Unity via an Ideological Fantasy

What they do not know is that their social reality itself, their activity, is guided by an illusion, by a fetishistic inversion. What they overlook, what they misrecognize, is not the reality but the illusion which is structuring their reality, their real social activity. They know very well how things really are, but still they … Continue reading Unity via an Ideological Fantasy →

The name of the strict father

I’ve been thinking about how I used the concept of the big Other to describe the manner by which Ranil Wickremesinghe, the current Sri Lankan President, functions with a section of the electorate that supports him. https://twitter.com/rajit_h/status/1547386139472199683?s=61&t=qy9dc_UC7o7gX5duEQJkuQ Recently, after some theatrics in Parliament by him, I referenced the (non-Lacanian) strict father model. https://twitter.com/rajit_h/status/1628671355649683459?s=61&t=oPwwWezWWxnELuIstV7oLw Both these … Continue reading The name of the strict father →

The SJB-JVP battle for votes

The jockeying for voters between the NPP/JVP and the SJB provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on the importance of ideology and identity for a political party. https://twitter.com/ravirannaneliya/status/1628239362352881664 As things stand, polling suggests while ex-SLPP voters are moving to other main parties, the greatest number have gone to the JVP. https://twitter.com/ravirannaneliya/status/1628239374172422145 A question that I’ve … Continue reading The SJB-JVP battle for votes →

The future of “Go Home Gota”: Occupy Wall Street?

Occupy was, at its core, a movement constrained by its own contradictions: filled with leaders who declared themselves leaderless, governed by a consensus-based structure that failed to reach consensus, and seeking to transform politics while refusing to become political.https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/06/the-triumph-of-occupy-wall-street/395408/ If one is searching for movements analogous to “Go Home Gota”, Occupy Wall Street is a … Continue reading The future of “Go Home Gota”: Occupy Wall Street? →

Yahapalanaya & “Go home Gota” as master signifiers

A couple of introductory notes: This section of the Wikipedia article on the 2015 Sri Lankan Presidential election gives some idea of the complex dynamics of Yahapalanya. For an understanding of current events in Sri Lanka, and the "Go home Gota" movement, I recommend this.A summary of what is meant by a master signifier can … Continue reading Yahapalanaya & “Go home Gota” as master signifiers →

Constructing reality: COVID & economy messaging in Sri Lanka

Prior to reading this, it may help to read my page on Constructing Reality, which gives some basic theoretical background to this blog post. I’ve had a long-standing interest in how reality can be constructed, especially in a political context. Currently, it’s possible to observe this happening in Sri Lanka in a very instructive manner. … Continue reading Constructing reality: COVID & economy messaging in Sri Lanka →

SJB: ideological distance

This is based on a tweet thread posted after reading what I thought were some poorly thought through comments from the Sri Lankan Twitter commentariat about the overall strategy followed by a political party in Sri Lanka. Disclaimer: I have no association with this party. I hate having to defend Dayan Jayatilleka (with whom I … Continue reading SJB: ideological distance →

Demographics, Voting blocs and wishful thinking

A video from a 2014 marketing summit and a Sri Lankan political opinion piece from the start of this week provided some thought-provoking insight into a form of reductionism and generalisation. This kind of thinking is not just misleading, for campaigns it is a dangerous trap that can undermine communications and marketing. As Adam Conover … Continue reading Demographics, Voting blocs and wishful thinking →

Using the Political Disruption Model

This event which provided the most detailed articulation to date of Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s inevitable Presidential campaign also provides an opportunity to apply the political disruption model. As I (smugly) pointed out on Twitter, I identified the contours of this campaign earlier this year. With one exception, applying the model to the campaign shows that it meets the … Continue reading Using the Political Disruption Model →

Strict fathers, Trump and Appachchi

NB: This post was published in a previous blog and imported into this one. please forgive any formatting issues. These were very intriguing articles quoting George Lakoff (one of the great thought leaders on political communication) about the influence on voters of moral frameworks and perceptions of parenting. He describes the two models as “strict … Continue reading Strict fathers, Trump and Appachchi →