alanjjohnstone
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A well written and well presented leaflet. Authors of the text and lay-out artists of the design to be congratulated. I wish the branch and their supporters and sympathises the best for Saturday and for their public meeting
So for 10,000 quid we get our message delivered ….more or less guaranteed this time that they won't be dumped too …at a guess 5 million people…someone can correct me on that number…That sounds a reasonable proposition economically. So it will all be down to the quality of the text our manifesto then…how many words and how many pictures are permitted?..I think we should gamble and be very adventurous and innovatve…not our usual dry language …how else can we get people to read it when a dozen or more will be alongside to distract from it…peoples eyes will blur over unless we have something that stands out and the media may well over-look a dull worded statement from a minority party as uninterestingAre we going to be an improved logo on the voting paper or run with the one the electoral commission imposed upon us? Is that in hand?
As i said the rich and wealthy individuals and corporations are aghast at the attack upon them by the head of the Catholic Church and they now claim to speak for the poor and are shedding crocodile tars for those in poverty (and revealing a bit of truth about capitalism in the process) Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray told FOX Business Network’s “There are 7 billion people on this planet, one half of them live in energy poverty. That means they don’t have the electricity. In India for instance, they don’t have the electricity for one light bulb in … half of the homes. This Pope, to go out on a speculative subject such as global warming, he is condemning many more of these billions of people to energy poverty … He is misguided… If you don’t have a market you can’t mine the coal, you can’t sell it. This is heart-rendering to me,” he said.”http://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/2015/06/18/ceo-says-popes-epa-views-will-condemn-people-to-poverty/
The issue of small farmers has often been raised by people like Vandana Shiva who raise the fact that it is they who produce most of the food and not the industrial scale agricultural conglomorates yet never free themselves from debt. We too have addressed this problem long ago in the SPC 'Slave of the Farm' article when we too sympathised with small farmers and offered explanations and solutions to their poverty. We could well do with updating such articles if we are to make inroads into the developing world as socialists. I recall that many members who are vocal in our materialism say that religious peiple can indeed be socialists but just not Socialist Party members and these people are free to set up their own organisation. Hopefully there will be elements unable to free themselves from the chains of religion who may well take lessons from this Pope's stance on economic equality, social justice and environmentalism and begin the journey towards socialism. He has created the atmosphere…(i almost added "and the spirit") for debate and discussion, something people such as Russel Brand not so long ago was being 'praised' for.Shouldn't we acknowledge where we agree with others but importantly highlight where we are in opposition and why that is. Only way i know is actually engaging with people and getting our case heard so it can be evaluated by people.
You didn't think i was not going to draw attention to the Pope's environmental declaration did youCan be read in full herehttp://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.htmlAlready those capitalists professing the Catholic faith are panicking and distancing themselves from the Pope's message…accusing him of over-reaching his religious authority on this issue. It is a powerful condemnation of the status quo and many Greens will welcome what he says. It is lengthy so i merely highlighted bits and pieces that struck me that we could express ourselves…Some statements we certainly cannot applaud such as this "Business is a noble vocation, directed to producing wealth and improving our world. It can be a fruitful source of prosperity for the areas in which it operates, especially if it sees the creation of jobs as an essential part of its service to the common good." "….There is also the fact that people no longer seem to believe in a happy future; they no longer have blind trust in a better tomorrow based on the present state of the world and our technical abilities. There is a growing awareness that scientific and technological progress cannot be equated with the progress of humanity and history, a growing sense that the way to a better future lies elsewhere. This is not to reject the possibilities which technology continues to offer us. But humanity has changed profoundly, and the accumulation of constant novelties exalts a superficiality which pulls us in one direction. It becomes difficult to pause and recover depth in life. If architecture reflects the spirit of an age, our megastructures and drab apartment blocks express the spirit of globalized technology, where a constant flood of new products coexists with a tedious monotony. Let us refuse to resign ourselves to this, and continue to wonder about the purpose and meaning of everything. Otherwise we would simply legitimate the present situation and need new forms of escapism to help us endure the emptiness….