Статті в журналах з теми "Feudal bond"

The English common law of real property, as S.F.C. Milsom has argued, took shape between 1153 and 1215. The common law gave royal protection to free tenements, replacing feudal relationships as the primary bond structuring society. The law thus constituted the institutional core of the English state. But no Machiavellian monarch constructed the English state. Henry II was, rather, a king who presumed the morality and necessity of feudal relationships. His innovations, though intentional and carefully planned, were directed at narrower and less far-sighted ends. Other changes were the result of bureaucratic action. The complex interplay between present-oriented political or juridical decisions and bureaucratic rigor generated a legal system.

In this article I wish to show how history of legal doctrines can assist in a better understanding of the legal reasoning over a long historical period. First I will describe the nineteenth century discussion on the definition of law as a ‘science’, and some influences of the medieval idea of science on the modern definition. Then, I’ll try to delve deeper into a particular doctrinal problem of the Middle Ages: how to fit the feudal relationship between lord and vassal into the categories of Roman law. The scholastic interpretation of these categories is very original, to the point of framing a purely personal relationship among property rights. The effort made by medieval legal culture to frame the reality into the abstract concepts of law can be seen as the birth of legal dogmatics.

The development of property in England between 1176 and 1220 was the result of a complicated interaction between social mores made law and bureaucratic action. In the Assize of Northampton, Henry II undertook regular supervision of proprietary decisions to prevent his men from preparing a rebellion like that of 1173-74. The supervision assumed peacetime feudal norms, but in the hands of bureaucratic justices even prior to 1200 this supervision increasingly restricted lords' power to discipline their tenants, at a time when disciplinary power was far more important than proprietary decisions. By 1220, the relative importance of proprietary matters and disciplinary power had been reversed. But proprietary action by the lord was so attenuated that seisin—lawful possession—was possible now even without lordly acceptance. Such insulation of the tenant from his lord was a bond established between the tenant and his tenement: property.

The thematic research on Jane Austen’s novels has been widely carried out, including marriage, gender, morality, politics, etc. The conception of community is also an important theme for her novels are set in a period when the notion of community is conceived and reinforced in the West. It is a transitional age that witnesses the change from the 18th century when the feudal aristocracy controls the agricultural economy to the 19th century which is dominated by the middle class as a result of the Industrial Revolution. However, the theme of community has not got enough critical attention and its research is sparse. Thus, this dissertation seeks to explore Austen’s contribution to the conception of community in Pride and Prejudice. Austen’s imagination of community is effectively displayed in Pride and Prejudice and conversation serves as a key approach. The Community is built at two levels, namely, familial level and social level. By means of conversation, a family bond based on mutual affirmation, which is the core of community building, is forged; and a community of spirit, the highest form of community, is established among social interactions outside families in two social spaces– Meryton and Pemburley. A stereoscopic vision of a community built by conversation emerges when the three levels are closely intertwined.

The given article covers the term “bakshey” as it existed on the territory of Russia. The term was borrowed by Russians from the Golden Horde. However, later its meaning was transformed. The first records of this word on the Russian territory date back to XV century, in most cases as a generic by-name (e.g., bakshey’s son). Still it is supposed to have appeared not earlier then XIV century. Apparently, initially this was a title for Prince’s Chancellery clerks, who spoke the Uyghur language and were responsible for all contacts with the Golden Horde. As a result of the fact that the Grand Princes of Moscow gradually consolidated political power, appanage princes were “driven out” from the foreign policy area. Baksheys took the role of high-status bond slaves for the past appanage princes. They also fulfilled confidential and special duties till the middle of XVI century. Herewith, they represented the upper stratum of servants and were expressly above the armed bond slaves. In the event of death of their master they gained freedom and could join other great feudal lords. At the end of XV century there appeared another category of “baksheys”. They were lead qualification specialists, who spoke several Oriental languages. They may also have had a good knowledge of oriental diplomatic intricacies. They were never delegated together with ambassages and served the Moscovian Prince. Their specific status was emphasized through significant financial gain sums as payments for the service. Baksheys’ annual wages were higher than those of most monarchic court members. Everything changed after the Time of Trouble events at the beginning of XVII century. The category of baksheys as Ambassadorial prikaz employees vanished. It is only as this time, when the conventional distinction between interpreters and translators in the foreign policy office is recorded. However, neither the first, nor the second ones inherited the status of baksheys.

In the course of our following study, we present the transformation of feudal institutions of private law in force in Transylvania in the early modern period and their modernization during the time when this historical region was under the control of the Habsburg Monarchy both in its absolutist (imperial) and dualist forms. We show that the sources of private law in this period were initially those enacted during the Middle Ages, which were gradually updated by the enlightened absolutist Habsburg rulers, resulting in norms fit for the bourgeois period of capitalist development at the end of the 19th century. We observe that law applicable to legal capacity and its exercise by natural persons and to families gradually developed to undo the feudal bonds and incapacities prevalent during the Middle Ages. The same was true for property law, as well as the law which governed inheritance. Also, a previously less significant field of law, commercial law, evolved spectacularly in this era, creating the framework for modern economic exchange, vibrant trade, and security of credit. The perspectives of Romanian legal history literature regarding this era are also presented.

Evolution of feudal system on the verge of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries entailed а decline of military service based on former tenurial bonds and its substitution by the system of contracted obligations which facilitated development of the institution of affinity. These communities forming around magnates executed not only military functions but became the centers of social, political and administrative activity. They defended interests of their members and promoted matrimonial and economic links among them. Prosperous affinities gained control over local executive and judicial power as well as elections to the House of Commons. However, their struggle for dominance contributed to a considerable extent to instability of political development in England in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

Two fundamentally different phases of social development in archaic Scandinavia can be identified. Judging by the fact that the long house of frame construction of the patrilocal extended family, who had been keeping an oðal for generations, emerged in the early Scandinavian Bronze Age around 1800 BC and existed for three millennia, including the so-called “Viking Age”, it is possible to assume that the traditional Scandinavian society of bonds had existed all this time until 1179–1180 in Denmark. The odel system had developed; this land was inherited by males and passed down from generation to generation. Often three generations of relatives — the head of the oðal with his wife and his adult sons with their wives and children as well as numerous household members and house slaves — lived under the same roof in a long house with central rectangular hearths along the axis. The king had the right to call out militia of bonds, which under the leadership of its leaders — strong and wealthy bonds — was quite capable of resisting the king’s not large squad and often dictated terms to it. The kings were chosen at þings — assemblies of armed men of districts where legal issues were settled. The formation of early medieval states in Denmark took place in the last quarter of the 12th century. The king Valdemar and Bishop Absalon after a period of the so-called “civil wars” supported by professional heavy cavalry defeated the militia and disarmed bonds, who were now assigned only agriculture work, taxes to the crown and the church and service to the new feudal lords.

Western music officially entered China in 1842 and spread rapidly within several decades, becoming a means for Chinese people to save the country at that time. Intellectuals accepted Western ideas and at the same time emancipated the feudal thoughts of ordinary people, Xuetang music were born. This study will investigate the channels and acceptance process of Western music flowing into China, and analyze literature such as tunes and lyrics of school music songs, so as to understand the creation concept and purpose of Xuetang music songs. This study for the Xuetang music musician Li Shutong’s song “Song bie” creation background and investigation of the source of the melody and the lyrics on the surface of the mean. so as to grasp the song contains Chinese traditional aesthetics and artistic value. Li Shutong and other musicians of Xuetang Music combined Chinese traditional aesthetics with Western music, and derived many works containing Chinese and Western artistic flavor. It was the bold experimentation of artists like Li Shutong that helped advance Chinese music and inspired future generations.

The article examines the system of taxing peasants of the state village since the introduction of the reform proposed by P.D. Kiselev. The paper intends to define whether the reform has improved the situation or the state peasants remained «serfs of the Russian state»? The analysis showed that the duties imposed on the state peasants were a serious burden for them. The study defined the specificity of numerous state taxes (monetary and taxes in-kind) and feudal quitrents, which badly complicated the peasants economic conditions. Natural duties, distracting peasants from agricultural labor, caused them a significant damage. Peasants sought to get rid of them, for example, as in the case of recruiting duty, when they had to hire «hunters» redeem bonds paying large sums of money or collect money from rural societies to pay out the road duty and the duty on horse-drawn vehicle. The article also presents evidences of some positive trends in the taxation system which were noticeable: streamlining of fees, control over them and reduction of arrears. The study concluded that these facts and many others indicate the improvement of the situation with taxing peasants in Russia in the late 19th century.

Miho Hamaguchi (1915-1988) was the first woman to be a licensed architect in Japan. A pioneer in domestic design during the postwar period, she built and consulted on thousands of houses throughout her prolific career. However, she is a little-known figure both in Japan and in the international debate. Her representation in architectural historiography is limited to her influence on kitchen design, but her writings and work go far beyond. Hamaguchi's legacy is one of bold residential architecture that embodied democratic ideas in spatial configurations. She promoted the house as a fundamental tool for gender equality, leaving behind a feudal and patriarchal system. At the end of her career, she found in Costa del Sol the perfect place to carry out a residential project as a cultural exchange. "Kaiyo Club" became a set of three houses since the first design in 1974 until the subsequent extensions were completed in 1987. Throughout its different stages, the project shows a striking Spanish-Japanese transfer where different architectural languages coexist. The white-walled exterior dialogues with the vernacular, while its interior unfolds Japanese patterns with tatami-floored rooms or ofuro-style bathrooms. These dwellings present a unique hybrid materialization, displaying Hamaguchi's design from a humanistic stance, blending of locally rooted modernist spatial principles and reinterpreted traditions.

AbstractThis paper examines a fundamental premise of Anglo-Hindu law on succession between 1860 and 1940, that kinship was emblematic of secular modes of living, to analyse its implications for the assertion of masculinity within ascetic orders in northern India. Legal discourses engaged with rights to succession within ascetic orders, by functioning on the assumption that the renunciatory life of ascetics was antithetical to sexuality and domesticity. This institutionalization of law, that defined asceticism and fixed ascetic masculinities within a legal frame, occurred with the consent of ascetic orders concerned with the ownership and distribution of property, even though sexuality and gender played a central role in shaping relationships within sacred spaces. Myriad ties embracing the language of kinship shaped ascetic orders. Bonds of sentiment and sexual attachment over-lapped with, sustained, and produced the bonds tying spiritual preceptors to their disciples. Relationships within ascetic families, consisting of men, their female companions, children and relatives, along with their attendant obligations were validated through rights of ownership and inheritance to property. Taking advantage of Anglo-Hindu law by the early twentieth century, ascetic orders sought to ‘purify’ their genealogies through the medium of property disputes fought in colonial courts. By manipulating the legal meanings ascribed to asceticism, masculinity and renunciation, these orders effaced unwanted members from their orders with varying degrees of success, especially women and children.

