Sadism and Science

I found it interesting that O’donnel tied the brutality and excesses of repression under the junta in Argentina to the process of modernity. As John pointed out in our last class, many point to the prominence of modernity as an explanation of the mechanized brutality of the Argentinian junta. He notes that it is “the professionalisaiton of the amred forces” that leads the military to “see itself as the only secotr that has been able to provide a solution to [the nation’s] problems”. It is an interesting idea that as civil society, government, and the economic engines oif developing countries stumble in their pursuit of Western rationalistic institutional consolidation, it is the military, now having fully internalized the rationalistic and modernist ideal through it’s own process of professionalisation, that takes it upon itself to manage the modernizing “project” of the nation. One could liken this to the fascist experience in Europe, or the Communist experience in either Russia or China. In all of these cases, a “modern”, “professional” organization, namely the Party, attempts to account for the failing of the social structures in which it is situated by forcing upon the nation a rationalistic, “scientific” management style meant to drag the archaic instutions of the nation into the modern era.

Mussolini made his bones by running the trains on time. Hitler by ending internal political and economic chaos with a totalizing, rationalistic management – society as machine. Stalin produced the 5 year plan and both China and Russia forceably transformed a rural society based on small peasant agriculture into raitonalised, “modern” collectives and cooperatives that would produce growth through mechanized, scientific agriculture.

What is interesting in this argument is the implication that the instruments of terror in these societies and the modern “project” are mutually constituted. In the excerpts from Nunca Mas, the descriptions of torture iullustrate to what extent the abuses were both producers and products of the rational, scientific ideology of modernity. Sadism becomes science, and transcends emotion motiviation. The military uses pseudo-scientific jargon in it’s interrogation that the accused cannot decipher. A doctor is on hand to direct the interrogators – torture is science. Moreover, the electric prod is called a “scalpel”. Note two things here. Firstly, a scalpel implies precision, professionalisation – this is not the work of emotionally charged sadists but rather cool-headed, trainded professionals carrying out their task. Secondly, all of the torture that involves electrocution involves high technology – specialized, scientific instruments rationally designed for a specific task.

It does, however, provide me with releif that nothing like this could happen in 2006. I mean, at least we learned our lesson right?

War is Peace.

Freedom is strength.

Ignorance is slavery.

Sadism is science.

Love

Bob J. Neubauer

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