{"id":7916,"date":"2022-10-26T22:41:50","date_gmt":"2022-10-27T02:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tempestmag.org\/v01_2020\/staging\/?p=7916"},"modified":"2022-10-30T10:05:56","modified_gmt":"2022-10-30T14:05:56","slug":"mike-davis-presente","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tempestmag.org\/test02\/2022\/10\/mike-davis-presente\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a1Mike Davis, presente!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt is all the more clear what we have to accomplish at present: I am referring to ruthless criticism<\/em> of all that exists, ruthless both in the sense of not being afraid of the results it arrives at and in the sense of being just as little afraid of conflict with the powers that be.\u201d – Karl Marx, 1843<\/p>\n

\"Author
Mike Davis, Santa Fe, New Mexico, January 16, 2008. Photo Credit: Don J. Usner.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

W<\/span>hat can one say about Mike Davis that has not been said already by so many who appreciated his brilliance, wit, clarity, and uncanny foresight?<\/p>\n

Perhaps less has been said about Mike\u2019s pugnaciousness, which was not an argumentativeness for the sake of point-scoring or aggressiveness born out of self-importance, but a passion for political struggle and the people he fought alongside.<\/p>\n

\u201cFighting was his element. And he fought with a passion, a tenacity, and a success such as few could rival,\u201d Frederick Engels observed<\/a> of Karl Marx\u2014and the same could be said for Mike.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, Mike\u2019s combativeness was not only directed at class enemies, though he was masterful when directing his fire at them. Mike was known among friends for letters written in outrage, and even hurt, to comrades he felt had gone astray. I had the displeasure of receiving a few myself. But in all our exchanges, it was evident how much Mike cared. Never once did he exert authority or expect deference because of his intellect or past contributions. He just held those of us in common work to exacting standards and took our politics as seriously as the circumstances require.<\/p>\n

Mike\u2019s ever-timely emails shared with friends, some of which became blog posts and longer essays, were extraordinary, exemplifying how to engage in conjunctural analysis that is grounded, historically informed, and attuned to what is emergent and requires us to rethink even long-held positions.<\/p>\n

In 1843 Marx wrote a letter to Arnold Ruge<\/a> that articulates precisely a philosophy Mike lived by: \u201cit is all the more clear what we have to accomplish at present: I am referring to ruthless criticism<\/em> of all that exists, ruthless both in the sense of not being afraid of the results it arrives at and in the sense of being just as little afraid of conflict with the powers that be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike was never satisfied with rote answers, predetermined conclusions, received wisdom. He always insisted on looking at the world anew, being rigorous, undertaking original research, and facing reality as it is, not as we wish it to be.<\/p>\n

I recall one small study group with comrades in New York at which Mike argued for a commitment to revolutionary politics even in the face of the genuine possibility that we had collectively reached a moment in human history when revolution could not prevent capitalism\u2019s past destruction of our planet from having irreversible, disastrous consequences. Without any guarantees of success, and despite this existential uncertainty, he insisted, we were obligated to forge ahead.<\/p>\n