…Doomsday predictions can no longer be met with irony or disdain. We may well be leaving to coming generations debris, desolation and filth. The pace of consumption, waste and environmental change has so stretched the planet’s capacity that our contemporary lifestyle, unsustainable as it is, can only precipitate catastrophes, such as those which even now periodically occur in different areas of the world. The effects of the present imbalance can only be reduced by our decisive action, here and now. We need to reflect on our accountability before those who will have to endure the dire consequences….We are convinced that “man is the source, the focus and the aim of all economic and social life”… Work is a necessity, part of the meaning of life on this earth, a path to growth, human development and personal fulfilment….Nature cannot be regarded as something separate from ourselves or as a mere setting in which we live. We are part of nature, included in it and thus in constant interaction with it…Human ecology is inseparable from the notion of the common good, a central and unifying principle of social ethics. The common good is “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfilment”The earth’s resources are also being plundered because of short-sighted approaches to the economy, commerce and production…It is remarkable how weak international political responses have been. The failure of global summits on the environment make it plain that our politics are subject to technology and finance. There are too many special interests, and economic interests easily end up trumping the common good and manipulating information so that their own plans will not be affected…The alliance between the economy and technology ends up sidelining anything unrelated to its immediate interests. Consequently the most one can expect is superficial rhetoric, sporadic acts of philanthropy and perfunctory expressions of concern for the environment, whereas any genuine attempt by groups within society to introduce change is viewed as a nuisance based on romantic illusions or an obstacle to be circumvented… A simple example is the increasing use and power of air-conditioning. The markets, which immediately benefit from sales, stimulate ever greater demand. An outsider looking at our world would be amazed at such behaviour, which at times appears self-destructive. In the meantime, economic powers continue to justify the current global system where priority tends to be given to speculation and the pursuit of financial gain…….Each community can take from the bounty of the earth whatever it needs for subsistence, but it also has the duty to protect the earth and to ensure its fruitfulness for coming generations….The Christian tradition has never recognized the right to private property as absolute or inviolable, and has stressed the social purpose of all forms of private property. Saint John Paul II forcefully reaffirmed this teaching, stating that “God gave the earth to the whole human race for the sustenance of all its members, without excluding or favouring anyone” ….The natural environment is a collective good, the patrimony of all humanity and the responsibility of everyone. If we make something our own, it is only to administer it for the good of all. If we do not, we burden our consciences with the weight of having denied the existence of others….….To seek only a technical remedy to each environmental problem which comes up is to separate what is in reality interconnected and to mask the true and deepest problems of the global system. Yet we can once more broaden our vision. We have the freedom needed to limit and direct technology; we can put it at the service of another type of progress, one which is healthier, more human, more social, more integral. Liberation from the dominant technocratic paradigm does in fact happen sometimes, for example, when cooperatives of small producers adopt less polluting means of production, and opt for a non-consumerist model of life, recreation and community. Or when technology is directed primarily to resolving people’s concrete problems, truly helping them live with more dignity and less suffering…. ….It is difficult to make a general judgement about genetic modification (GM), whether vegetable or animal, medical or agricultural, since these vary greatly among themselves and call for specific considerations. The risks involved are not always due to the techniques used, but rather to their improper or excessive application. Genetic mutations, in fact, have often been, and continue to be, caused by nature itself. Nor are mutations caused by human intervention a modern phenomenon. The domestication of animals, the crossbreeding of species and other older and universally accepted practices can be mentioned as examples. We need but recall that scientific developments in GM cereals began with the observation of natural bacteria which spontaneously modified plant genomes. In nature, however, this process is slow and cannot be compared to the fast pace induced by contemporary technological advances, even when the latter build upon several centuries of scientific progress. Although no conclusive proof exists that GM cereals may be harmful to human beings, and in some regions their use has brought about economic growth which has helped to resolve problems, there remain a number of significant difficulties which should not be underestimated. In many places, following the introduction of these crops, productive land is concentrated in the hands of a few owners due to “the progressive disappearance of small producers, who, as a consequence of the loss of the exploited lands, are obliged to withdraw from direct production”. The most vulnerable of these become temporary labourers, and many rural workers end up moving to poverty-stricken urban areas. The expansion of these crops has the effect of destroying the complex network of ecosystems, diminishing the diversity of production and affecting regional economies, now and in the future. In various countries, we see an expansion of oligopolies for the production of cereals and other products needed for their cultivation. This dependency would be aggravated were the production of infertile seeds to be considered; the effect would be to force farmers to purchase them from larger producers…."I'll draw a halt there for now
If he does become president of th US, i envisage an American military attack by SEALS on the off-shore wind-energy farm that blights the views from his golf course and hotel in Scotland which he has been most vigourous in opposing. Even with his wealth, he will not be able to buy the presidency…Clinton has amassed $2.5 billion and that is to just acquire the Democrat Party nomination.
