Jean Bricmont
 Jean Bricmont      (author, academic) | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 12 April 1952 Uccle, Belgium |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Alma mater | Université catholique de Louvain |
Jean Bricmont is professor of theoretical physics at the University of Louvain, Belgium (April 2011) and is a member of the Brussels Tribunal.
He is the author of Fashionable Nonsense: Postmodern Intellectuals’ Abuse of Science (with Alan Sokal) and other political and scientific publications.
His book, Humanitarian Imperialism - ISBN 1583671471 - is published by Monthly Review Press.
In 2019, he was cancelled by he University of Nice. A conference he was supposed to speak at, on "Understanding quantum mechanics", was rescheduled after protests from student associations, which denounced his arrival and his supposed political positions.[1]
Humanitarian Imperialism
We often hear that the left-right opposition is outdated or no longer makes sense. But the problem is worse: on many issues, the left-right opposition has reversed itself, the left adopting positions that were those of the right or the far-right in the past and part of the right doing the opposite. Let's start with the question of peace and war. Since the wars have become "humanitarian", it is the left, including the bulk of the "radical" left, which supports them. When a perfectly orchestrated coup takes place in Ukraine, we celebrate the victory of democracy. In Syria, until recently, support, at least verbal, for the "rebels" was not debated in the left. During the bombings on Libya, Mélenchon argued that it was necessary to prevent the "tyrant" Gaddafi from killing the revolution. We realized a little late that the opponents of the said tyrant, like the bulk of the rebels in Syria, were also our opponents, that is to say fanatical Islamists. But the classical left, at least in its radical part, but sometimes also in a certain social democracy, was opposed to imperial policies, interference and American hegemony, especially during the Vietnam War. Today, the simple fact of defending the principle of national sovereignty passes for being far-right. And, in fact, it sometimes defends this principle.[2]
A Document by Jean Bricmont
| Title | Document type | Publication date | Subject(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Document:Libya and the Return of Humanitarian Imperialism | article | 8 March 2011 | 2011 Attacks on Libya "Humanitarian intervention" Imperialism |