Background: The rural areas of Punjab have a very high prevalence of physical assault due to illiteracy, pride of cast system, related to agricultural land disputes, illegal breaches in violating the watering system of their crops, political motives of landlords in their area, and social issues related to marriages, love affairs, and illegal interference into the privacy of others. Aim: To analyze different forms of physical assaults related to their pattern, severity, and reasons behind these physical assaults keeping in view their medico-legal aspects. Methods: The data of physical assaults in medico-legal cases were collected from the peripheral rural areas of Faisalabad, Sargodha and Mianwali on specifically designed Performa. The cases were selected from these districts reported in Causality & Accident departments of the district and tertiary care Hospitals during one year June 2020 to May 2021. The inclusion criteria were based on non-probability with random sampling in this retrospective study. In total 200 cases were selected for this study. Association with demographic parameters like age, sex, type of weapon used, the pattern of injury. Results: Physical Assaults had a direct association with male predominance; the age of 20 to 30 years of age, blunt weapons especially fists, kicks, and daggers, wooden sticks were used for offense as determined by the findings in this study. Various social reasons related to cast & clan system, disputes of agricultural land, family issues related to inheritance, illiteracy, pride of cast system, domestic violence, illegal breaches in violating the watering system of their crops, political motives of landlords in their area and social issues related to marriages, love affairs and illegal interference into the privacy of others, were the main bone of contentions. Conclusions: Different variety of weapons used in the rural setting. Males as predominant participants of assault suggest a socially active status of men in the rural setup of Punjab where male dominance is evident. The feudal system of landlords main responsible for social injustice and exploitation of the low class, is determined in this study. There need reforms through social literacy, justice provision for all, reforms in medico legal reporting and social awareness of human rights. Keywords: Physical assaults (PA), blunt trauma, domestic violence, rural areas, and bone of contention

Thailand continues to undergo a process of political modernization, moving from a feudal to a fully-fledged and modernized capitalist society. This is a process that has involved numerous missteps and backward turns – most recently the 2006 military coup and the 2010 massacres – and the dissolution of previously existing cultural and social bonds. Marketization of all regions of the country has brought about changes in land ownership, social relations and gender relations but has not, as yet, brought about changes in religious beliefs or in the relationships between people of different belief systems. The majority Buddhist philosophy has been invigorated by emphasis placed on figures such as the goddess Guan Yin, who is eminently appropriate for the age of plenty, while animist hill tribes people incorporate new ways of life into a flexible and accommodating belief system. Only in the southern provinces bordering Malaysia, where the majority of people are ethnic Malay Muslims, is there a division between people based on religion. A faction of people in the border regions have been agitating for autonomous rule or, at least, an end to unfair and unpleasant treatment by high-handed representatives of the Thai state and their mandate to enforce the longstanding triumvirate of Thai language, Buddhist belief and respect for the monarchy as defining characteristics of citizens. Agitation has led to acts of terrorism and suppression including atrocities on both sides. These divisions are not reflected in any other part of the country, although plenty of other symptoms of division are.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical review of China’s anti-corruption efforts, from the ancient period of Chinese slavery societies to the late 1970s before China launched its profound economic reform, under the current status of the harsh crusade against corruption that the Chinese new leadership initiated. Design/methodology/approach – This paper is mainly based on a great deal of historical literature and empirical findings, with relevant comparative analysis on policies and regulations between various periods of China. Findings – The phenomenon of corruption has existed in Chinese history for thousands of years, throughout Chinese slavery societies, feudal societies, republic period and the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Anti-corruption laws formed an important part of ancient Chinese legal system, and each dynasty has made continuous and commendable progress on fighting such misconduct. Innumerable initiatives have also been taken by the ruling party Chinese Communist Party (CCP) since the founding of the PRC. The PRC government created various specially designed government organizations and a series of updated regulations for preventing economic crimes. They have realized that periodic movements against corruption would no longer be helpful, and the paramount issue nowadays is indeed how bold the leaders are in striking out those unhealthy tendencies. Originality/value – This paper fills in the blanks in the Western world with a comprehensive description of, and comments on, the historical efforts on China’s corruption and economic crime prevention. It also, in various ways, provides meaningful information that links to China’s current furious war against corruption.

Pratibha Ray’s anthropological novel The Primal Land (1993) documents the history of India’s endangered Bonda tribe dwelling in the secluded mountains of Koraput, Odisha. Not free from the interferences of the outside world, the Bondas face the threat of losing their tribal identity. This complicated position and their struggle between existence and identity, an intersubjective reality, was triggered by oppressive internal and external surroundings due to the pressures of modernity. The discussion focuses on their inherent cultural practices causingconstant internal feuds and the government’s intrusion with development plans leading to exploitation, cultural dilution, and socio-ethnic tension. Thus the paper decodes the difficulties of the Bondas and concludes that their existence cannot be ensured without the loss of primal identity.

The pre-Mongolian time materials in the territory of the Irtysh River basin in Kazakhstan are associated with the functioning of the Kimak-Kipchak proto-state federation that existed in the end of the 1st — beginning of the 2nd mil. AD. Due to the nomadic lifestyle of these ethnic groups, the sites are represented by barrow cemeteries, the majority of which consists of «chains» of individual burial structures aligned in meridian direction. The most inter-esting funerary objects are the «long» mounds, usually ending the system of memorial structures in the northern or southern sector of the burial ground. Particular features of these objects include the presence of several attached enclosures under a common mound, which developed in the meridian direction, as well as the burial of children and adolescents, virtually unknown from individual Kimak-Kipchak mounds. Here, we analyse the materials of the «long» barrow of the Menovnoye VI burial ground, located in the Upper Irtysh region 1.5 km southeast from the village of Menovnoye, Tavrichesky District, East Kazakhstan Oblast. Under the kurgan mound, there was an en-closure with two extensions containing burials of two men, a teenager, and a child. The buried were laid stretched on their backs, with their heads towards the east. The remains of men and the teenager were accompanied by horses, and those of the child — with sheep bones. An adult man, buried within the central enclosure, apart from horse, was accompanied for his afterlife by a dog. The grave goods discovered with the buried represent wea-ponry items, military and horse equipment. The weaponry included fragments of a sword, a bone grip, arrowheads, combat and household knives. Horse harness items included stirrups and a bit made of iron, a bronze figured buckle with flexible iron prong. The child was accompanied by a bronze teardrop-shaped amulet pendant and a small cattle astragalus used for playing dice. The number of «long» mounds in the cemetery ranges from one or two to three or four. The number of individuals in them varies from 2–3 to 8–11, which emphasizes the familial proximity of adults and children buried together. The «long» barrows of the «Menovnoye VI type», which contained burials of male members of the society, reflected the presence of patriarchal family ties within the tribal communities on the one hand, and formation of patriarchal-feudal relations in the context of development of the Kimak-Kipchak nomadic proto-state on the other.

The story of Kiskindhā Kānda is one part of the Ramayāna book which contains a sublime story and various conflicts in it. Among these various conflicts, there is one part that becomes the core of the story when two wanara brothers, namely Vālī and Sugrīva, are involved in a feud. The conflict reflects a less harmonious relationship between brothers, and seems similar to some cases that occur in life today. Reflecting on this, this study is interested in examining more deeply the story of the Kiskindhā Kānda Ramāyāna to find a deeper reflection of its learning, especially in the perspective of Hindu religious teachings. To support this goal, this research formulates several problems, namely related to the content of the story of Kiskindhā Kānda Ramāyāna, the nature of moral teachings in Hinduism, and finally formulating learning reflections that can be used as guidelines in living life. By using qualitative research methods, and literature studies, and using data analysis from Miles and Huberman. The results of this study indicate that the story of Kiskindhā Kānda Ramāyāna contains various learning reflections aimed at maintaining brotherly bonds so that they remain stable, harmonious, loyal, and helping each other.

Abstract Background: The prolonged survival in patients with beta thalassemia major and other transfusion dependent disorders has exposed the multi-organ effects of multiple transfusions and chelation therapy. Renal deficits were described with the focus on tubular and glomerular function. Nephrolithiasis has not been systematically explored in these patients. Contributing factors to stone formation may include hypercalcuria, abnormal vitamin D homeostasis, and proximal tubulopathy. Objective: We analyzed hematologic and nephrologic parameters of 22 transfusion- dependent pediatric patients to investigate contributors to nephrolithiasis. Methods: The study included patients with beta thalassemia major (TM) (13), transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia intermedia (TDTI) (4), Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) (3), other transfusion-dependent hemoglobinopathies (2). Patients' ages were from 4-20 years (overall median -11 years, TM/TDTI median - 11.5, DBA median - 7.5 years). At the time of analysis 11 received iron chelation with deferasirox, 8 with combined desferoxamine & deferiprone, 2 with combined desferoxamine & deferasirox and one patient received desferoxamine alone. All patients had previously been treated with deferasirox alone and due to either significant adverse events or failure to control iron overload were switched to an alternate regimen. Seven patients were treated with vitamin D supplements for a median of 3 years (range: 0.2-4.3), 6 patients received vitamin D+calcium for a median of 4.5 years (range: 4.3-10). Venous blood samples, 24-hour urine collections and spot urine samples were collected to assess urine chemistry, vitamin D metabolism, electrolytes and renal function. Renal sonography and directed computerized tomography were used to diagnose nephrolithiasis/nephrocalcinosis. Results: Three patients, all with TM/TDTI, had symptomatic and radiographically identified renal stones, an additional TM patient had symptomatic nephrocalcinosis (Table 1). Among the entire cohort hypercalcuria was identified in 75% with increased Ca/Cr in 68%. 25(OH)D3 was abnormal in 81% of patients, mostly in the "insufficient" range (25-75 mmol/L). No significant relationship between presence of nephrolithiasis and chelation regimen, Ca mg/kg/d, Ca/Cr, renal fractional excretion (Fe) of phosphate (FePhos(, FeNa, FeUA, oxalate, cystein, citrate, 25(OH)D3, or treatment with vitamin D± calcium was identified, possibly in part due to the small sample size. Conclusions: The incidence rate of nephrolithiasis in our pediatric transfusion-dependent population was 1000x that published in various pediatric populations. Hypercalcuria and relatively low vitamin D levels were found in the majority of our patients, notably in all with nephrolithiasis. All 4 patients with nephrolithiasis/calcinosis were ≥ 13 years old, receiving vitamin D±calcium supplements and had received deferasirox chelation. Of note none of the patients not receiving vitamin D±calcium therapy presented with renal stones or calcinosis. The pathophysiology of nephrolithiasis/calcinosis is unclear among these adolescents; however the role of vitamin D±calcium supplemental therapy and the contribution of deferasirox must be further studied to find the proper formulation needed to maintain bone health without increasing the risk for renal stones. Abstract 4895. Table 1- Characteristics of patients with nephrolithiasis/nephrocalcinosis Patient Diagnoses Age at onset (years) Chelation (at onset) Duration of vitamin D+Ca supplement (years) Low vitamin D levels (mmol/L) Urine calcium (mg/kg/d) 1 TM/NL 16 DFX 2.3 + 7.6 2 TM/NL 16 DFX 5 - 6.9 3 TDTI/NL 13 DFO&DFP (prior DFX) 0.25 (vitamin D only) + 4.4 4 TM/NC 18 DFX 4 + 2.7 TM-thalassemia major, TDTI-transfusion-dependent thalassemia intermedia, NL-nephrolithiasis, NC-nephrocalcinosis, DFX-deferasirox, DFO-desferoxamine, DFP-deferiprone, Ca-calcium, normal values: vitamin D>75mmol/L, urine calcium<4mg/kg/d Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

