Not enough that Michael Ignatieff turns out to be Canadian. Now Naomi Klein also turns out to be Canadian. Maybe Canada should take over the U.S. instead of the other way round? How come Canada is producing public intellectuals at such a pace? This past week’s New Yorker has a feature article on Naomi Klein and her role as the voice of the New, New Left in the U.S., and beyond, which provides some answers.
I don’t know a lot about her writing, other than a section of The Shock Doctrine (which I suspect was published in Harper’s) that I read several months ago, and which was very interesting in a provocative way. As a former member of the old new left, and a current member of the old old left, I’m very interested in the new new left, but I am somewhat surprised (and pleased) to find that Canada is producing its leaders and that its main voice is female. Take that, Hillary Clinton--next time try the left instead of the center.
But then the second part of being surprised about all this is to find that Ms. Klein’s parents live here nearby us in Roberts Creek, B.C. (at least they do while we are in residence here; when we’re in Point Roberts, they have to live here without us). I met the mom once, some years ago, but just in passing. She is also political in her orientation but currently as a disability activist, subsequent to a stroke which rendered her seriously disabled. So, assuming she and her daughter are on good enough terms, I will be looking to see not only Joni Mitchell but also Naomi Klein in the local grocery store. It’s getting to be like Beverly Hills up here. Except for the fact that this week the roads are covered with ice and the not-roads are covered with snow, which makes it more like Minnesota with hills, where the temperature is, day after day, about 20 degrees F., although, in B.C., it’s actually more like –5.5 degrees C.
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FYI, an interesting BloggingHeads discussion of Canadian politics
http://bloggingheads.tv/diavlogs/16533
Naomi Klein an "intellectual?" Only to statist wingnuts. Honestly, no one takes this woman seriously any more, at least since her fabrications were revealed in works published by such diverse sources as the New Republic and the Cato Institute. She is an insult to progressivism and one of the reasons that our credibility has been compromised.
"Wingnut"? Surely you mean "moonbat."
i don't know; it would appear that david remnick and larissa mcfarquhar take her seriously enough to devote an entire New Yorker profile to her doings and thinkings. as to 'such diverse sources as the New Republic and the Cato Institute,' i would in no serious way think of them as 'diverse,' nor would i look to those on the right to judge the work of those on the left. I personally don't know her work (as I said), but clearly she has credibility with some significant groups somewhere, and i doubt if they are groups on the political right.
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