Happy Warrior

THE other day, Jean Baudrillard, the leading French postmodern social theorist, died-if, indeed, death is a concept he deigns to recognize. And yes, I blush to use the words “leading French postmodern social theorist” in NATIONAL REVIEW. But oddly enough I’ve warmed up to the old poseur. M. Baudrillard was celebrated for the theory that man today can no longer distinguish reality. He exists instead in a hyper-reality of “simulacra” created by the media.

This line turned out to be a goldmine for him, and he made some serious money out of it. Real money, that is. Baudrillard published a book called The Gulf War Did Not Take Place, which argued just that. Rather, he wrote, what happened in 1991 was that a simulacrum of a war had been staged on CNN. This was easy to mock at the time, and a lot of folks did. Just because a French intellectual suffering from fin-de-civilisation ennui is an easy target is no reason not to load up the rotten fruit. Yet, in fact, M. Baudrillard’s thesis holds up a lot better a decade and a half later than most.

About the Author

Mark Steyn

Mark Steyn is an international bestselling author, a Top 41 recording artist, and a leading Canadian human-rights activist.

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THE other day, Jean Baudrillard, the leading French postmodern social theorist, died-if, indeed, death is a concept he deigns to recognize. And yes, I blush to use the words “leading French postmodern social theorist” in NATIONAL REVIEW. But oddly enough I’ve warmed up to the old poseur. M. Baudrillard was celebrated for the theory that man today can no longer distinguish reality. He exists instead in a hyper-reality of “simulacra” created by the media.

This line turned out to be a goldmine for him, and he made some serious money out of it. Real money, that is. Baudrillard published a book called The Gulf War Did Not Take Place, which argued just that. Rather, he wrote, what happened in 1991 was that a simulacrum of a war had been staged on CNN. This was easy to mock at the time, and a lot of folks did. Just because a French intellectual suffering from fin-de-civilisation ennui is an easy target is no reason not to load up the rotten fruit. Yet, in fact, M. Baudrillard’s thesis holds up a lot better a decade and a half later than most.