La pregunta por el sujeto ha tomado especial relevancia en los últimos años, principalmente porque permite pensar la complejidad en las sociedades contemporáneas, es decir, preguntarse por el sujeto es una manera de abrir preguntas, más que de dar respuestas. Asimismo, esta obra abre interrogantes sobre los modos en que nos relacionamos con nosotros mismos y sobre la forma en que dicha relación es mediada socialmente. Este libro aborda precisamente los procesos de subjetivación, y en especial una forma particular de subjetivarse, en tanto self emprendedor: Deber y querer ser emprendedor es también un modo de concebirse y de orientarse a sí mismo y a los otros: es decir, se trata de una forma de subjetivación. El actuar emprendedor designa menos un estado de cosas que un campo de fuerza: es una meta a la que apuntan los individuos, una medida según la cual juzgan su actividad, un ejercicio cotidiano que cultivan y un generador de verdad, ante el cual se reconocen. (p. 13) El self emprendedor se concentra, en términos muy generales, en cuatro grandes temas. El primer capítulo, “Genealología de la subjetivación”, es una revisión exhaustiva acerca de la noción de sujeto y las formas de investigarlo que integra una multiplicidad autores. Junto a Foucault se agrega una diversidad de focos que muestran la complejidad en la que se insertan los procesos de subjetivación. Tomando materiales de la economía, la psicología, la antropología y la literatura sobre gestión empresarial, entre otros, el autor expone una régimen de subjetivación que instala una prescripción: sé un emprendedor. Específicamente, en el libro se describe la racionalidad que articula este tipo de self, algunas de las tecnologías clave para realizarlo y finalmente se concluye explorando las posibles o, más bien, imposibles resistencias a este régimen de subjetivación. El desarrollo del texto está basado en la realidad alemana, por tanto, deja abierta la pregunta sobre su pertinencia para pensar la sociedad chilena. En esta reseña reflexionaré sobre las tecnologías que performativamente se utilizan para producir este tipo de self. De manera muy intuitiva, indago en el uso de estrategias como la creatividad, el empoderamiento, la calidad y los proyectos en el contexto de la cultura chilena. Podría esperarse que Chile, el conocido experimento neoliberal, fuese sin lugar a dudas una sociedad donde la prescripción de ser un emprendedor se instalara ampliamente. De hecho, se pueden identificar una serie de elementos que así lo confirman: por nombrar un par de ejemplos, tuvimos un presidente que era un emprendedor y en las revistas se anuncian los premios otorgados por innovación a jóvenes que, a corta edad, han logrado emprendimientos no solamente económicamente rentables, sino que muestran una perspectiva sustentable y novedosa para abordar la realidad. Al leer El self emprendedor, pareciera ser fácil identificar e identificarse con esta forma de ser e instalarse en la realidad; sin embargo, queda la pregunta sobre si la lectura latinoamericana de conceptos como libertad, autonomía y autorresponsabilidad tienen la misma connotación que en su contraparte alemana o anglosajona. Este cuestionamiento surge a raíz de las diferencias fundamentales existentes entre las sociedades europeas y latinoamericanas, las que circunscriben un contexto muy diferente para la instalación de una forma de ser emprendedor. Por ejemplo, de este lado del mundo no contamos con una tradición liberal propiamente tal; más bien, las sociedades latinoamericanas presentan un comportamiento político que tiende a un poder central, que difiere de manera importante de la situación europea. Históricamente este poder central se ha materializado en distintas figuras, y en la actualidad lo hace en el Estado. Dicho poder cumple un rol protagónico en la regulación de las otras esferas de la vida social, y se arraiga desde la prevalencia de relaciones verticales, de autoritarismo y protección; esto, en contraposición a relaciones más horizontales e igualitarias como sucede en el caso europeo (Mascareño, 2003; Véliz, 1984). Las diferencias con Europa pueden explicarse gruesamente, de acuerdo al historiador Carlos Véliz (1984), por la ausencia de cuatro hechos fundamentales en América Latina: la inexistencia de la experiencia feudal; la ausencia del fenómeno de la disidencia religiosa; la falta de cualquier acontecimiento comparable con la Revolución Industrial; y la ausencia de la evolución ideológica, social y política asociada a la Revolución Francesa. En este sentido, el centralismo europeo que tomó cuerpo en los Estados de Bienestar, fue producto de las revoluciones Industrial y Francesa; mientras, en América Latina el protagonismo del Estado precede a estas transformaciones, manteniendo así un carácter preindustrial y no igualitario. Visto así, el modelo neoliberal que se instaló en Chile no fue consecuencia de una tradición liberal con una profunda raigambre antropológica, filosófica y social, sino más bien fue producto de condiciones históricas, políticas, sociales, económicas y culturales bastante particulares. ¿Qué consecuencias tiene todo esto para pensar un self emprendedor? Podríamos afirmar que Chile es un país que depende mucho de la autoridad y su ejercicio (Brunner, 1981), donde la forma de control de los sujetos se acerca en buena medida al disciplinamiento a través de la normalización, con un fuerte componente homogenizador. El estudio de Araujo y Martuccelli (2012) muestra que los individuos se sienten presionados a vivir estilos de vida estandarizados. La autonomía y la autorresponsabilidad, si bien se valoran, muchas veces no son ejes centrales ni en la formación ni en la gestión de sujetos. En otras palabras, la libertad y la autonomía no tienen el mismo estrado moral que posee en la cultura anglosajona. ¿Quiere decir esto que los atributos descritos para el self emprendedor no existen en Chile? En lo más mínimo, pero es importante investigar la forma particular que adquieren en la cultura chilena. A simple vista, surgen algunas connotaciones particulares que adquieren las estrategias y programas para un sujeto emprendedor en Chile. Lo que presento a continuación son ejemplos simples, que incluso pueden sonar pueriles, pero abren la reflexión a la forma particular de la que nos hacemos cargo de una prescripción de ser un emprendedor. La tecnología de la creatividad recuerda la palabra del koa (lenguaje asociado al ámbito de la delincuencia y las cárceles) que popularizó un futbolista: la chispeza del chileno. Este neologismo proviene de una condensación entre choreza y viveza, que aluden a características tales como una acción valerosa o una actitud desafiante. El choro, el vivo, es quien hace frente a la adversidad creativamente; quien, con pocos recursos, con un temple alegre, logra salir adelante sacando lo mejor de la situación. La chispeza puede fácilmente entenderse como una semántica histórica de la creatividad chilena. Como un hacer creativo para superar las dificultades de la propia existencia, como un reinventarse constantemente a la luz de las circunstancias. En este sentido, el choro o el vivo tiene características de un emprendedor, sobre todo por su aspecto creativo, pero no es sujeto de ciertas tecnologías. El choro no planifica, no tiene un proyecto y menos entiende su vida como un continuo sucesivo de proyectos. Hay otra diferencia fundamental, más relevante aún: su actuar no está guiado por un ideal moral, no busca convertirse en la mejor versión posible de sí mismo, sino que es un imperativo de la sobrevivencia, entendida en un sentido concreto y material. Bröckling (2015) considera esta posibilidad para las sociedades latinoamericanas. En el prólogo a la edición en castellano, afirma: En las economías informales de países de África, Latinoamérica y Asia, pero también en las metrópolis del mundo desarrollado, existe un ejército de millones de virtuosos emprendedores cotidianos que deben emplear todas sus fuerzas en actuar en forma emprendedora para sobrevivir, en el estricto sentido de la palabra. Lo que los impulsa no es el sueño del ascenso de lavaplatos a millonario, sino el estómago vacío. (p. 15) Podría pensarse, y esto requiere de una investigación con el debido rigor, que se trata de un emprendedor a otra escala: que el emprendedor es a la empresa lo que este sujeto es a una microempresa que siempre tiene la quiebra en su horizonte. Adicionalmente, en el caso chileno también es posible preguntarse por el modo en que se distribuye socialmente el imperativo por el emprender, es decir, ¿están todos llamados a ser emprendedores?, ¿hombres y mujeres por igual?, ¿pobres y ricos? Se puede sospechar que para algunos se aplica el régimen del emprendimiento en todo su espectro, mientras que otros están sujetos a solo algunos programas y tecnologías, y, por tanto, se debe hacer un esfuerzo adicional para instalar en ellos un ideal de vida emprendedora y que, finalmente, existe un grupo que es gestionado desde un régimen diferente. Se desprende de lo previo que el self emprendedor, en su sentido más pleno, o más bien, en su sentido más similar a la descripción alemana, probablemente se encuentra en las clases altas; es allí donde la creatividad permite pensar la vida como un continuo de proyectos de vida con la calidad en su centro. Para los otros grupos el asunto se complejiza. Es posible preguntarse, por ejemplo: ¿en qué medida como sociedad queremos a un pobre emprendedor?, ¿a alguien que esté empoderado, que sea creativo y arme proyectos? Existe una serie de programas que hacen pensar que en Chile se busca configurar a un pobre con estas características: para acceder a un subsidio para la vivienda tiene que demostrar que es capaz de ahorrar, para acceder a un bono familiar tiene que demostrar que lleva a los niños al colegio y a los controles de salud. Es decir, tiene que demostrar cierto grado de autonomía, de responsabilidad y de capacidad de planificación para recibir la ayuda del Estado. En su anverso, eso significa que el Estado busca evitar al parásito social que vive a expensas de los beneficios públicos. En este sentido, se reconoce una estrategia de empoderamiento de la población más vulnerable; no obstante, cabe preguntarse lo siguiente: ¿en qué medida una sociedad que aún depende de una alta mano de obra poco especializada y precarizada puede permitirse ser una sociedad de emprendedores? En otras palabras: es posible cuestionar si activamente se gestiona a un sector de la población para que viva en condiciones de precariedad que aseguren a este grupo laboral particular. Se podría pensar, por tanto, que quien está en la cúspide de la sociedad tiene más posibilidades o se encuentra más cerca de dar con la calidad de un sujeto emprendedor, entendiendo que es un ideal nunca alcanzable. Y, a medida que se baja en la escala social, las posibilidades de subjetivarse de este modo se van desdibujando al punto que para un grupo el emprendimiento es simplemente un idioma ajeno. Ello, sobre todo porque las condiciones materiales de su existencia no permiten concebir su vida como un emprendimiento, como un proyecto, que se planifica, sino más bien es una vida capturada por la necesidad y la urgencia. Estudiar estas diferencias es un asunto de suma relevancia, pues permite identificar el modo en que el ideal del emprendimiento se constituye como una forma para reproducir diferencias sociales tradicionales. Así, el pobre es responsabilizado de su condición: no es suficientemente creativo, no está empoderado, no es autónomo o responsable de sí mismo y no es capaz de articular un proyecto de vida que mejore su condición. En koa, es pobre porque le falta chispeza. Se omite que carece de las condiciones materiales mínimas para poder concebir su existencia como una sucesión de proyectos. Entonces, el estudio del self emprendedor no solo muestra una forma de subjetivación que obliga a una relación particular del sí mismo y a una forma de gubernamentalidad que conduce a individuos libres y autónomos, sino que también permitiría identificar mecanismos o estrategias de reproducción de desigualdades. En fin, la pregunta por el self emprendedor en la cultura chilena es altamente atingente y es necesario investigarla con el rigor científico que muestra esta obra. La pregunta por el sujeto, abordada desde esta figura, da cuenta de que se trata, y con esto vuelvo al inicio de la reflexión, de un campo que abre más preguntas que respuestas para pensar la sociedad contemporánea. Referencias bibliográficas Araujo, K., Martuccelli, D. (2012). Desafíos comunes. Retrato de la sociedad chilena y sus individuos. Santiago: Lom. Brunner, J. J. (1981). La cultura autoritaria en Chile. Santiago: FLACSO. Mascareño, A. (2003). Teoría de sistemas de América Latina. Conceptos fundamentales para la descripción de una diferenciación funcional concéntrica. Persona y Sociedad XVII (2), 1-20. Véliz, C. (1984). La tradición centralista de América Latina. Barcelona: Ariel.

