tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post2536261014335557369..comments2024-03-19T06:22:40.011-04:00Comments on The Philosopher's Stone: TAKING STOCKRobert Paul Wolffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-91542576823405290532017-03-20T12:38:16.089-04:002017-03-20T12:38:16.089-04:00RM,
As someone who used the term "England&qu...RM,<br /><br />As someone who used the term "England" above, I recognize my error. We've all learned not to use terms which offend diverse oppressed groups and we can also learn not to use terms which may offend residents of the various components of the United Kingdom. s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-29130618731955122012017-03-20T12:03:49.499-04:002017-03-20T12:03:49.499-04:00@LFC
Thanks for your understanding. And yes, I ag...<br />@LFC<br /><br />Thanks for your understanding. And yes, I agree that it's a very uphill battle, and probably an unwinnable one, to get people to recognize that England is not synonymous with Britain or the UK. It's an even more troubling uphill battle when the person to be persuaded is English, not American. Still, that it's not entirely an irrelevant battle is indicated in such pieces as this by Patrick Cockburn: <br />http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/03/20/brexit-nationalism-and-the-damage-done/RMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-76912188941072735012017-03-19T14:14:37.422-04:002017-03-19T14:14:37.422-04:00Jerry Fresia,
Thank you. I'll take a look ...Jerry Fresia,<br /><br />Thank you. I'll take a look at the link.s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-36409148469545801792017-03-19T12:57:31.917-04:002017-03-19T12:57:31.917-04:00s. wallerstein - I'm nearly your age and basic...s. wallerstein - I'm nearly your age and basically had the same turn-around for the same reason; however, there have been<br />many recent whistleblowers: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_whistleblowers and that list leaves out Thomas Drake, John Kiriakou, and a few other recent prominent types.<br /><br />Kate - MLK argued that protests, while not violent, must be "confrontational" so that the racism of police, for example, would be made visible while the cameras captured it all. General marches, for or against something, particularly when everyone is enjoying the protest and playing by the rules, while beneficial in some respects, is unlikely to make the invisibility of repression or hatred or war visible. The SCLC leadership were master strategists withr this kind of resistance.<br /><br />Also, many have argued that non-violent protests need to be disruptive - that they need to raise the costs of doing business - in order to get the establishment to pay attention. Sit down strikes or strikes generally accomplish this. The non-violent people in the anti-vietnam war movement were great tacticians in this regard, blocking trains carrying war supplies, disrupting major events like conventions. The Republicans, for example, moved their 1972 convention from San Diego to Miami for fear of disruption.<br />Jerry Fresiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17566575038825699112noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-55117894512347622332017-03-18T23:51:14.310-04:002017-03-18T23:51:14.310-04:00@RM
I'm an American and always make a point o...@RM<br /><br />I'm an American and always make a point of saying "Britain" when referring to Britain. However, the Britain/England conflation or whatever you want to call it is sufficiently common here, esp. in more informal contexts, that you're fighting an uphill battle.LFCnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-37708498162301379772017-03-18T19:56:58.598-04:002017-03-18T19:56:58.598-04:00Saw a relevant point made recently. Sorry not to f...Saw a relevant point made recently. Sorry not to footnote it -- I can't remember where I saw it unfortunately, but maybe one of you knows.<br /><br />Why did the huge world-wide demonstrations against the Iraq War have no effect? Explanation: in the age of social media, it's much easier to organize a large demonstration. The March on Washington in the 1960s took years to organize, and because so many people worked so hard to make it happen, it represented a much more formidable voting block. <br /><br />We need to strengthen the connection between demonstrations and votes. Here's hoping Jon Ossoff wins -- that would be an excellent start.<br /><br />KateKatenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-80084597950127057912017-03-18T17:25:16.781-04:002017-03-18T17:25:16.781-04:00In the seventies, we were politicized by the Viet ...In the seventies, we were politicized by the Viet Nam war and the draft. We scorned "The Establishment" and any adult associated with it. Growing our hair long wasn't just about fashion; it was meant to be form of rebellion. In fact, much of the way we acted and thought about ourselves and others was an extension of that rebellion. Of course, such rebellions generally don't last long. Nonetheless, for a time, it constituted a widespread youth movement.