Dec 29, 2004
I Love The Zeroes
Slate's Timothy Noah points out that with the mid-point of the decade approaching, there is no consensus short-hand term to describe the years 2000-2009. I think that he is mostly trying to be helpful to the good folks at VH1 rather than the social scientists that he mentions in his article. Kevin Drum replied with a non-sequitor about how long a"decade" really is? The 30s, it appears, lasted a long while.
A good point considering how often us academics have used the"The Long .... Century" device - like, my fav., Frank O' Gorman's The Long Eighteenth Century: British Political and Social History or David Blackbourn's The Long Nineteenth Century: A History of Germany, 1780-1918 or, most recently, Giovanni Arrighi's The Long Twentieth Century: Money, Power, and the Origins of Our Times. Arrighi starts somewhere in the 16th c. if I remember correctly. I would argue that the twentieth century is far from over and may occupy us for another decade or so.
But, back to Timothy Noah's question. To accomodate TV graphic artists and hip commentators, I would like to put forth the Zeroes for this decade of death and destruction. The nihilists can claim Less than the Zeroes.
A good point considering how often us academics have used the"The Long .... Century" device - like, my fav., Frank O' Gorman's The Long Eighteenth Century: British Political and Social History or David Blackbourn's The Long Nineteenth Century: A History of Germany, 1780-1918 or, most recently, Giovanni Arrighi's The Long Twentieth Century: Money, Power, and the Origins of Our Times. Arrighi starts somewhere in the 16th c. if I remember correctly. I would argue that the twentieth century is far from over and may occupy us for another decade or so.
But, back to Timothy Noah's question. To accomodate TV graphic artists and hip commentators, I would like to put forth the Zeroes for this decade of death and destruction. The nihilists can claim Less than the Zeroes.