote a vicious albeit sarcastic response to what I viewed as the ... (how should I put this gently???) ... well, certainly not by saying that the posts that have dominated this thread have been racist, imperialist and white supremacist, even though --to be brutally frank-- that is what I think. ABSTRACTING FROM the last 500 years of the history of the planet, and to be specific, the record of European piracy, pillage and plunder, as if they had never happened, might be ok for Fox News, CNN or even the New York Times but it OUGHT to have no place on this list. I believe there is a marked tendency towards social-imperialist degeneration of much of the "left" in the "advanced" countries. What is the POLITICAL import of denouncing attempts involving "using the past" to "bolster a particular nation state" under whatever "pretext"? When the bolstering that is being combated is that of the peoples that are the VICTIMS of imperialism? And those that are being defended are --oh happy coincidence!!!-- the imperialists? In TODAY'S world, under really existing conditions, what does it mean to posit "an international body responsible for preserving mankind's artistic heritage"? And what does it mean to say that these treasures "should be on itinerant display on every continent. Six months in one major city, six months in another, and so on...". Is Cochabamba a "major city?" Is Cuzco a "major city"? Do we take into account that geopolitically, Westchester is next to Westminster but a world away from Window Rock? Do we take into account that the Tokyo residents that might frequent such an exhibition would have much more access if it were half a world away in Tampa than the Cubans of Santa Clara would if it were held in Santiago de Cuba, never mind Santiago de Chile? Is a "major city" defined by its population? By its literacy rate? Or by the mendacity of its cultural institutions that whitewash the ill-gotten gains of the local leading citizens by naming exhibitions, galleries, projects, buildings and even entire museums after them? "Our common human heritage ... should, in all justice, be under the custody of ..." The Field Museum? The Smithsonian? Who was James Smithson? Who was Marshall Field? I know little of Smithson. But I do know of Field, at least. El verdugo de los mártires de Chicago. The executioner of the Chicago Martyrs. Not literally, of course. No mere rope-wielder could be as culpable as Field. But long after the Field Museum gets burned to the ground, free people --human beings-- will remember and curse the name of Marshall Field, and the capitalist misery and exploitation and hucksterism he stood for. And --yes-- the Midwest murders that gave us May Day. Or even more to the point, isn't it likely that by the year 2492 we will see clearly and unmistakably how much more important it was for 10 Navajos to have seen some exhibit centuries before, rather than 10,000 more brits? How many Einsteins did humanity sacrifice by persecuting the Jews? And how many more by the subjugation, denigration, exploitation and humiliation of the peoples of Asia, Africa and Latin America? THAT is what the controversies around who the ancient "treasures" belong to are about. Colonialism and imperialism. Below is what I originally wrote to post in this thread. Joaquín * * * Absurd? ABSURD???!!! Couldn't agree more. So, given that the Europeans have been sacking and destroying these treasures for 500 years or so, and monopolizing the few they have allowed to be preserved, to redress the balance, I believe that for the NEXT 500 years these treasures should be put under the exclusive and absolute control of peoples of color in the Third World, and their display in the imperialist countries outlawed, but with the costs for their preservation, display, scientific investigation and so on borne exclusively by the white countries. One possible mechanism for financing would be a steep and progressive tax on white babies. Countries, cities or --ultimately-- parents unwilling to pay would see their children disposed of at birth or shortly afterward, given the likelihood that slaves of white stock would be worth even two shillings by market standards. Joaquín PS: Dan: "So, as our common human heritage, all historical artifacts..." Why do you say "our," paleface? "There is an endless supply of white men. There has always been a limited number of human beings." --Old Lodge Skins ________________________________________________ Send list submissions to: Marxism@lists.econ.utah.edu Set your options at: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40mail-archive.com
