Value of Critical Analysis

The question came up in the review conversation whether critical analysis had any value, even if it didn’t suggest proactive solutions. I say, absolutely. We might think of it in this overly simplified way: we need someone to tell us the emperor has no clothes, a voice to pull the wool off our eyes, and begin to see things differently. I mentioned art in this context, and how the arts prepare us for new ways of seeing, enabling us with perspectives for dealing with the future. This is entirely the case with the works of Marcuse, Mills, Polanyi – through them we can see the world we take for granted in a different light. And maybe, that alerts enough people to what’s going on, that new approaches are found, new paths taken. The importance of writing, of putting ideas down, of thinking hard about who we are and how we’ve come here can’t be stressed enough. – Nick