1. Como sabemos, entre princípios constitucionais dos Estados de Direito, relativos à Administração Pública, está, em primeiro lugar, o princípio da legalidade1. Ao início, ele era concebido no sentido de que todo elemento de um ato da Administração Pública devesse ser expressamente previsto como elemento de alguma hipótese normativa: a norma devia, pois, fixar poderes, direitos, deveres etc., modos e sequências dos procedimentos, atos e efeitos em cada um de seus componentes e requisitos de cada ato etc. A isto se contrapunha o agir do âmbito privado, livre na sua autonomia. Essa concepção rígida do princípio da legalidade correspondia à concepção do poder administrativo como poder executivo e, pois da administração como execução. Como, entretanto, desta forma, a Administração Pública não teria podido funcionar, encontraram-se duas válvulas: a discricionariedade e as ordens da necessidade, válidas para atos administrativos a adotarem-se em circunstâncias extraordinárias. Na experiência contemporânea, o princípio da legalidade assume um significado diverso, mais limitado, num certo aspecto, porém, mais afinado, sob outro: atém-se à atividade administrativa enquanto esta se exprime em atos que possuem um conteúdo autoritário. Assim, podemos dizer (v. GIANNINI, p. 83), o valor do princípio da legalidade mudou, sendo hoje mais que uma regra do conteúdo da atividade administrativa, uma regra do seu limite, inserindo-se na dialética da autoridade e da liberdade. Em consequência, nos casos em que a atividade administrativa não exprime esta dialética, ele não precisa ser aplicado, como, por exemplo, a atividade de programação do Estado e de outros entes públicos, que não se exprimem por atos autoritativos. Em função disto, por exemplo, M. Hauriou introduziu, na França, a noção de regime administrativo para indicar a substância do princípio da legalidade enquanto caracterizados da administração do Estado contemporâneo. A noção, contudo, suscitou debates ainda vivos na doutrina francesa, das quais se ocupam os seus tratadistas. 2. O regime referido costuma ser caracterizado juridicamente através de dois princípios: a) supremacia do interesse público sobre o privado; e b) indisponibilidade dos interesses públicos. Na doutrina francesa, o debate se dá em torno da busca de um critério capaz de impor um cunho sistemático ao complexo de regras administrativas. No século 19, este critério se localizou na noção de “poder público”, que se delineava na distinção entre atos de império e atos de gestão. A atividade administrativa do Estado seria aquela via autoridade, i. é, “poder de comando”. Mais tarde, apareceu a noção de serviço público, substituída, posteriormente, pela de interesse público e utilidade geral. O debate, contudo, não se encerra aí e ainda hoje soluções combinatórias são ensaiadas. 3. De qualquer modo, é obvio que a proclamação dos dois princípios mencionados encampam a necessidade de se estabelecer um critério para distinguir, integrar e justificar o sistema de Direito Administrativo. A aceitação de ambos envolve, a nosso ver, um esquema de meios/fins aplicado de modo evidente. Apesar desta evidencia, a relação meio/fim não é assumida com plena percepção. 4. A Ciência do Direito, na verdade, desde que se estabeleceu como ciência da sistematização e da interpretação do direito positivo, não tem quase relações com as demais ciências sociais. Ela vive numa ilha. A constituição específica de seu objeto parece permitir este isolamento. Em consequência, observa-se nas argumentações jurídicas, quando estas empregam conceitos como o de fins e meios, uma certa ingenuidade, se comparada com os refinamentos das teorias da decisão das outras ciências. O que se encontra, em geral, são afirmações do tipo: os meios devem estar adequadamente relacionados aos fins, submetidos, neste sentido, a regras de decisão que mais parecem servir à manifestação de boas intenções do que instruções para a tomada de decisão. 5. Conforme a tradição jusnaturalista da maioria de nossas dogmáticas, permanece, até certo ponto, uma evidência a afirmação de que normas jurídicas se relacionam à ação humana enquanto voltada para a consecução de fins, de tal modo que suas sanções fomentem os bons fins e impeçam os maus. Também os direitos e deveres do governante se submetem a estas formas coativas. 6. Ora esta concepção pressupõe, grosso modo, uma ordem social em que os papéis políticos não estão diferenciados por critérios próprios, mas se determinam, heteronomamente, por razões religiosas, familiares, militares etc. Só na base desta pressuposição é que se poderia admitir que os fins preenchessem sua dupla função: 1) integrar um complexo de ações numa unidade; e 2) justificá-lo. 7. Na verdade, porém, ainda que, na abstração das teorias gerais do direito, estas fórmulas permaneçam, desde o advento dos Estados Nacionais modificações, separando-se os diferentes subsistemas (religioso, econômico, educacional, cultural, político, etc.). Isso obrigou a um remanejamento da problemática do Estado (e da Política), transformando-se antigos conceitos ligados a uma economia familiar, como o da função dos príncipes localizada até então na produção da pax et tranquillitas, para conceitos ligados a noções mais abrangentes do tipo “razão do Estado”. Em consequência, por exemplo, noções como o jus emineus dos senhores feudais, originariamente um de seus direitos, passam a integrar um “direito policial” mais geral, que não é outra coisa senão a tarefa de fomentar o bem público conforme seu conhecimento racional. A última tentativa global para solucionar a questão da relação entre meios/fins voltados para a integração e justificação de um complexo de ações encontramos, então, na fórmula romântica da “autofinalidade” do Estado. Com o advento do positivismo dos séculos 19 e 20, porém, esta fórmula foi desacreditada. Desde então, o problema ficou em aberto, em que pesem as muitas tentativas de uma solução baseada em uma teoria geral. 8. O que se pode dizer, tendo em vista as complexas sociedades contemporâneas, é que a diferenciação social crescente torna duvidosa a antiga conexão entre a integração de um complexo de ação e a justificação deste complexo por meio do conceito de fim. Ainda Assim, encontramos afirmações de uso corrente, entre nossos juristas, como a de que o Estado, na sua função executiva além de criar situações jurídicas de caráter subjetivo por meios diretos e indiretos, “promove a manutenção da ordem e o fomento da cultura e da prosperidade do país” (MAZAGÃO, M., p. 108). 9. Na verdade, porém, mesmo quando acentuamos os fins do Estado, não se pode ignorar que a pura racionalidade dos fins como única forma programática fracassa, quando o subsistema político de uma sociedade se diferencia e se torna autônomo. Na realidade, aliás, foi o que sucedeu quando através da concepção do Estado de Direito, paradoxalmente, a concepção finalista foi enterrada e, imperceptivelmente foi retirada a validade jurídica da antiga racionalidade dos fins. O que se pode dizer é que, portanto, a fórmula orientadora meios/fins, com a passagem para o Estado de Direito, perde sua imediata relevância jurídica, sendo deixada de lado pelo desenvolvimento do Direito Administrativo, que a vê com certa desconfiança, limitando-a crescentemente ao campo da discricionariedade. Mesmo aí, porém, a estrutura funcional do esquema meios/fins, não é percebida com clareza. O fim é apresentado como fundamento para a justificação dos meios, mas circunscritos a casos excepcionais que exigem outras regras, como a de que meios não permitidos não podem ser empregados, porque fins que só podem ser alcançados por meios proibidos não podem ser juridicamente vinculantes. Estas formulações nos colocam, na verdade, dentro de uma capciosa tautologia que, afinal, serve apenas para fundamentar decisões que já tenham sido previamente tomadas. Em consequência, porém, quando tautologias como esta se tornam por demais evidentes, o jurista tende a responsabilizar o político pelo problema, sem se aperceber de que sua causa está nas suas técnicas mesmas de tratamento da relação meios/fins, as quais não permitem que o esquema seja adequadamente jurisdicizado. Vide, por exemplo, a querela em torno da chamada “prisão cautelar”. 10. Por tudo isso, o jurista hoje, quando fala de meios e fins, pensa logo em “abuso” e nos problemas correlatos. O que ele é incapaz de perceber é algo que alguns filósofos do direito, como Miguel Reale, vinham apontando, de certa maneira, há muito tempo: a relação entre fim e valor. Em nosso contexto, poderíamos dizer que o que os juristas não percebem (ou não conseguem aceitar) é a peculiar função dos fins, localizada na neutralização axiológica das consequências (LUHMANN, p. 58 ss.). A permissão jurídica da ação do Estado é, via de regra, vinculada a fatos-tipos já definidos na sua generalidade. A aproximação da realidade se dá através de contínua precisão, diferenciação e classificação dos tipos e através do esquema retórico regra/exceção. O uso heurístico da neutralização axiológica só é tratado praticamente no campo destinado à discricionariedade e assim mesmo como um terreno à parte, não regulado e só sob certas condições. Na verdade, porém, as duas dificuldades conceituais de uma teoria geral do direito administrativo mostram controvérsias que têm uma relação direta com este problema teórico do esquema fins/meios: a questão sobre os limites do princípio da legalidade da administração e a questão da limitação da discricionariedade dos conceitos indeterminados. 11. Na verdade, esta questão pode ser percebida pela oposição entre os que chamaríamos de modos de validação do direito. Embora o conceito de validade jurídica conheça muitas interpretações, a predominância do positivismo analítico tem levado o jurista a encarar a questão da validade como um conceito de vigência. Neste sentido, a lição de Kelsen, ainda que não expressamente, é aceita pela maior parte dos tratadistas, mormente no direito público. A validade é, assim, reconhecida como uma relação entre uma norma dada e a conformidade a preceitos superiores que determinam o seu estabelecimento. Esta noção, tão simples no seu enunciado, esconde, a nosso ver, dois processos que se cruzam de forma nem sempre coordenada. Para entendê-lo, porém, é preciso redefinir a noção de validade em termos que chamaríamos de pragmáticos, isto é, que dizem respeito às interações entre o emissor e o receptor das normas (FERRAZ JR., Tercio Sampaio, p. 109). 12. Encarando-se a norma jurídica como um enunciado prescritivo que estabelece entre o emissor e o receptor da mensagem uma relação de autoridade, podemos dizer que através de normas o editor comunica ao sujeito uma superioridade hierárquica no sentido de que pode aceitá-lo ou negá-lo, mas não pode desconfirmá-lo. Aceitar a autoridade significa cumprir-lhe os preceitos; negá-la significa descumpri-los, mas sujeitando-se aos riscos decorrentes, aceitando esta decorrência; desconfirmá-la significaria ignorar a autoridade, agir como se ele não existisse. Assim, por exemplo, o ladrão que furta e foge nega a autoridade; já o revolucionário que assalta e desafia está desconfirmando a autoridade. Ora, uma autoridade só se mantém como tal na medida em que é capaz de, ela própria, desconfirmar ou desacreditar uma eventual desconfirmação do sujeito, encarando esta desconfirmação como mera negação. 13. Pois bem: neste contexto, diríamos que uma norma é válida na medida em que seu editor consegue manter-se como autoridade perante o sujeito, i. é, na medida em se imuniza contra eventuais desconfirmações. Juridicamente, esta imunização se obtém através de outra norma que por sua vez a obtém de outra, significando isto que a validade é uma relação de imunização dentro de um ordenamento. A imunização, entretanto, é obtida através de suas diferentes técnicas de validação que denominaremos técnica finalista e técnica condicional (ver nosso Teoria da Norma Jurídica, p. 109). 14. Ambas as técnicas representam, na verdade, relações entre meios e fins, mas com cargas imunizantes diferentes. Assim, uma norma imuniza outra condicionalmente na medida em que lhe fixa as condições em aberto os fins a serem atingidos. Por sua vez, uma norma imuniza outra finalisticamente na medida em que lhe fixa os fins a serem atingidos, deixando os meios em aberto. O efeito imunizador, em ambos, está em que, pela prefixação dos meios ou dos fins, a autoridade pode decidir, neutralizando possíveis críticas desconfirmadoras. Mas sua imunização é diferente nos dois casos. 15. Pode-se dizer que se a validação usada é condicional, torna-se possível, para a autoridade, desvincular os meios dos fins, responsabilizando-se pelos meios, mas não pelas consequências. Ora se estes meios estão já fixados, a autoridade se exime de críticas quanto aos fins, desde que se ateve aos meios. Neste sentido, para controlar, se uma norma é válida basta regredir no processo hierárquico e verificar, na cadeira das normas, se os meios estabelecidos foram utilizados. 16. Distinto é o caso da validação finalista. Aqui não é possível desvincular meios e fins, pois a prefixação dos fins exige que eles sejam atingidos. Para isto, a autoridade tem de encontrar os meios adequados, sendo, pois, responsável pela própria adequação, ou seja, não só pelos fins, mas pelos meios também. Neste caso, o efeito imunizador da fixação exige da autoridade um comportamento não automático, mas participante, pois de mera utilização de um meio qualquer não segue necessariamente o fim. Neste sentido, para controlar se uma norma é válida não basta regredir no processo hierárquico, mas é preciso verificar, de caso para caso, se a adequação foi obtida. Se o controle da validade condicional é generalizante, o do finalista é casuístico. 17. À luz destas distinções podemos dizer que as administrações públicas são, na verdade, sistemas de tratamento de informação sob regime administrativo o qual combina, estruturalmente as duas validações. Primordialmente, estes sistemas recebem informação do seu mundo circundante, dão-lhes um tratamento e as devolvem, na forma de decisões, para o mundo circundante. Ora, a validação condicional regula a entrada das informações que serão então tomadas como causa das decisões. Já a validação finalista regula a saída, as decisões, que provocarão efeitos no mundo circundante, ou seja, aquilo que decide o que é interesse público e que será tratado pelo sistema da administração é a norma validada condicionalmente. E o que decide da legitimidade pública dos efeitos é a norma validada finalisticamente. Assim, a validação condicional imuniza o regime administrativo contra as consequências criticáveis das decisões, ou seja, o importante é que se tomem decisões conforme as prescrições legais e isto basta, em princípio. Já a validação finalista imuniza o regime administrativo quanto à adequação dos efeitos aos meios. Com isto, a Administração Pública se torna relativamente livre em relação ao seu mundo circundante. 18. Sua autonomia, contudo, não depende, como se vê, da mera fixação de meios, mas da correlata fixação dos fins, ou seja, sua autonomia não repousa nem nos chamados fins do Estado nem do automatismo dos meios, mas na possibilidade de uma autoprogramação de suas decisões por intermédio de uma adequada combinação das técnicas finalista e condicional. 19. Ora, interpretando-se o regime administrativo à luz deste esquema meio/fins, expresso nas mencionadas técnicas de validação, podemos iluminar, de um ângulo diverso, uma observação de Celso Antônio Bandeira de Mello (p. 310), segundo a qual o trabalho teórico/prático do jurista visa a descobrir a rationale que congrega e unifica um complexo de cânones e normas. Esta racionalidade é teleológica, escondendo, pois, um processo de neutralização de valores, mesmo porque, como vimos, o que define se um interesse é público ou privado não é sua repercussão intensa ou secundária sobre a sociedade, mas o regime que o disciplina, ou seja, da multiplicidade dos valores sociais em jogo, cabe ao legislador decidir, por meio de validação condicional, quais deles serão reputados como manifestando um interesse público. Assim, do princípio da supremacia do interesse público, por exemplo, decorrem importantes consequências, como a posição privilegiada do órgão encarregado de zelar e de exprimir o interesse público nas relações com os particulares e a posição de supremacia do órgão naquelas relações (MELLO, Celso Antônio Bandeira de, p. 294). Estas consequências exprimem fins, como a proteção assegurada aos interesses públicos, aos quais se ligam meios que lhes são pressupostos, como a presunção de veracidade e legitimidade dos atos administrativos, benefícios de prazos em dobro, prazos especiais para prescrição de ações, etc. Da conjugação dos dois princípios segue ainda a exigibilidade dos atos administrativos e a executoriedade com recurso à compulsão sobre a pessoa ou coisa e a execução de oficio. 20. Graças à técnica de validade condicional, ao administrador é possível desvincular, nestes casos, meios e fins, respondendo pelos meios corretos, mas eximindo-se de responsabilidade pela fixação dos fins, ou seja, se os meios determinados forem usados corretamente, mas deles não se seguiram os fins colimados, ele não tem uma responsabilidade solidária pela opção (política) do legislador. Assim, do princípio da indisponibilidade dos interesses públicos, estendido no sentido de que os interesses públicos não se encontrem à livre disposição de quem seja, por inapropriáveis, segue não apenas um poder, mas um dever em relação a um objeto, cingindo o administrador ao cumprimento da finalidade que lhe serve de parâmetro. Isto significa, afinal, que o decididor não tem responsabilidade dos fins em termos de um compromisso futuro; apenas comprova se se verificam as hipóteses preestabelecidas, podendo, deste modo, manter-se objetivo e neutro. 21. Neste ponto, o princípio da legalidade é fundamental, ao lado de outros. Ele subordina explicitamente a atividade administrativa à lei. Esta subordinação é, no fundo, uma relação de meios e fins, pois a atividade mencionada se vincula à vontade da lei, não só em termos de conformidade, mas também de autorização como condição da ação. Desta vinculação decorrem consequências, como a possibilidade de se definir o desvio de poder ou seu abuso, ao que se conjuga o princípio da ampla responsabilidade do Estado. Mas, por isso mesmo, o princípio da legalidade tem também um efeito de validação finalística para o legislador, pois este, ao fixar na lei um conjunto de princípios, até inconscientemente, se vê prisioneiro de um sistema que ele próprio instaura, ou seja, o mesmo princípio que para o administrador o alivia do compromisso com o futuro, cinge o legislador de modo finalista, não podendo este separar a sua responsabilidade pelos meios da dos fins e vice-versa, os quais, são para ele, solidários. Este é, aliás, o sentido mais profundo da legalidade nos Estados de Direito. Esta solidariedade, por sua vez, reverte à própria administração, enriquecendo a responsabilidade condicional do administrador. 22. De mesmo modo, a discricionariedade se baliza pelo mesmo esquema, pois, por maior que seja o seu campo, ela estará modelada pela lei. Como diz Celso Antônio Bandeira de Mello, ela se contém num interregno referente ao espaço preenchível através de objetivos sucessivos e comportamentos encadeados, espaço este que se abre entre os atos (meios) e as finalidades, isto é, a noção de interesse público. A discricionariedade surge maior ou menor, “ao longo do itinerário conducente ao implemento da finalidade que a lei houver consagrado” (v. p. 425). 23. Na verdade, a conhecida distinção entre ato vinculado e ato discricionário mostra, afinal, com clareza o uso das duas técnicas de validação. O ato vinculado nada mais é, neste sentido, que uma decisão validada de modo condicional, enquanto o discricionário se refere à decisão validade de modo finalista. No primeiro, a imunização ocorre pelo correto e rigoroso emprego dos meios. No segundo, a solidariedade entre meios e fins exige a correta adequação, tendo em vista os fins fixados e a atingir. É óbvio que, neste caso, deve existir por parte do administrador uma disposição aceitável de meios e fins, de modo a alcançar-se o consenso e a cooperação mais concretos possíveis entre os interessados. Este esforço não é inofensivo, pois leva a uma considerável sobrecarga da racionalidade da decisão, obrigando à admissão de várias informações e objetivos secundários no decurso da decisão, ou seja, elas são racionalizadas através de uma espécie de cálculo de rentabilidade. 24. A técnica de validação finalista faz, portanto, do ato discricionário uma norma cuja validade jamais se liberta do juízo de valor do seu emissor. Não lhe bastam, por isso, os requisitos da validade condicional (os requisitos formais da vigência), pois a atuação em vista de um objetivo programado exige um controle também político e em detalhe, de cima a baixo, pois a mera utilização dos meios não significa que deles decorram, necessariamente, os fins colimados. Assim, a verificação da sua validade nos obriga a pensar em probabilidade e chances, escala móveis, proporções de valores e oportunidades condicionadas pelo tempo, ou seja, levam-se em conta, dada a impossibilidade de uma impessoalização neutra, o procedimento utilizado, a competência (não jurídica) especializada e, sobretudo, as repercussões para além das consequências puramente jurídicas, pois os seus resultados inesperados não são um erro agravamento possível, mas serão tidos como não justificados. 25. Pode-se constatar, pelas observações aqui apresentadas, que a relação meios/fins, via técnicas jurídicas de validação, têm implicações importantes, nem sempre aprofundadas pela Dogmática. Não foi nossa intenção seguir-lhe as repercussões até as últimas consequências, mas apenas levantar alguns aspectos mais gerais do problema. Quer-nos parecer, contudo, que um exame mais detalhado das técnicas está a merecer a atenção do jurista, pois elas abrem um campo sensivelmente ampliado para as investigações da Ciência do Direito.

