Nassim Talib in Lebanon. I watched two lectures that Talib gave on Lebanon, one in English and one in (bad) colloquial Arabic. 1) he refers to the Lebanese dialect as his native “language” (as opposed to Arabic) but we discover that his command of his native Lebanese is quite
Weak. Also, he proposes Lebanese dialect as the language but people are free to use the dialect and they do. There is no Classical Arabic language pressures. But how come there has never been literary production in Lebanese dialects despite decades of advocacy? (He is not the
The first to advocate Lebanese dialect. Poet Sa`id `Aqua started his movement in the 1950s, but there were no recipients and people remember `Aql for his Classical Arabic poetry. 2) he proposes localism as the solution to Lebanese problems and offers the Swiss model. But again,
This is not original. Musa Prince (a politburo member of the richt-wing sectarian party, Free Patriotic Party of Kamil Sham`un) proposed the canonization of Lebanon very early in the Lebanese civil war, and for a while it was adopted by the pro-Israeli militias before Bashir
Gemayyel—at the behest of Ariel Sharon—switched to the idea of supporting the domination of the whole of Lebanon. 3) he says that he wants cantons to be geographical and not sectarian but yet he proposes “the narrowest” possible definition of cantons, which will make cantons to
Be predominantly sectarian. 3) his references to the Phoenicians are typical of Lebanese ultra nationalists: he talks about them as if they constituted one “indivisible nation” while in reality they were cities at war. They did not perceive themselves as one people. 4) he
Glamorizes the Swiss model but ignores its weaknesses. Given the ease of proposing referenda (the 50,000 signatures needed) it does give ample room for fanatics, demagogues, and bigots to get their way. Look at the ban (based on a referendum) on minarets: the ban was purely
Islamophobic bigotry: at the time of the ban in 2009 there were only four minarets in the whole of Switzerland. The world would have reacted far more vehemently with outrage if the ban was directed against another religion. And remember that Switzerland was one of the last
Countries to allow women to vote (at least at the federal level) until 1971. 5) referenda are the antithesis to politics: if politics is about debate and deliberation as the ancient Greeks or Arendt saw it. It would result in people resorting to passions and anger and
Vigilantism. 6) If America followed Taleb’s recipe for localism, segregation would have been the norm in the south to this very day. 7) Not sure why Taleb would mix the American and Swiss models of federalism when they are quite differently. The Federal government is quite
“Energetic” in the language of the founders, and can force its way on local government. 8) Taleb’s lecture was contained elements of racist Orientalism (although he lacks the knowledge of classical Orientalists of Arabic, Islam, or the Middle East) especially—like Raphael Patai
In the “Arab Mind”—he reduces any explanation of present-day behavior of Arabs to traditional bedouins (does he know the percentage of bedouins in contemporary Arab society?). And his example about hospitality among traditional Arabs is quite false, although he builds models on
It. It is not true that traditional Arab nomads would welcome you if you are alone (or a small group) but would massacre your if you are a larger group. Back then, people engaged in talks and negotiations and if a large group of visitors came they would be asked the purpose of
Their visit. Not sure where he got this image of savagery of Arabs from. And he extrapolate his racist stereotype of nomadic Arabs to Palestinian resistance to Israelis. No, Nassim: Palestinian don’t throw stones at Israeli occupation soldiers because they are “visiting” them
But because they are occupying their lands and killing them. Are you proposing that Europeans would have handled occupiers in a more “civilized” and peaceful manner? 9) he assumes that people in Lebanon are anti-Semitic when he suggested the the image from the Talmud would
Bother them. Why would the Talmud bother Arabs? In fact, Taleb’s example of Kosher lemonade as an example of “minority” rule seems rather offensive to me. Of all the examples you can marshal, kosher lemonade bothers you when the majority does not mind its lemonade being Kosher.
10) he wants Lebanon to adhere to the Swiss model of neutrality: Lebanon in fact had been neutral toward the Arab-Israeli conflict since 1948 and yet that did not protect him from Israeli aggression and occupation. If Lebanon was located as an island in the Pacific, maybe
Neutrality would have been an option for Lebanon. 11) he seems to trivialize racism by offering the example of picking up one’s kids from school as an example of racial preference. He does not even believe that there is an agreement on what racism is. Well, for most people
There is, even if the definition still escapes you. 12) he mocks the identity of Lebanon being Middle Eastern or Levantine. But those are labels of Europeans and not of Arabs. I know of no Arabs who identify as Middle East for their political identity. 13) he is so obsessed
With people’s genetic origins. But why is that more salient politically than people’s cumulative historical experiences or culture or whatever else they think unite them? Why deny them that right as you impose your genetic categories? 14) what is this obsession and ridicule of
Communists and communism? Taleb’s suffers from an acute case of the red scare. It passed, get over it really. He even claimed to the Lebanese audience that communists rule at the town level in the US. Where? Please give me example? Berkeley where they kick poor people and
Homeless out? Where? 15) I have said this to him before, many of his generalization about Lebanese “language” and identify would have been remedied had he been steeped in Classical Arabic and its etymology. 16) I think that the Lebanese (and I) were hoping that he would say more
About the financial crisis and less on topics that are not part of his expertise. 17) he says that he is nice to ordinary people but an “asshole” to powerful people. He gave the example of Amr Musa (and I detest Amr Musa). But that is an example of bravery? Are you an “asshole”
With a less safe target? Like an American politicians? Which reminds me that he is very blunt on matters Middle Easterner but never offends the political culture of the US on matters related to Israel. I have more to say but I have to go now.