<br /><br />Today's students generally don't scorn "The Establishment." Indeed, they generally anticipate joining it. It isn't that they pose no challenges to the adults in their live. Rather, their politics tend to revolve around questions of self and identity. (The number of philosophy papers I recently received on just those topics is striking.) Where students are most likely to find fault with me is in my insufficient attention to using gender-neutral language. The election of Donald Trump has affected many of my students--particularly my Latino, black, feminist and LGBTQ+ students. They are in the process of learning how to build coalitions and forge solidarity among various interest groups. However, when it comes to effective political action, they have a long way to go. My former students who are in college and who keep in touch don't seem to have gotten much farther along in learning how to organize politically. They are really just getting started. Of course, there are exceptions: one of my former students was a TA for Robert Reich and another served as intern in the Obama administration. These students are deeply immersed in political activity. However, their experiences are atypical. What is more representative is the political frustration expressed recently by a former student at the U of W. She is impatient with the seeming apathy of so many of her colleagues.<br /><br />In the long run, we are real trouble if young people don't join us in much larger numbers. No resistance or revolutionary movement can succeed without the involvement of young people. For one thing, we need their energy. I'm too old to do what I once did. "Resistance fatigue" is something I experienced long before Trump came to power. Ludwig Richterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17145442092958521609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-42966974799282837352017-03-18T16:08:35.637-04:002017-03-18T16:08:35.637-04:00People were a lot more innocent in the 60's. ...People were a lot more innocent in the 60's. I turned 18 in 1964 and I really believed that the U.S. was the greatest country in the world, that the U.S. President didn't lie, that it was a government of the people, for the people, by the people, the land of the free and the home of the brave, that the U.S. acted abroad from noble motives to defend democracy and freedom, etc.<br /><br />Then came Viet Nam and I (and my peers) learned very quickly that the U.S. President lied and lied, that the U.S. was committing genocide (or something very similar) in Viet Nam, etc., etc. That disillusion plus the fear of being drafted for a war we didn't believe in made us very angry and militant. <br /><br />After Reagan, Bush 1, Clinton, Bush 2, and Obama, nobody in their right mind believes that the U.S. President never lies and nobody in their right mind really believes that it is a government of the people, for the people and by the people, given obvious corporate power. <br /><br />So since people have fewer illusions, there is not the shock of being disillusioned. Could we imagine a Daniel Ellsberg today? That is, a guy<br />with a top job in the U.S. government who is so shocked by what his country is doing that he risks a treason charge to reveal the Pentagon Papers? Even Snowden revealed what he did from a relatively safe distance.s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-15773505202515528682017-03-18T15:51:24.612-04:002017-03-18T15:51:24.612-04:00True, David, plus the youth vote did not exactly f...True, David, plus the youth vote did not exactly flock from Bernie to Hillary-still, look back to the outrage at the war in Iraq- huge demonstrations were sidestepped with agility- and were mere breath, making a noise but signifying nothing.<br />Something has changed with power in America and with society and so far I'm not up to figuring out just what has changed.<br />howie bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-76364527985188241602017-03-18T15:34:59.206-04:002017-03-18T15:34:59.206-04:00howie b,
I've been thinking along similar lin...howie b,<br /><br />I've been thinking along similar lines. One difference between now and the sixties is that we had the draft in the sixties. We've yet to see young people join the resistance in numbers comparable to that of the sixties' anti-war movement. Or so it seems to me.Ludwig Richterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17145442092958521609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-82438566814461764752017-03-18T14:37:41.769-04:002017-03-18T14:37:41.769-04:00As a little thought experiment, imagine a Trump Pr...As a little thought experiment, imagine a Trump Presidency in the sixties. The opposition would just overwhelm and boggle. Trump would be history.<br />What has changed in America, that he can last the first few rounds?<br />I am horrified by Trump, but hopefully he will be bogged down and his demise will be near. The Trump of my imagination was far worse than what we have had to endure, bad as it may be and I hope it's not a matter of the worst is yet to comehowie bnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-34510150638998770612017-03-18T13:44:22.357-04:002017-03-18T13:44:22.357-04:00I do wish Americans would learn--it's surely n...I do wish Americans would learn--it's surely not that difficult--to say "Britain" or "the UK" and not "England" when they are actually referring to "Britain" or "the UK." Should you be referring to something that is more narrowly English rather than British, "England" is OK. But otherwise not.