Wednesday, March 18, 2020

LET'S ALL TAKE A DEEP BREATH

My last posts seem to have struck a nerve.  Let me suggest that everyone take a few minutes to read my paper, "The Future of Socialism," and then we will see whether we can have a quiet conversation about the ideas laid out in it.  Meanwhile, stay safe.  Things are going to get a great deal worse before they get  better.
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13 comments:

  1. AnonymousMarch 18, 2020 at 9:26 PM

    For some strange reason -- I'm a strange fellow, I suppose -- I'm reminded of a scene in Michael Radford's Nineteen Eighty-Four, starring John Hurst in the role of Winston Smith.

    Here's a still from that scene, for those who didn't watch the movie:
    https://www.intellectualtakeout.org/sites/ito/files/two_minutes_hate.jpg

    And here's the short sequence:
    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087803/

    Imagine someone from the public suddenly stands up during that scene. "Maybe Goldstein is really a terrible bastard and deserves all the abuse we heap on him but, geez, he looks like a harmless, actually maybe even nice, old man," this person says.

    How do you guys think the public would have reacted?

    I submit the reaction to RPW's last post is not unlike what would have happened.

    It was pretty much the same reaction to Bernie Sanders'

    “We are very opposed to the authoritarian nature of Cuba. But, you know, it’s unfair to simply say, ‘Everything is bad.’ When Fidel Castro came into office, you know what he did? He had a massive literacy program. Is that a bad thing, even though Fidel Castro did it?”

    To put things differently, Pavlov's dogs salivated even when no food was forthcoming. The mere sound was enough.

    You see my point, don't you?

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  2. Jerry BrownMarch 18, 2020 at 10:29 PM

    Well everybody's nerves are somewhat frayed by this thing. So they are easy to strike. And the realization that it will get worse before it gets better is not very comforting although true I think. I think I'm going to volunteer here at the hospital- maybe there is something I can do especially if a lot of them get sick. I guess we will find out.

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  3. F LengyelMarch 18, 2020 at 11:09 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. Jerry BrownMarch 19, 2020 at 12:05 AM

    Well I have applied to apply to be a volunteer now. Nothing is easy

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  5. F LengyelMarch 19, 2020 at 6:31 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  6. F LengyelMarch 19, 2020 at 6:35 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  7. David PalmeterMarch 19, 2020 at 7:08 AM

    Where on the website can I find the paper? It doesn't appear to be listed or in the archived materials.

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  8. s. wallersteinMarch 19, 2020 at 8:41 AM

    Jerry Brown,

    That is very commendable. I myself wouldn't do that in a situation of pandemic.

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  9. Robert Paul WolffMarch 19, 2020 at 9:53 AM

    David, it is on page three of the archived materials. Let me know if you have trouble locating it

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  10. David PalmeterMarch 19, 2020 at 11:40 AM

    Found it. Thanks.

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  11. jgkess@cfl.rr.comMarch 19, 2020 at 7:06 PM

    Here in Orlando, a tourist town, things are looking rather bleak. One might look forward to our Prof.'s next book, "Anarchy at Disney World". "The Future of Socialism", surely will have its time.

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  12. Jerry FresiaMarch 20, 2020 at 6:38 AM

    Thomas Piketty enters the US political fray!!

    Great article by Piketty on Bernie, going forward:

    https://www.jacobinmag.com/2020/03/thomas-piketty-bernie-sanders-voting-democracy

    ReplyDelete
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