the phrase is "look beyond the scientific discourse centered on a panicking West". Mbembe is not a luddite, but rather centers his critique of the institutions of science. the ideals are lovely, but in this crisis we see colonial, capitalist, and nationalist divides everywhere. Why is everyone using different tests for COVID-19? because ownership of those tests and patents is valuable. why is there a shortage of ventilators in the US? because the manufacturers of them sabotaged attempts to build a strategic reserve of them in the past, and made repair difficult. and on and on. 

we can't expect science to save us on it's own, because it's dependent on the institutions that fund and shape it, it isn't a neutral force. mbembe's argument is that many of the crises we're seeing have happened before in predatory crises in Africa (like holding AIDS drugs over the heads of poor Africans with no choice but to pay) and we should learn from that. 

On Tue, Mar 31, 2020 at 7:04 AM Enrique <quique251@disroot.org> wrote:

Hello :)

The spanish translation it's not very good (ser/estar), and it also uses the "x" as a "gender neutral" equivalent, wich is something that makes the text difficult to read, and it's also not needed, as the languaje already has a correct form for this.

As for the text itself...

I think the criticism of science is not fair. The scientifics are normal people, and they also live in our current capitalistic world, so it's inevitable that some bias passes trough. But they are also victims of the system, so the phrase "Scientific research knows only borders" it's at least very uninformed. I work in a research facility, and the number of languajes you can hear on a daily basis is very wide. In 10 years working there, I've met people from the 5 continents (majority of europeans, of course). The borders are imposed on science, it's not something they do because the want to.

Also, I find the the last paragrahp disturbing. What I'm reading there, and correct me if I'm wrong, its basically a luddite manifesto. Yes, our current system is broken beyond repair, and we are facing a climate catastrophe caused by capitalism. But going back technologically and scientifically is not the answer. Science and technology don't mandate society's course, they follow it. I think this is missing who is the real enemy here.

Best regards.
Enrique

El 31/3/20 a las 10:45, hellekin escribió:
Hackerspaces are mentioned briefly in this firebrand text, on the
forefront of self-organizing production of alternate DIY medical supplies.

https://ps.zoethical.org/t/yet-we-were-feminists/3477

Also available in Spanish at
https://ps.zoethical.org/t/ya-estabamos-feministas/3478

(Please, if it's your native language, help check the translation
against the French original below)

https://ps.zoethical.org/t/pourtant-nous-etions-feministes/3476

The author is Cced. Spread widely like the coronavirus!


==
hk


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