Whatcha' talkin' 'bout David Harvey?

For my Film & Lit class we watched an interview with a Marxist Geographer, Dr. David Harvey. He looks like Santa Claus as a younger man and I would bet that he teaches a mean Geography class.



Well first of all, I think that this Dr. David Harvey is quite an impressive fellow. He is clearly intelligent and more than simply conversant in the topics being discussed. I kind of wish that CNN was more like this, where interesting and intelligent people get to discuss history and ideas, I think that we would all benefit from that.

It made me a little sad when I realized that this clip is from 2004, because I was hoping to hear the Marxist perspective on the current economic problems. Interestingly though, he did talk about the fact that America was in very precarious economic position (in 2004) because most of the actual production of goods was no longer taking place within the country, and that America’s financial and cultural influence was waning. In 2004 that simply would have seemed like an insightful observation, but hearing in now in 2008 made me cringe a little because it is so true.

But at least we still have R&D on our side, as Harvey pointed out. However then he pointed out that the Military Industrial complex is kind of driving that train, which again made me sad.

It was fun, however, to listen to the exposition about the “militarization” of American culture. I had forgotten how afraid all of us on the left were about the PATRIOT Act. And I hadn’t heard anyone talk about Neo-Cons in quite some time. It was like listening to an old mix tape.

Beyond that, I think that quite a lot can be done by the way that Harvey marries the science of geography with the more humane elements of Marxism. I have always felt that there are many good ideas in Marxism and it is refreshing to see someone talking about it without any sort of political agenda. Perhaps I find it refreshing because I have become accustomed to the “debasement of the media” that Harvey talked about.

I was, however, laughing out loud when he said that Americans should learn to accept that it is possible America is no longer as dominant as is it once was in world politics. David Harvey is not only smart and intelligent, but also funny.