Salic Law, the most famous of the so-called barbarian leges, was both barbarian and roman. It was made during the 4th century for the Frankish military dependants (dediticii) and their families settled in the Extrema Galliae, the Far Gaul. Its main goal was to eradicate the feud system, unacceptable in the Roman army. It did not succeed in the long run but it gave the Franks the cohesion which allowed them to conquer Gaul, the text turning ultimately into an element of national identity down to the French revolution.

Generally regarded as one of the most influential factors in the human history, religion has frequently been used as a strong political force by the ruling pundits. In the hands of retrogressive elites, religion has often been operated as an aggressive tool to subdue the voices of the common. In the recent political history of the subcontinent, the aforementioned political role of religion can hardly been overemphasized. Made on the rhetoric of Islam, Pakistan has frequently identified herself as Islam ka Qilla (fortress of Islam) since the very inception till date. Such a monolithic approach of religion has substantially shaped the individual and collective socio-political consciousness of people in Pakistan. Driving the country’s contemporary sensitivities, the politics of religion pivots Pakistani society. The contemporary English fiction in Pakistan largely represents the cultural issues, deeply rooted in religion. Tehmina Durrani, one of the most acclaimed Pakistani novelists, frequently writes about the religiosity and the status of women in Pakistan. Setting against this socio-political preference of religion in Pakistani society, it is proposed that Tehmina Durrani’s Blasphemy can be read as a critique of the retrogressive roles of clergy and aristocracy in Pakistan. Highlighting Pakistan’s patriarchal and religious society, it is contended that Blasphemy is a realistic representation of the wretched conditions of women. Investigating the politics of religion in Pakistan’s rural setting, the paper foregrounds Tehmina’s bold stance on issues of women in the harsh social conditions caused by the nexus of retrogressive clergy and oppressive feudal aristocracy.

This essay examines whether contemporary design is undergoing a decline in its standards of professional and pedagogic quality, due to an identity crisis which has apparently been affecting the field since the late sixties. In light of Confucius’ “rectification of names” imperative, various linguistic and aesthetic implications associated with the alleged loss of design conceptual benchmarks of the very identity and definition of the design discipline and profession are explored. It analyses concrete situations in which narratives on design seemingly weaken its bonds with objective exterior reality, arguably leading to the deterioration of previously valued and nurtured patterns and canons of excellence in technical, aesthetic, linguistic, methodological, and, above all, moral terms in the discipline of design. Attention is also given to a relatively common trend displayed – often, but not always– by “neo design specialists” of erasing conceptual boundaries around the design field, in order to establish subdomains within the greater discipline of design. These tend to be marked by pleonastic and tautological, but nevertheless impressive terminology, such as “information design”, “interface design”, “interaction design”, “user-centered design”, “user-experience design”, “user-interface design”, “communication design”, “experimental design”, “authorial design”, “handicrafts design”, “modern design”, “contemporary design”, “emotional design”, “meta-design”, “sustainable design”, “design systems”, “design thinking” and more, which then subdivides the territory of design amongst various “neo-design specialists” by suggesting, in some instances, the possibility of isolating conceptual attributes (such as, respectively, “information”, “interface”, “interaction”, “user experience”, “user interface”, “design conceptual models and methodological approaches” and so on) from the very identity of the integral design discipline itself. In this context, Confucius’ message of the “rectification of names” may thus be perceived as an important and timely call.

