Arjuna Fournier
Bio
Political Scientist writing research proposals, theory essays, and sometimes your random short story.
Stories (19)
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Impermanent Structures
Introduction Is our current political economic system self-defeating? When building off the insight that Keynes gives us, it becomes painfully obvious the paradoxical nature of capitalism (Marx also observes this). But, unlike Keynes, Marx advocates for leaving the capitalist system to its own devices which according to him will eventually be its own unraveling. Keynes advocates for action within the system by creating economic levers that manage the inevitable concentration of wealth produced by the neo-liberal economic system.
By Arjuna Fournier4 years ago in The Swamp
Mars: A Thought Experiment
Introduction Climate change, global warming, environmental destruction it doesn't matter what you call it. Human beings are destroying this earth at an unprecedented rate. Naturally people are looking for solutions, looking to the stars to quench their imaginations for survival. They see an opportunity to start over. To possibly take what humanity has learned for thousands of years. Evolution spinning its web of inter-species connection, providing for the perfect environment for apes to become human. Much like the planet itself a seemingly Goldie Locks scenario for natural selection. Ending in a hyper conscious species that has imprinted its history onto the landscapes of planet earth.
By Arjuna Fournier4 years ago in Futurism
Where Worlds Meet
Introduction Borders are essential to the idea of the state. Without them there is no way for the state to control and exert its identity. Classic definitions of the state revolve around the state and its ability to control a monopoly on violence within a territory delineated by borders. Such is the western concept of the modern state. But when did this come about? And why do we need borders defined by the state instead of porous borders that follow community identities. These are decolonizing questions that seek to critically attack the modern day concept of the state. I argue that borders are inherently colonial. They were inspired by colonial imperial thought and have taken on a life of their own. The goal here is to engage in an exercise that goes “beyond rigid identities and imposed labels, as it will open the way for the existence of multiple knowledges rather than a monolithic one” (Capan 7).
By Arjuna Fournier4 years ago in The Swamp
The Tragedy of the Privates
Private property is rooted in the philosophical thought experiment that is the “tragedy of the commons”. By this “Hardin refers to a tragedy of overgrazing and lack of care and fertilization which resulted in erosion and underproduction so destructive that there developed in the late 19th century an enclosure movement” (Cox 52). By this logic private property is validated because without owner ship then there is no responsibility for maintenance to any one individual making the commons a place where all take from but none contribute to. The result is a destruction of the environment needed to produce value. By taking land from the commons and making it private the idea is that individuals now how vested interests in maintaining the land and making it productive. Yet, when we critically examine the condition of the planet today we can see that private property may actually lead to a sort of tragedy of the privates. As we have seen private property has not quite been enough to produce sustainable productive structures. Rather “logical imperialism allows imperial countries to carry out an ‘environmental overdraft’ that draws on the natural resources of periphery countries” (Clark and Foster 330). Moving to privatize the next piece of land to fully exploit when the last one has been depleted. Not for a community but for a subset of businessmen, investors, and asset holders. Thus, we see that “Capitalist accumulation and the "market economy" are fundamentally parasitical regimes” (O’connor 1).
By Arjuna Fournier4 years ago in The Swamp
Working as a Financial Adviser
I was so to speak in the belly of the beast. A place where the neo-liberal constitution was on full display every single day; an investment firm. There, during my training and short tenure as a financial adviser I was exposed to a culture of individualism, a reverence of property rights, a mindset of profit maximization, and a tendency to cut costs. To summarize my entire life was to be oriented around a market logic.
By Arjuna Fournier4 years ago in The Swamp
The Politics of Death NecroPower
Introduction Mbembe in his book contends that we can go past the understanding of Foucault’s concept of Biopower (the power to life) by understanding the power of death (Necropower). Necropower does not go beyond Biopower per say but, completes it. Mbembe, allows us a glimpse into his understanding between the two creating a flexible and recursive understanding of how life and death are used to manipulate society.
By Arjuna Fournier4 years ago in The Swamp
The Feminine and Masculine
Intro “As one learns to look at the world through gender-curious feminist eyes, one learns to ask whether anything that passes for natural, inevitable, inherent, traditional, or biological has been made” (12). Cynthia Enole in her book Bananas, Beaches, and Bases takes just such a feminist lens to history and politics. Throughout her book she examines various case studies with the role of women in mind. Pointing out as she goes along how in each case there is a gendered aspect. For example, she highlights the role of women in the abolitionist movement arguing that if it were not for women, slavery might have gone on for longer. Additionally she points out how anything deemed feminine is assumed subordinate to the masculine. Demonstrating that even when women like Margaret Thatcher were in positions of power, men could only conceive of her position through the masculine, dubbing her “the toughest man in the room”. This begs the question of, where are the women? Even when there is a woman in the room as was the case with Mrs. Thatcher, where is the representation of feminine power and how is feminine power made invisible by ignoring gender? Following will be a discussion which first fleshes out the focus of the book before tying Enoles question of “where are the women” with Tsing’s concept of Salvage accumulation.
By Arjuna Fournier4 years ago in Pride
The Progressively Blind
Pre-amble The quest for peace and transcendence beyond the human condition is a theme within political science. At every turn there is another starting condition. Nature being remade over and over again only to be remade in the same likeness.
By Arjuna Fournier4 years ago in Earth
Post Positivism
Intro To play a game there need be rules. The study of international relations being the search for the rules of state interaction. Positivism in that regard has shaped the questions that have been asked in IR. It created boundaries as to what was acceptable research. Post positivism then is the critique of that narrative and it asks us to reconsider fundamental assumptions about a casual international world. First, we will briefly define positivism and post-positivism highlighting each approaches significance. Following, will be a discussion on how post-positivism and positivism may not be as distinct as imagined. Lest we forget that the curse of modernity is to forget that we are like the rest who have come before us. Indeed, that to regard the newest ideas as fundamentally different from those of the past is the most common human expression of ego.
By Arjuna Fournier4 years ago in Futurism
