alanjjohnstone
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A useful essay on the fact that even sustainable, renewable alternatives have their downside.
“In this, as in other matters, there is always a “Golden Mean” ”
New to the expression. I assume it is related to the Buddhist “Middle Way”
Black Bloc anarchists infiltrated a peaceful climate change march in Paris on Saturday, smashing shop and business
I think we have made it clear that the so-called Black Bloc talks for no-one but themselves and many of them don’t even listen to eachother. My first direct encounter was in 2005 during the Make Poverty History Edinburgh march and then I said they were more intent upon making a fashion statement than any political statement.
How does your family choose what’s for dinner, Lbird? I’m sure a form of democracy , of give and take, of compromise, is practiced. But as Matt says is it politics?
Although it won’t ultimately change anything, certainly not in shifting governments and corporations, the numbers have been nevertheless impressive.
Not seen any reports of large scale walk-outs from workplaces but the school-students were out in large numbers around the world.
And it is to continue. Not a one-day token event but the start of a series of protests and demonstrations.
“you seem to think they’ll be very similar, if not even identical. I doubt that.”
LBird, from my perspective it is you who appear to be replicating the present form of universities in socialism. And the power structures of capitalism.
“That’s what power is all about.”
Might is not Right
“We are having some revealing political statements today, aren’t we?!”
Yup, your authoritarianism has become very apparent 😛
I thought I was discussing the situation in socialism, not what we have today, or the means to achieve it. I was speculating on future society, LBird
And in socialism there will not be the removal of position for teaching “heresies” or a minority opinion because they might be unpopular as signaled by some sort of vote by the students.
Call it what you will, but Marx vigourously defended freedom of expression, even for the bourgeois press.
“If we refuse to use the terms ‘proletariat’ or ‘workers’ within this society, then we lose sight of the exploitative nature of our class society. But clearly the ‘proletariat’ or ‘workers’ literally forms the basis of the ‘social producers’ within socialism. The ‘proletariat’ or ‘workers’ are the creators of ‘democratic socialism’.”
Two words I dislike —proletariat and bourgeoisie.
I understand your case that they are political and economic terms which describe clearly the class nature of capitalism. But I know from experience that their usage immediately puts the listener off.
I now tend to talk of “the people” (my hippie Citizen Smith days of “Power to the People”) or “working people” and I acknowledge that those also possess inadequacies. 1% and the 99%, I have used sometimes. I never really found the right word that attracts or appeals to me.
It seems describing our enemy, the capitalist class, provides us with a rich variety of synonyms that are easily understood as who we are talking about and they are as vague as “the few” to their function – “investor” class.
“Again, for example, to me, democratic education would mean the election of ‘teachers’, so if the ‘students’ disagreed with their ‘teacher’, the ‘teacher’ would/could be removed. This political method would apply just as much to ‘science’ – if the ‘student’ majority disagree with the ‘physics’ being taught by the ‘physicist’, then the ‘physicist’ would/could be removed.”
No, not at all. Just which body would have the authority to do so?
The freedom will be that the student can stop attending the lessons and lectures, if she or he, desires without facing any disadvantage like losing out in some sort of certificate/degree of accomplishment.
There will be, I imagine, alternatives tutors available.
Will there be even elections? Perhaps not. Those who believe they have the relevant knowledge and experience that can be passed on to others will freely offer themselves and facilities will be made available for them, class-rooms or whatever although that might be old fashioned in the future days of online learning and Skype presentations. Voting for your preferred professor (if that term still exists) will be with our feet i.e. attending or non-attending. An unpopular teacher will not be punished by removal of any right to express his or her views and opinions. They might however be ignored.
Again we only speculate and whatever differences we hold are comradely disagreements.
I think the intent of Bijou, although I hesitate to speak for him but it offers me an opening to lay out my vision, is that the term working class, will no longer be an accurate one for socialism has become a class-free society.
Workers have become just people and the word has no other political or economic meaning.
Will we refer to someone who labours as workers, i’m not sure we will. Identifying a person by the type of contribution made to society I think will disappear although others will disagree and say we will continue to distinguish individuals from their function in society. A fair debate among comrades speculating about something we will not know exactly.
A workers’ council will be as Marx describes a few times in different languages and perhaps in a broader context to depict socialism, a producers’ association, and these workplaces will no longer be separate and distinct from the communities they are located within nor from other workplaces. That’s why I believe the democracy practiced will be much wider than that proposed by syndicalism/industrial unionism.
As a non-member of that cooperative I will bow to the direct experience and knowledge of those who working in it concerning various aspects of the work-process but as a member of the commune, decisions such as required infrastructure, I will have some say in the proceedings. Today it exists early at the planning stage consultations but I suggest that this input from the commune member will continue in one shape or another. As town and country separation disappears with re-designed non-urban living (city farms?) so will other divisions.
New Democrat Coalition – Who is financing it? Corporations and CEOs, of course.
https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pac2pac.php?cycle=2020&cmte=C00409730
https://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/pacgave2.php?cycle=2020&cmte=C00409730
Still, Mike, just investigating the ins and outs of contracting a commercial business to clean HO (and I also assume that if it does happen it will necessitate a member supervising the operation as it takes place to direct it so nothing vital is disturbed and just for general security too) will mean a member not being involved in much more worthy activities on behalf of the party.
We had Bijou’s alternative on the table that can be easily adapted and it kills two birds with one stone by promoting comradeship, as other parts of the EC minutes appear to draw attention to some acrimony existing among members.
But as always, ideas expressed on this forum never seem to reach the notice of the EC’s AOB.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-49752770
XR protesters have blocked three entrances to one of the biggest oil refineries in Europe, the Valero site in Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, early on Thursday morning.
Democrat politicians called the New Democrat Coalition have released an 11-page strategy to counter climate change with a list of bills to back them up, advocating for incremental and “pro-market” steps to cut pollution.
They want to set a clean energy standard, encourage nuclear power and clean up methane leaks from oil and gas companies. They say they want to get carbon pollution to net-zero by 2050
“All I am saying is we need to be careful about how we phrase our ideas so as to avoid any misunderstanding”
At one time there was a term to reflect our ideas clearly – “social democracy” and it is sad that it has gone the way of so much of the language of revolution – co-opted and changed to mean something else