<br /><br />Admittedly, what was created in 1707 and extended in 1801 seems to be on its last legs. And admittedly, unless, like me, you happen to be Scottish, or Welsh, or--a more complicated case--Irish, you probably won't appreciate just how irksome it is to be regularly marginalised in this way. But every time any one of you bemoans the rise of nationalism in contemporary Europe, you ought to know that it owes something, at least in its British manifestation, to just this seemingly trivial sort of thing. (You might also like to try to figure out just how much Trump is the way he is because his mother was a Scottish maid servant.)RMnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-45239382727586992892017-03-18T13:33:18.219-04:002017-03-18T13:33:18.219-04:00"nor has he (or anyone else in this blog actu..."nor has he (or anyone else in this blog actually) ever claimed that the U.S. should weaken their ties to England and France in order to strengthen their relations with Putin's Russia."<br /><br />Thank you Wallerstein!<br /><br />Chomsky - per usual - has a sophisticated take on the Russia Trump geopolitical relationship:<br /><br />http://www.counterpunch.org/2017/03/03/most-of-the-world-is-just-collapsing-in-laughter-on-claims-that-russia-intervened-in-the-us-election-an-interview-with-noam-chomsky/<br /><br />Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08250295324149056708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-36036401205933910392017-03-18T12:42:25.152-04:002017-03-18T12:42:25.152-04:00While I don't necessarily agree with everythin...While I don't necessarily agree with everything Chris says about Trump's ties to Russia being exaggerated in the liberal media, what he says is worthy of consideration and Chris, at least, doesn't yell nor has he (or anyone else in this blog actually) ever claimed that the U.S. should weaken their ties to England and France in order to strengthen their relations with Putin's Russia.s. wallersteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17448905469871566228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-88722492418644929792017-03-18T12:27:59.384-04:002017-03-18T12:27:59.384-04:00Edit: and total strawman.
I don't understand ...Edit: and total strawman.<br /><br />I don't understand why whenever I and others disagree our position is instantly maligned and then rendered no longer worthy of the dialogue this blog engages in. It's in essence a silencing effect without due consideration :(Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08250295324149056708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-13985460625144411642017-03-18T12:11:29.101-04:002017-03-18T12:11:29.101-04:00Obscenely loaded disjunctive below:
A number of c...Obscenely loaded disjunctive below:<br /><br />A number of commenters on this blog seem simultaneously dubious about Trump’s link to the Russians and sanguine about his apparent desire to exchange the European Alliance for an American-Russian world duopoly. I confess myself to be rather puzzled by these attitudes, but I am weary of arguing the matter, inasmuch as neither we nor our fellow activists on the left can do much at all to affect Trump’s behavior in this regard. Someday, someone will explain to me, without yelling at me, why Trump chose just one clause in a Republican Platform in which he showed absolutely no interest, that concerning Ukraine, to have his campaign representatives change. Those same folks will also, I am sure, explain why we should weaken our ties to England and France in order to strengthen our relations with a failed kleptocracy propped up by oil. But there is no point in dwelling on the matter because, as I say, we can do virtually nothing about it so long as Trump is president.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08250295324149056708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-6856195984508652572017-03-18T12:10:33.600-04:002017-03-18T12:10:33.600-04:00Quite true. For a long time, it appeared that the...Quite true. For a long time, it appeared that the spread of nuclear weapons had slowed or almost stopped. Now, who knows? How ironic, that I began my career as a public intellectual almost sixty years ago inveighing against nuclear weapons, and now, near the end of a long life, I am compelled to do so once more.Robert Paul Wolffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11970360952872431856noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5687347459208158501.post-40440644004895061412017-03-18T11:55:13.998-04:002017-03-18T11:55:13.998-04:00I too worry about what he will do about North Kore...I too worry about what he will do about North Korean nuclear weapons--and I also worry about what North Korea will do with them. A third world war could start right there.<br /><br />Assuming, however, that we somehow survive that specific problem, I worry further that Trump’s statements, both in the campaign and since, will hasten the spread of nuclear weapons. Not only his statements that Japan and Korea should have nuclear weapons of their own, but also his statements about NATO being obsolete. That could lead Germany to develop weapons of its own.<br /><br />What Trump has done--and what Americans have done by electing him--is plant the seed of doubt in countries that have no nuclear weapons--doubt that we will have their backs in a crisis. Our assurances that they could rely on us, and don’t need nuclear weapons under their own control, are probably unbelievable at this point. It’s not just Trump who is responsible for this, but also the people who voted for him-- and in doing so demonstrated that the American electorate it is capable of putting someone like that in the White House. Not just this time, but in the future as well.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01601151117159492920noreply@blogger.com