BTW, was there any conclusions reached or common ground apparent from the reasons offered by the visitors for their attendance?I like the idea that we ourselves also get answers from our meetings.
Well done to all involved. More results like this and, you never know, my optimism for the future, may well be restored.Keep the momentum up, comrades
Rather long but the conclusions are worth ithttp://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/how-to-overthrow-the-illuminati/
Another story of related interest.Almost 40% of Australian jobs that exist today could disappear in the next 10 to 15 years thanks to advances in digital technology. In some parts of rural and regional Australia more than 60% of jobs could be lost.http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-33160688
I do know his views on this, DJP, but i like to offer him an opportunity to reiterate them and hopefully expand upon those points, particularly since the meeting is being videoed for a wider audience and i anticipate will get linked to on those 'radical' websites i referred to to rebut 'Mondragon worshippers'.So my request still stands for the chair to pose my question…….on the understanding that he has not pre-empted it and given a substantive comment in his talk already….that would be repetitious and superflous….I'm also sure he will be asked again about his economic analysis of crisis theory too at the meeting. There is no harm in asking someone to go over his or her core ideas again. They often come up with other ways of expressing their answers.
I made the suggestion previously that the person who chairs the meeting takes some online questions to ask Andrew Kliman for the Q and A …Has this been raised and taken aboard at all by the organisers of the meeting and what will be the arrangements made to take such questions? I am particularly interested in his views on the "new economics" of Wolff and Alpervitz and their advocacy of co-operatives and 'public' ownership so if the chair has the opportunity and Andrew has not addressed the issue in his talk …perhaps in a lull the chair can ask Andrew on my behalf What specifically do you consider the weakness to be of the proposals of those two economists, Richard Wolff and Gar Alpervitz who are receiving a lot of attention on the so-called progressive websites. Can they be treated as similar manifestations of a 21st C utopianism similar to the Proudhonists and other mutualists of the 19th C? How vehement should our critisms of them be?……(three in one)
For those who are following this thread and may have missed it, AlJazeera article. Quite lengthy but here is a couple of snippetshttp://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/06/robotics-revolution-rocks-chinese-textile-workers-150614073735531.html
Quote:In Guangdong, a province on the South China Sea coast, the government plans to invest the equivalent of about $154bn to introduce robotics in manufacturing production. Guangzhou, the capital of the province, has set a goal to automate 80 percent of its manufacturing production by 2020.Further north in Zhejiang province – one of China's largest textile hubs – the government has invested about $3.9bn in 661 technology-upgrade projects, of which $2.4bn is earmarked for the textile sector, according to state media.In Lanxi city, a pilot scheme was launched requiring 70 local textile enterprises to carry out mechanical upgrades by the end of the year, which is expected to save about $69m per year in efficiency and labour costs. Plans to launch similar programmes in Jiangsu and areas of the Pearl River Delta are also in the pipeline.A new digital printer, which prints 30-metre lengths of cloth in one minute, took four years to develop at a cost of $500,000… it has reduced the workload of eight people down to three, and will pay back the cost of investment in about eight months.""From the perspective of a company, per capita productivity is the priority. The less labour, the higher productivity. Employment or unemployment is not the priority," said Wang. Source: Al Jazeera