Image 1: Hasbro/Tiger Electronics 1998 Furby. (Photo credit: Author) Introduction Since the mid-1990s robotic and digital creatures designed to offer social interaction and companionship have been developed for commercial and research interests. Integral to encouraging positive experiences with these creatures has been the use of cute aesthetics that aim to endear companions to their human users. During this time there has also been a growth in online communities that engage in cultural production through fan fiction responses to existing cultural artefacts, including the widely recognised electronic companion, Hasbro’s Furby (image 1). These user stories and Furby’s online representation in general, demonstrate that contrary to the intentions of their designers and marketers, Furbys are not necessarily received as cute, or the embodiment of the helpless and harmless demeanour that goes along with it. Furbys’ large, lash-framed eyes, small, or non-existent limbs, and baby voice are typical markers of cuteness but can also evoke another side of cuteness—monstrosity, especially when the creature appears physically capable instead of helpless (Brzozowska-Brywczynska 217). Furbys are a particularly interesting manifestation of the cute aesthetic because it is used as tool for encouraging attachment to a socially interactive electronic object, and therefore intersects with existing ideas about technology and nonhuman companions, both of which often embody a sense of otherness. This paper will explore how cuteness intersects withand transitions into monstrosity through online representations of Furbys, troubling their existing design and marketing narrative by connecting and likening them to other creatures, myths, and anecdotes. Analysis of narrative in particular highlights the instability of cuteness, and cultural understandings of existing cute characters, such as the gremlins from the film Gremlins (Dante) reinforce the idea that cuteness should be treated with suspicion as it potentially masks a troubling undertone. Ultimately, this paper aims to interrogate the cultural complexities of designing electronic creatures through the stories that people tell about them online. Fan Production Authors of fan fiction are known to creatively express their responses to a variety of media by appropriating the characters, settings, and themes of an original work and sharing their cultural activity with others (Jenkins 88). On a personal level, Jenkins (103) argues that “[i]n embracing popular texts, the fans claim those works as their own, remaking them in their own image, forcing them to respond to their needs and to gratify their desires.” Fan fiction authors are motivated to write not for financial or professional gains but for personal enjoyment and fan recognition, however, their production does not necessarily come from favourable opinions of an existing text. The antifan is an individual who actively hates a text or cultural artefact and is mobilised in their dislike to contribute to a community of others who share their views (Gray 841). Gray suggests that both fan and antifan activity contribute to our understanding of the kinds of stories audiences want: Although fans may wish to bring a text into everyday life due to what they believe it represents, antifans fear or do not want what they believe it represents and so, as with fans, antifan practice is as important an indicator of interactions between the textual and public spheres. (855) Gray reminds that fans, nonfans, and antifans employ different interpretive strategies when interacting with a text. In particular, while fans intimate knowledge of a text reflects their overall appreciation, antifans more often focus on the “dimensions of the moral, the rational-realistic, [or] the aesthetic” (856) that they find most disagreeable. Additionally, antifans may not experience a text directly, but dislike what knowledge they do have of it from afar. As later examples will show, the treatment of Furbys in fan fiction arguably reflects an antifan perspective through a sense of distrust and aversion, and analysing it can provide insight into why interactions with, or indirect knowledge of, Furbys might inspire these reactions. Derecho argues that in part because of the potential copyright violation that is faced by most fandoms, “even the most socially conventional fan fiction is an act of defiance of corporate control…” (72). Additionally, because of the creative freedom it affords, “fan fiction and archontic literature open up possibilities – not just for opposition to institutions and social systems, but also for a different perspective on the institutional and the social” (76). Because of this criticality, and its subversive nature, fan fiction provides an interesting consumer perspective on objects that are designed and marketed to be received in particular ways. Further, because much of fan fiction draws on fictional content, stories about objects like Furby are not necessarily bound to reality and incorporate fantastical, speculative, and folkloric readings, providing diverse viewpoints of the object. Finally, if, as robotics commentators (cf. Levy; Breazeal) suggest, companionable robots and technologies are going to become increasingly present in everyday life, it is crucial to understand not only how they are received, but also where they fit within a wider cultural sphere. Furbys can be seen as a widespread, if technologically simple, example of these technologies and are often treated as a sign of things to come (Wilks 12). The Design of Electronic Companions To compete with the burgeoning market of digital and electronic pets, in 1998 Tiger Electronics released the Furby, a fur-covered, robotic creature that required the user to carry out certain nurturance duties. Furbys expected feeding and entertaining and could become sick and scared if neglected. Through a program that advanced slowly over time regardless of external stimulus, Furbys appeared to evolve from speaking entirely Furbish, their mother tongue, to speaking English. To the user, it appeared as though their interactions with the object were directly affecting its progress and maturation because their care duties of feeding and entertaining were happening parallel to the Furbish to English transition (Turkle, Breazeal, Daste, & Scassellati 314). The design of electronic companions like Furby is carefully considered to encourage positive emotional responses. For example, Breazeal (2002 230) argues that a robot will be treated like a baby, and nurtured, if it has a large head, big eyes, and pursed lips. Kinsella’s (1995) also emphasises cute things need for care as they are “soft, infantile, mammalian, round, without bodily appendages (e.g. arms), without bodily orifices (e.g. mouths), non-sexual, mute, insecure, helpless or bewildered” (226). From this perspective, Furbys’ physical design plays a role in encouraging nurturance. Such design decisions are reinforced by marketing strategies that encourage Furbys to be viewed in a particular way. As a marketing tool, Harris (1992) argues that: cuteness has become essential in the marketplace in that advertisers have learned that consumers will “adopt” products that create, often in their packaging alone, an aura of motherlessness, ostracism, and melancholy, the silent desperation of the lost puppy dog clamoring to be befriended - namely, to be bought. (179) Positioning Furbys as friendly was also important to encouraging a positive bond with a caregiver. The history, or back story, that Furbys were given in the instruction manual was designed to convey their kind, non-threatening nature. Although alive and unpredictable, it was crucial that Furbys were not frightening. As imaginary living creatures, the origin of Furbys required explaining: “some had suggested positioning Furby as an alien, but that seemed too foreign and frightening for little girls. By May, the thinking was that Furbies live in the clouds – more angelic, less threatening” (Kirsner). In creating this story, Furby’s producers both endeared the object to consumers by making it seem friendly and inquisitive, and avoided associations to its mass-produced, factory origins. Monstrous and Cute Furbys Across fan fiction, academic texts, and media coverage there is a tendency to describe what Furbys look like by stringing together several animals and objects. Furbys have been referred to as a “mechanized ball of synthetic hair that is part penguin, part owl and part kitten” (Steinberg), a “cross between a hamster and a bird…” (Lawson & Chesney 34), and “ “owl-like in appearance, with large bat-like ears and two large white eyes with small, reddish-pink pupils” (ChaosInsanity), to highlight only a few. The ambiguous appearance of electronic companions is often a strategic decision made by the designer to avoid biases towards specific animals or forms, making the companion easier to accept as “real” or “alive” (Shibata 1753). Furbys are arguably evidence of this strategy and appear to be deliberately unfamiliar. However, the assemblage, and exaggeration, of parts that describes Furbys also conjures much older associations: the world of monsters in gothic literature. Notice the similarities between the above attempts to describe what Furbys looks like, and a historical description of monsters: early monsters are frequently constructed out of ill-assorted parts, like the griffin, with the head and wings of an eagle combined with the body and paws of a lion. Alternatively, they are incomplete, lacking essential parts, or, like the mythological hydra with its many heads, grotesquely excessive. (Punter & Byron 263) Cohen (6) argues that, metaphorically, because of their strange visual assembly, monsters are displaced beings “whose externally incoherent bodies resist attempts to include them in any systematic structuration. And so the monster is dangerous, a form suspended between forms that threatens to smash distinctions.” Therefore, to call something a monster is also to call it confusing and unfamiliar. Notice in the following fan fiction example how comparing Furby to an owl makes it strange, and there seems to be uncertainty around what Furbys are, and where they fit in the natural order: The first thing Heero noticed was that a 'Furby' appeared to be a childes toy, shaped to resemble a mutated owl. With fur instead of feathers, no wings, two large ears and comical cat paws set at the bottom of its pudding like form. Its face was devoid of fuzz with a yellow plastic beak and too large eyes that gave it the appearance of it being addicted to speed [sic]. (Kontradiction) Here is a character unfamiliar with Furbys, describing its appearance by relating it to animal parts. Whether Furbys are cute or monstrous is contentious, particularly in fan fictions where they have been given additional capabilities like working limbs and extra appendages that make them less helpless. Furbys’ lack, or diminution of parts, and exaggeration of others, fits the description of cuteness, as well as their sole reliance on caregivers to be fed, entertained, and transported. If viewed as animals, Furbys appear physically limited. Kinsella (1995) finds that a sense of disability is important to the cute aesthetic: stubby arms, no fingers, no mouths, huge heads, massive eyes – which can hide no private thoughts from the viewer – nothing between their legs, pot bellies, swollen legs or pigeon feet – if they have feet at all. Cute things can’t walk, can’t talk, can’t in fact do anything at all for themselves because they are physically handicapped. (236) Exploring the line between cute and monstrous, Brzozowska-Brywczynska argues that it is this sense of physical disability that distinguishes the two similar aesthetics. “It is the disempowering feeling of pity and sympathy […] that deprives a monster of his monstrosity” (218). The descriptions of Furbys in fan fiction suggest that they transition between the two, contingent on how they are received by certain characters, and the abilities they are given by the author. In some cases it is the overwhelming threat the Furby poses that extinguishes feelings of care. In the following two excerpts that the revealing of threatening behaviour shifts the perception of Furby from cute to monstrous in ‘When Furbies Attack’ (Kellyofthemidnightdawn): “These guys are so cute,” she moved the Furby so that it was within inches of Elliot's face and positioned it so that what were apparently the Furby's lips came into contact with his cheek “See,” she smiled widely “He likes you.” […] Olivia's breath caught in her throat as she found herself backing up towards the door. She kept her eyes on the little yellow monster in front of her as her hand slowly reached for the door knob. This was just too freaky, she wanted away from this thing. The Furby that was originally called cute becomes a monster when it violently threatens the protagonist, Olivia. The shifting of Furbys between cute and monstrous is a topic of argument in ‘InuYasha vs the Demon Furbie’ (Lioness of Dreams). The character Kagome attempts to explain a Furby to Inuyasha, who views the object as a demon: That is a toy called a Furbie. It's a thing we humans call “CUTE”. See, it talks and says cute things and we give it hugs! (Lioness of Dreams) A recurrent theme in the Inuyasha (Takahashi) anime is the generational divide between Kagome and Inuyasha. Set in feudal-era Japan, Kagome is transported there from modern-day Tokyo after falling into a well. The above line of dialogue reinforces the relative newness, and cultural specificity, of cute aesthetics, which according to Kinsella (1995 220) became increasingly popular throughout the 1980s and 90s. In Inuyasha’s world, where demons and monsters are a fixture of everyday life, the Furby appearance shifts from cute to monstrous. Furbys as GremlinsDuring the height of the original 1998 Furby’s public exposure and popularity, several news articles referred to Furby as “the five-inch gremlin” (Steinberg) and “a furry, gremlin-looking creature” (Del Vecchio 88). More recently, in a review of the 2012 Furby release, one commenter exclaimed: “These things actually look scary! Like blue gremlins!” (KillaRizzay). Following the release of the original Furbys, Hasbro collaborated with the film’s merchandising team to release Interactive ‘Gizmo’ Furbys (image 2). Image 2: Hasbro 1999 Interactive Gizmo (photo credit: Author) Furbys’ likeness to gremlins offers another perspective on the tension between cute and monstrous aesthetics that is contingent on the creature’s behaviour. The connection between Furbys and gremlins embodies a sense of mistrust, because the film Gremlins focuses on the monsters that dwell within the seemingly harmless and endearing mogwai/gremlin creatures. Catastrophic events unfold after they are cared for improperly. Gremlins, and by association Furbys, may appear cute or harmless, but this story tells that there is something darker beneath the surface. The creatures in Gremlins are introduced as mogwai, and in Chinese folklore the mogwai or mogui is a demon (Zhang, 1999). The pop culture gremlin embodied in the film, then, is cute and demonic, depending on how it is treated. Like a gremlin, a Furby’s personality is supposed to be a reflection of the care it receives. Transformation is a common theme of Gremlins and also Furby, where it is central to the sense of “aliveness” the product works to create. Furbys become “wiser” as time goes on, transitioning through “life stages” as they “learn” about their surroundings. As we learn from their origin story, Furbys jumped from their home in the