New Directions 2006 Conference Highlight Tariq Ali

Photo: Ionic column, Bardo Museum, Tunis

Among the most impressive speakers at New Directions in the Humanities 2006 was Tariq Ali. As a presenter, he struck me as thoughtful and incredibly well-informed about world affairs. He also injected a little humour into the solemn and serious academic atmosphere.

Who is he? The people at the conference wanted to know too, and in the question period after his talk, the following conversation took place between Ali and his audience:

Audience Member: "Are you a Marxist?"

Ali: "No, but sometimes I feel Marxish."

Audience member: "Are you a Trotskyist?"

Ali: "No, I used to be a Trotskyist when I was young, but I am not a Trotskyist. Still, sometimes I do feel Trotskyish."

Another audience member, after vocally disagreeing on Ali's comments about the Israelis and Palestinians, asked him if he made money going to conferences.

"No," Ali replied. "I am not an academic. I have no affiliation with any university. I am an author. I make money from the several books I have published." He writes fiction as well as non-fiction.

At the time, I believe he was also editing the London-based New Left Review. Now he is blogging about Pakistani politicians who holiday while the country is devastated by floods.

Ali is that rare breed, a public intellectual. He travels the world talking about what might possibly be done about the myriad problems we face.

People invite him to attend conferences, for which he usually does not get paid. He had been invited to the New Directions Conference three times, and this was the first time he was able to attend. I was glad I was there when he was. Definitely, a speaker worth hearing.