clouds in order to see and explore the world firsthand (Tiger Electronics 2). Because Furbys are susceptible to their environment, they come with rules on how they must be cared for, and the consequences if this is ignored. Without attention and “food”, a Furby will become unresponsive and even ill: “If you allow me to get sick, soon I will not want to play and will not respond to anything but feeding” (Tiger Electronics 6). In Gremlins, improper care manifests in an abrupt transition from cute to monstrous: Gizmo’s strokeable fur is transformed into a wet, scaly integument, while the vacant portholes of its eyes (the most important facial feature of the cute thing, giving us free access to its soul and ensuring its total structability, its incapacity to hold back anything in reserve) become diabolical slits hiding a lurking intelligence, just as its dainty paws metamorphose into talons and its pretty puckered lips into enormous Cheshire grimaces with full sets of sharp incisors. (Harris 185–186) In the Naruto (Kishimoto) fan fiction ‘Orochimaru's World Famous New Year's Eve Party’ (dead drifter), while there is no explicit mention of Gremlins, the Furby undergoes the physical transformation that appears in the films. The Furby, named Sasuke, presumably after the Naruto antagonist Sasuke, and hinting at its untrustworthy nature, undergoes a transformation that mimics that of Gremlins: when water is poured on the Furby, boils appear and fall from its back, each growing into another Furby. Also, after feeding the Furby, it lays eggs: Apparently, it's not a good idea to feed Furbies chips. Why? Because they make weird cocoon eggs and transform into… something. (ch. 5) This sequence of events follows the Gremlins movie structure, in which cute and furry Gizmo, after being exposed to water and fed after midnight, “begins to reproduce, laying eggs that enter a larval stage in repulsive cocoons covered in viscous membranes” (Harris 185). Harris also reminds that the appearance of gremlins comes with understandings of how they should be treated: Whereas cute things have clean, sensuous surfaces that remain intact and unpenetrated […] the anti-cute Gremlins are constantly being squished and disembowelled, their entrails spilling out into the open, as they explode in microwaves and run through paper shredders and blenders. (Harris 186) The Furbys in ‘Orochimaru's World Famous New Year's Eve Party’ meet a similar end: Kuro Furby whined as his brain was smashed in. One of its eyes popped out and rolled across the floor. (dead drifter ch. 6) A horde of mischievous Furbys are violently dispatched, including the original Furby that was lovingly cared for. Conclusion This paper has explored examples from online culture in which different cultural references clash and merge to explore artefacts such as Furby, and the complexities of design, such as the use of ambiguously mammalian, and cute, aesthetics in an effort to encourage positive attachment. Fan fiction, as a subversive practice, offers valuable critiques of Furby that are imaginative and speculative, providing creative responses to experiences with Furbys, but also opening up potential for what electronic companions could become. In particular, the use of narrative demonstrates that cuteness is an unstable aesthetic that is culturally contingent and very much tied to behaviour. As above examples demonstrate, Furbys can move between cute, friendly, helpless, threatening, monstrous, and strange in one story. Cute Furbys became monstrous when they were described as an assemblage of disparate parts, made physically capable and aggressive, and affected by their environment or external stimulus. Cultural associations, such as gremlins, also influence how an electronic animal is received and treated, often troubling the visions of designers and marketers who seek to present friendly, nonthreatening, and accommodating companions. These diverse readings are valuable in understanding how companionable technologies are received, especially if they continue to be developed and made commercially available, and if cuteness is to be used as means of encouraging positive attachment. References Breazeal, Cynthia. Designing Sociable Robots. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2002. Brzozowska-Brywczynska, Maja. "Monstrous/Cute: Notes on the Ambivalent Nature of Cuteness." Monsters and the Monstrous: Myths and Metaphors of Enduring Evil. Ed. Niall Scott. Amsterdam/New York: Rodopi. 2007. 213 - 28. 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Dynastic Politics in Their European Context, 1604 - 1630 (Studies in Earl Modern Cultural, Political and Social History, 31), Woodbridge / Rochester 2018, The Boydell Press, XVIII u. 367 S., £ 75,00. (Martin Foerster, Hamburg) Blakemore, Richard J. / Elaine Murphy, The British Civil Wars at Sea, 1638 - 1653, Woodbridge 2018, The Boydell Press, X u. 225 S. / Abb., £ 65,00. (Jann M. Witt, Laboe) Deflers, Isabelle / Christian Kühner (Hrsg.), Ludwig XIV. - Vorbild und Feindbild. Inszenierung und Rezeption der Herrschaft eines barocken Monarchen zwischen Heroisierung, Nachahmung und Dämonisierung / Louis XIV - fascination et répulsion. Mise en scène et réception du règne d’un monarque baroque entre héroïsation, imitation et diabolisation (Studien des Frankreich-Zentrums der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, 25), Berlin 2018, Schmidt, 296 S. / Abb., € 69,95. (Anuschka Tischer, Würzburg) Pérez Sarrión, Guillermo, The Emergence of a National Market in Spain, 1650 - 1800. 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Jahrhundert (Hallesche Forschungen, 47), Halle a. d. S. 2017, Verlag der Franckeschen Stiftungen, VI u. 265 S. / Abb., € 56,00. (Martin Gierl, Göttingen) Geffarth, Renko / Markus Meumann / Holger Zaunstöck (Hrsg.), Kampf um die Aufklärung? Institutionelle Konkurrenzen und intellektuelle Vielfalt im Halle des 18. Jahrhunderts, Halle a. d. S. 2018, Mitteldeutscher Verlag, 334 S., € 50,00. (Martin Gierl, Göttingen) Giro d’Italia. Die Reiseberichte des bayerischen Kurprinzen Karl Albrecht (1715/16). Eine historisch-kritische Edition, hrsg. v. Andrea Zedler / Jörg Zedler (Beihefte zum Archiv für Kulturgeschichte, 90), Wien / Köln / Weimar 2019, Böhlau, 694 S. / Abb., € 90,00. (Michael Maurer, Jena) Backerra, Charlotte, Wien und London, 1727 - 1735. Internationale Beziehungen im frühen 18. Jahrhundert (Veröffentlichungen des Instituts für europäische Geschichte Mainz, 253), Göttingen 2018, Vandenhoeck &amp; Ruprecht, 474 S., € 80,00. 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“A bunch of faggots for watching men hug each other in tights.”For the past five Marches, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) has produced an awards show which honours its aged former performers, such as Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, as pro-wrestling Legends. This awards show, according to WWE, is ‘an elegant, emotional, star-studded event that recognizes the in-ring achievements of the inductees and offers historical insights into this century-old sports-entertainment attraction’ (WWE.com, n.p.). In an episodic storyline leading up to the 2009 awards, however, the real-life personal shortcomings of these Legends have been brought to light, and subsequently mocked in one-on-one interview segments with WWE’s Superstar of the Year 2008, the dastardly Chris Jericho. Jericho caps off these tirades by physically assaulting the Legends with handy stage props. Significantly, the performances of Jericho and his victims have garnered positive attention not only from mass audiences unaware of backstage happenings in WWE, but also from the informed community of pro-wrestling fans over at the nihilistic humour website SomethingAwful. During Jericho’s assault on the Legend Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka at the March 02 WWE Raw event, a WWE-themed forum thread on SomethingAwful logged over sixty posts all reiterating variations of ‘gently caress me Jericho is amazing’ (Jerusalem, n.p.). This is despite the community’s passive-aggressive and ironically jaded official line that they indeed are ‘a bunch of faggots for watching men hug each other in tights. Thank you for not telling us this several times’ (HulkaMatt, n.p.). Why were these normally cynical fans of WWE enthusiastically expressing their love for the Jericho-Legends feud? In order to answer this question, this paper argues that the feud articulates not only the ideal of the “giving wrestler”, but also Roland Barthes’s version of jouissance. Consuming and commenting on WWE texts within the SomethingAwful community is further argued to be a performative ritual in which informed wrestling fans distance themselves from audiences they perceive as uncritical and ill-informed cultural dupes. The feud, then, allows the SomethingAwful fans to perform enthusiasm on two interconnected levels: they are not only able to ironically cheer on Jericho’s morally reprehensible actions, but also to genuinely appreciate the present-day in-ring efforts of the Legends. The Passion of the SuperflyTo properly contextualise this paper, though, the fact that “pro wrestling is fake” needs to be reiterated. Each match is a choreographed sequence of moves. Victory does not result from landing more damaging bodyslams than one's opponent, but is instead predetermined by scriptwriters—among whom wrestlers are typically not numbered—backstage. In the 1950s, Roland Barthes thus commented that pro wrestling ‘is not a sport, it is a spectacle’ (Mythologies 13). Yet, pro wrestling remains popular because this theatricality allows for the display of spectacular excesses of passion—here Barthes not only means “an intensity of emotion”, but refers to the physically tortured heroes of medieval passion plays as well—giving it an advantage over the legitimate sport of amateur wrestling. ‘It is obvious that at such a pitch, it no longer matters whether the passion is genuine or not. What the public wants is the image of passion, not passion itself’ (Mythologies 16). This observation still holds true in today’s WWE. On one hand, the SomethingAwful fans go ‘gently caress Jericho, [Superfly] will MURDER you’ (Jerusalem, n.p.) in disapproval of Jericho’s on-screen actions. In the same thread, though, they simultaneously fret over him being slightly injured from an off-screen real life accident. ‘Jericho looks busted up on his forehead. Dang’ (Carney, n.p.).However, Barthes’s observations, while seminal, are not the be-all and end-all of pro wrestling scholarship. The industry has undergone a significant number of changes since the 1950s. Speeches and interview segments are now seen as essential tools for furthering storylines. Correspondingly, they are given ample TV time. At over ten minutes, the Jericho-“Superfly” confrontation from the March 02 Raw is longer than both the matches following it, and a fifteen minute conversation between two top wrestlers capstones these two matches. Henry Jenkins has thus argued that pro wrestling is a male-targeted melodrama. Its ‘writers emphasize many traits that [legitimate sports such as] football share with melodrama-the clear opposition between characters, the sharp alignment of audience identification, abrupt shifts in fortune, and an emotionally satisfying resolution’ (Jenkins, “Never Trust a Snake” 81). Unlike football, though, the predetermined nature of pro wrestling means that its events can be ‘staged to ensure maximum emotional impact and a satisfying climax’ (Jenkins, “Never Trust a Snake” 81). Further, Jenkins notes that shouting is preferred over tears as an outlet for male affect. It ‘embodies externalised emotion; it is aggressive and noisy. Women cry from a position of emotional (and often social) vulnerability; men shout from a position of physical and social strength (however illusory)’ (Jenkins, “Never Trust a Snake” 80). Pro wrestling is seen to encourage this outlet for affect by offering its viewers spectacles of male physical prowess to either castigate or cheer. Jericho’s assault of the Legends, coupled with his half-screaming, half-shouting taunts of “‘Hall of Famer’? ‘Hall of Famer’ of what? You’re a has-been! Just like all the rest!” could be read to fit within this paradigm as well. Smarts vs. MarksWWE has repeatedly highlighted its scripted nature in recent years. During a 2007 CNN interview, for instance, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon constantly refers to his product as “entertainment” and laughingly agrees that “it’s all story” when discussing his on-screen interactions with his long-lost midget “son” (Griffin, n.p.). These overt acknowledgments that WWE is a highly choreographed melodrama have boosted the growth of a fan demographic referred to the "smart" in pro-wrestling argot. This “smart” fan is a figure for whom the fabricated nature of pro-wrestling necessitates an engagement with the WWE spectacle at a different level from mass audiences. The “smart” not only ‘follow[s] the WWE not just to see the shows, but to keep track of what “the Fed[eration]” is doing’ (McBride and Bird 170) with regards to off-camera events, but also 'has knowledge of the inner-workings of the wrestling business’ (PWTorch, n.p.). One of the few “GOLD”-rated threads on the SomethingAwful smart forums, accordingly, is titled “WWE News and Other Top Stories, The Insider Thread”, and has nearly 400 000 views and over 1000 posts. As a result, the smarts are in a subject position of relative insider-ness. They consume the WWE spectacle at a deeper level—one which functions roughly like an apparatus of capture for the critical/cynical affect mobilised around the binary of ‘real’ and ‘fake’—yet ultimately remain captured by the spectacle through their autodidact enthusiasm for knowledge which uncovers its inner workings.By contrast, there is the category of the “mark” fan. These “marks” are individuals who remain credulous in their reception of WWE programming. As cuteygrl08 writes regarding a recent WWE storyline involving brotherly envy:I LOVE JEFF HARDY!!!! i cried when i heard his brother say all the crap about him!! kinda weird but i love him and this video is soooo good!! JEFF hardy loves his fans and his fans love him no matter what he does i'll always love JEFF HARDY!!!!!!!!!!! (n.p.)This unstinting faith in the on-screen spectacle is understandable insofar as WWE programming trades upon powerful visual markers of authenticity—nearly-bare bodies, sweat, pained facial expressions­—and complements them with the adrenaline-producing beats of thrash metal and hard rock. Yet, smarts look down upon marks like cuteygrl08, seeing them as Frankfurt School-era hypnotised sots for whom the WWE spectacle is ‘the common ground of the deceived gaze and of false consciousness’ (Debord 117), and additionally as victims of a larger media industry which specialises in mass deception (Horkheimer and Adorno 41). As Lawrence McBride and Elizabeth Bird observe:Marks appear to believe in the authenticity of the competition—Smarts see them as the stereotypical dupes imagined by wrestling critics. Smarts approach the genre of wrestling as would-be insiders, while Marks root unreflexively for the most popular faces. Smart fans possess truly incredible amounts of knowledge about the history of wrestling, including wrestler’s real names and career histories, how various promotions began and folded, who won every Wrestlemania ever. Smart fan informants defined a Mark specifically as someone who responds to wrestling in the way intended by the people who write the storylines (the bookers), describing Marks with statements such as “Kids are Marks.” or “We were all Marks when we were kids.” Smarts view Marks with scorn. (169)Perhaps feeding on the antagonistic binaries drawn by WWE programming, there exists an “us vs them” binary in smart fan communities. Previous research has shown that fan communities often rigidly police the boundaries of “good taste”, and use negatively constructed differences as a means of identity construction (Fiske 448; Jenkins, “Get a Life!” 432; Theodoropoulou 321). This ritual Othering is especially important when supporting the WWE. Smarts are aware that they are fans of a product denigrated by non-fans as ‘trash TV’ (McKinley, n.p.). As Matt Hills finds, fandom is a mode of performative consumption. It is ‘an identity which is (dis)claimed, and which performs cultural work’ (Hills xi). Belonging to the SomethingAwful smart community, thus, exerts its own pressures on the individual smart. There, the smart must perform ‘audiencehood, knowing that other fans will act as a readership for speculation, observation, and commentaries’ (Hills 177). Wrestling, then, is not just to be watched passively. It must be analysed, and critically dissected with reference to the encyclopaedic knowledge treasured by the smart community. Mark commentary has to be pilloried, for despite all the ironic disaffection characterising their posts, the smarts display mark-like behaviour by watching and purchasing WWE programming under their own volition. A near-existential dread is hence articulated when smarts become aware of points where the boundaries between smart and mark overlap, that ‘the creatures that lurk the internet ...carry some of the same interests that we do’ (rottingtrashcan, n.p.). Any commonalities between smarts and marks must thus be disavowed as a surface resemblance: afterall, creatures are simply unthinking appetites, not smart epicures. We’re better than those plebs; in fact, we’re nothing like them any more. Yet, in one of the few forms of direct address in the glossary of smart newsletter PWTorch, to “mark out” is ‘to enthusiastically be into [a storyline] or match as if you [emphasis added] were “a mark”; to suspend one's disbelief for the sake of enjoying to a greater extent a match or [a storyline]’ (PWTorch, n.p.). The existence of the term “marking out” in a smart glossary points to an enjoyably liminal privileged position between that of defensively ironic critic and that of credulous dupe, one where smarts can stop their performance of cooler-than-thou fatigue and enthusiastically believe that there is nothing more to WWE than spontaneous alarms and excursions. The bodily reactions of the Legends in response to Jericho's physical assault helps foster this willing naiveté. These reactions are a distressing break from the generic visual conventions set forth by preceding decades of professional wrestling. As Barthes argues, wrestling is as much concerned with images of spectacular suffering as with narratives of amazing triumphs:the wrestler who suffers in a hold which is reputedly cruel (an arm- lock, a twisted leg) offers an excessive portrayal of Suffering; like a primitive Pieta, he exhibits for all to see his face, exaggeratedly contorted by an intolerable affliction. It is obvious, of course, that in wrestling reserve would be out of place, since it is opposed to the voluntary ostentation of the spectacle, to this Exhibition of Suffering which is the very aim of the fight. (17)Barthes was writing of the primitively filmed wrestling matches of the 1950s notable for their static camera shots. However, WWE wrestlers yet follow this theatrical aesthetic. In the match immediately following Jericho’s bullying of Superfly, Kane considerately jumps the last two feet into a ringside turnbuckle after Mike Knox pushes him into its general vicinity. Kane grunts at the impact while the camera cuts to a low-angled shot of his back—all the better to magnify the visual of the 150 kg Knox now using his bulk to squash Kane. Whenever Jericho himself traps his opponent in his “Walls of Jericho” submission manoeuvre, both their faces are rictuses of passion. His opponent clutches for the safety of the ring ropes, shaking his head in heroic determination. Audiences see Jericho tighten his grip, his own head shaking in villainous purpose. But the Legends do not gyrate around the set when hit. Instead, they invariably slump to the ground, motionless except for weakly spasming to the rhythm of Jericho’s subsequent attacks. This atypical reaction forces audiences—smart and mark alike—to re-evaluate any assumptions that the event constitutes a typical WWE beatdown. Overblown theatricality gives way to a scene which seems more related to everyday experiences with pain: Here's an old man being beaten and whipped by a strong, young man. He's not moving. Not like other wrestlers do. I wonder... The battered bodies of these Legends are then framed in high angle camera shots, making them look ever so much more vulnerable than they were prior to Jericho’s assault. Hence the smart statements gushing that ‘gently caress me Jericho is amazing’ (Jerusalem, n.p.) and that Jericho’s actions have garnered a ‘rear end in a top hat chant [from the crowd]. It has been FOREVER since I heard one of those. I love Chris Jericho’ (Burrito, n.p.).Jouissance and “Marking Out”This uninhibited “marking out” by normally cynical smarts brings to mind Barthes's observation that texts are able to provoke two different kinds of enjoyment in their readers. On one hand, there is the text which provides pleasure born from familiarity. It ‘contents, fills, grants euphoria; [it is] the text that comes from culture and does not break with it, is linked to a comfortable practice of reading’ (Barthes, Image-Music-Text 14). The Knox-Kane match engendered such a been-there-done-that-it's-ok-I-guess overall reaction from smarts. For every ‘Mike Knox throwing Mysterio at Kane was fantastic’ (Burrito, n.p.), there is an ‘Ahahaha jesus Knox [sic] that was the shittiest Hurracanrana sell ever’ (Axisillian, n.p.), and a ‘Hit the beard [sic] it is Knox's weakpoint’ (Eurotrash, n.p.). The pleasant genericity of the match enables and necessitates that these smarts maintain their tactic of ironic posturing. They are able to armchair critique Knox for making his opponent's spinning Hurracanrana throw look painless. Yet they are also allowed to reiterate their camp affection for Knox's large and bushy beard, which remains grotesque even when divorced from a WWE universe that celebrates sculpted physiques.By contrast, Barthes praises the text of rapturous jouissance. It is one where an orgasmic intensity of pleasure is born from the unravelling of its audience’s assumptions, moving them away from their comfort zone. It is a text which ‘imposes a stage of loss, [a] text that discomforts (perhaps to the point of boredom), unsettles the reader's historical, cultural, psychological assumptions, the consistency of his tastes, values, memories, brings to crisis his relation with language’ (Barthes, Image-Music-Text 14). In addition to the atypical physical reactions of the Legends, WWE cynically positions the Jericho-Legends segments during Raw events which also feature slick video montages highlighting the accomplishments of individual Legends. These montages—complete with an erudite and enthusiastic Voice-of-God narrator— introduce the long-retired Legends to marks unfamiliar with WWE's narrative continuity: “Ladies and gentlemen! Rrriiiicky “The Draaagon” Steeeeamboat!”. At the same time, they serve as a visually and aurally impressive highlight-reel-cum-nostalgic-celebration of each Legend's career accomplishments. Their authoritative narration is spliced to clips of past matches, and informs audiences that, for instance, Steamboat was ‘one of the first Superstars to combine technical skills with astounding aerial agility ... in a match widely regarded as one of the best in history, he captured the Intercontinental title from Randy Savage in front of a record-breaking 93 173 fans’ (“Raw #636”, WWE). Following the unassailably authentic video footage of past matches, other retired wrestlers speak candidly in non-WWE stages such as outdoor parks and their own homes about the Legend's strengths and contributions to the industry.The interesting thing about these didactic montages is not so much what they show —Legends mythologised into triumphant Titans — but rather, what they elide. While the Steamboat-centred package does reflect the smart consensus that his Intercontinental bout ‘was a technical classic, and to this day, is still considered one of the greatest matches of all-time’ (NPP, n.p.), it does not mention how Steamboat was treated poorly in the WWE. Despite coming to it as the widely-known World Champion of [the NWA] rival promotion, WWE producers ‘dressed Steamboat up as a dragon and even made him blow fire. ...To boot, he was never acknowledged as a World Champion and [kept losing] to the stars’ (NPP, n.p.). The montages, overtly endorsed by the gigantic WWE logo as they are, are ultimately pleasant illusions which rewrite inconvenient truths while glamorising pleasant memories.Jericho’s speeches, however, sharply break from this celebratory mode. He references Steamboat’s previous success in the NWA, ‘an organisation that according to this company never even existed’(“Raw #636”, WWE). He then castigates Steamboat for being a real-life sellout and alludes to Steamboat having personal problems unmentioned in the montage:It wasn't until you came to the WWE that you sold your soul to all of these parasites [everyone watching] that you became “The Dragon”. A glorified Karate Kid selling headbands and making poses. Feeding into stereotypes. And then you eventually came to the ring with a Komodo Dragon. Literally spitting fire like the circus freak you'd become. It was pathetic. But hey, it's all right as long as you're making a paycheck, right Steamboat? And then when you decided to retire, you ended up like all the rest. Down and out. Broken. Beaten down. Dysfunctional family ...You applied for a job working for the WWE, you got one working backstage, and now here you are. You see, Steamboat, you are a life-long sellout. And now, with the Hall of Fame induction, the loyal dog gets his bone. (WWE)Here, Jericho demonstrates an apparent unwillingness to follow the company line by not only acknowledging the NWA, but also by disrespecting a current WWE backstage authority. Yet, wrestlers having onscreen tangles with their bosses is the norm for WWE. The most famous storyline of the 1990s had “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and the WWE Chairman brutalising each other for months on end, and the fifteen minute verbal exchange mentioned earlier concerns one wrestler previously attacking the Raw General Manager. Rather, it is Jericho’s reinterpretation of Steamboat’s career trajectory which gives the storyline the intensely pleasurable uncertainty of jouissance. His confrontational speeches rupture the celebratory nostalgia of the montages, forcing smarts to apply extra-textual knowledge to them. This is especially relevant in Steamboat’s case. His montage was shown just prior to his meeting with Jericho, ensuring that his iconic status was fresh in the audience’s memory. Vera Dika’s findings on the conflict between memory and history in revisionist nostalgia films are important to remember here. The tension ‘that comes from the juxtaposition of the coded material against the historical context of the film itself ...encourages a new set of meanings to arise’ (Dika 91). Jericho cynically views the seemingly virtuous and heroic Steamboat as a corporate sycophant preying on fan goodwill to enrich his own selfish ends. This viewpoint, troublingly enough for smarts, is supported by their non-WWE-produced extra-textual knowledge, allowing for a meta-level melodrama to be played out. The speeches thus speak directly to smarts, simultaneously confounding and exceeding their expectations. The comfortingly pleasant memories of Steamboat’s “amazing aerial prowess” are de-emphasised, and he is further linked to the stereotypical juvenilia of the once-popular The Karate Kid. They articulate and capitalise upon whatever misgivings smarts may have regarding Steamboat’s real-life actions. Thus, to paraphrase Dika, ‘seen in this clash, [the Jericho-Legends feud] has the structure of irony, producing a feeling of nostalgia, but also of pathos, and registering the historical events as the cause of an irretrievable loss [of a Legend’s dignity]’ (91). “C’mon Legend! Live in the past!” taunts Jericho as he stuffs Superfly’s mouth with bananas and beats him amidst the wreckage of the exactingly reproduced cheap wooden set in the same way that “Rowdy” Roddy Piper did years ago (“RAW #637”, WWE). This literal dismantling of cherished memories results from WWE producers second-guessing the smarts, and providing these fans with an enjoyably uncomfortable jouissance that cleverly confounds the performance of a smart disaffection. “Marking out” —or its performance at least—results.The Giving WrestlerLastly, the general physical passivity of the Legends also ties into the ethos of the “giving wrestler” when combined with the celebratory montages. In a business where performed passion is integral to fan enjoyment, the “giving wrestler” is an important figure who, when hit by a high-risk move, will make his co-worker’s offense look convincing (McBride and Bird 173). He ‘will give his all in a performance to ensure a dual outcome: the match will be spectacular, benefiting the fans, and each wrestler will make his “opponent” look good, helping him “get over with the fans” (McBride and Bird 172). Unsurprisingly, this figure is appreciated by smarts, who ‘often form strong emotional attachments to those wrestlers who go to the greatest lengths to bear the burden of the performance’ (McBride and Bird 173). As described earlier, the understated reactions of the Legends make Jericho’s attacks paradoxically look as though they cause extreme pain. Yet, when this pathetic image of the Legends is combined with the hypermasculine images of them in their heyday, a tragedy with real-life referents is played out on-stage. In one of Jenkins’s ‘abrupt shifts of fortune’ (“Never Trust a Snake” 81), age has grounded these Legends. They can now believably be assaulted with impunity by someone that Steamboat dismisses as ‘a snotty brat wrestler of a kid[sic] ...a hypocrite’ (“Raw #636”, WWE), and even in this, they apparently give their all to make Jericho look viciously “good”, thus exceeding the high expectations of smarts. As an appreciative thread title on SomethingAwful states, ‘WWE Discussion is the RICKY STEAMBOAT OWN [wins] ZONE for 02/23/09’ (HulkaMatt, n.p.) ConclusionThe Jericho-Legends feud culminated the day after the Hall of Fame ceremony, at the WWE’s flagship Wrestlemania event. Actor Mickey Rourke humiliated Jericho for the honour of the Legends, flattening the cocky braggart with a single punch. The maximum degree of moral order possible was thus temporarily restored to an episodic narrative centred around unprovoked acts of violence. Ultimately though, it is important to note the three strategies that WWE used The Legends were scripted to respond feebly to Jericho’s physical assault, slick recap montages were copiously deployed, and Jericho himself was allowed candid metatextual references to incidents that WWE producers normally like to pretend have “never even existed”. All these strategies were impressive in their own right, and they eventually served to reinforce each other. 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