rodshaw
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ParamjeetWhat happened to the questions? Just when I thought you were taking an interest in what we're saying on this website, about common ownership of the world's resources, you post yet another example of your own decidedly non-socialist agenda.Your 'Law and Justice' manifesto says nothing about the class-based nature of capitalist society and proposes no alternative to the capitalist system. That's what this website is about – the abolition of capitalism, and along with it all of its legal system, which is essentially about property and exists to enforce rule by a minority elite. What do you think of that, or aren't you going to tell us?
Meanwhile, in the film industry, Penelope Cruz and her husband are being accused of anti-semitism for denouncing the Israeli actions.
We should get t-shirts made with that on incorporating the names of all the major political parties. Might win us more converts than actually arguing our case!
I'll have to fish out my dad's copy and give it another read too.It makes me hark back to the 70s and to the then newly formed West Yorkshire branch. I had just become a socialist and Robert Barltrop came to Bradford to speak at one of our first meetings. Harry Young, who we are told is the chap on the cover, also came up north on a separate occasion and stayed over at our house.
Some good stuff there.At one point Christina makes the point that evolution has led to human brains that are capable of amazement, and are inclined to be amazed at the complexity of life. Or as Dawkins put it, we look at the world through purpose-coloured spectacles.Playing devil's advocate though, a believer in God might say that the human brain is not developed enough to appreciate God's role in the whole affair (a variation on the theme 'God moves in mysterious ways').I also think that arguments pointing to the lack of evidence of a god are beside the point – believers don't need evidence, they have their belief.
Hi ParamjeetI'm glad to see you've started asking us questions. Keep them coming – and in case you've missed it, here's a link to our FAQ page, which may answer some of them (and, hopefully, lead to more).http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/faq
ParamjeetYou're not telling us much about what you think of the socialist point of view as set out on this website.Maybe you should take a bit of time out to study what we're saying and then ask questions. Simply making your own lengthy assertions, saying thanks for the comments, then opening another thread and doing the same again doesn't give me any idea how far you've got in understanding the case for real socialism: a classless, moneyless, leaderless, worldwide society based on common ownership of the world's resources.It's got nothing to do with greedy people, or with 'good' or 'bad' people in government. We don't need governments.What do you think about that?
For 'socialism' read 'state capitalism' and it could be true for all we know. It isn't anti-socialist in our terms, and I'm sure we wouldn't want to be defending the regimes the article calls socialist. Nevertheless, we're bound to get tarred by the same brush.
Vin Maratty wrote:Children Exposed To Religion Have Difficulty Distinguishing Fact From Fiction, Study Finds http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/21/children-religion-fact-fiction_n_5607009.html At least most of them turn into adults who can distinguish fact from fiction. With the exception of their religious beliefs, of course. Amazing how many people can suspend their disbelief on a Sunday.If you look at the Gallup data though, at least the percentage of non-believers in the US is gradually growing, though it's only at 15%.
The western countries who voted for the allocation of the 2018 football world cup to Russia will probably be keeping very quiet about it for a while. By then, I suspect it will all be business as usual.
Vin Maratty wrote:The party would have a lot more appeal if it spent more time attacking the actions of Tories and LibDems.And how exactly does attacking any party for its alleged paedophile activities further the cause of socialism?
As a movement we have nothing to gain by attacking child abusers and sleaze per se. The line we should take is that a sick society breeds sick people, and so on.Even if everybody in and associated with the government and all political parties were squeaky clean, were that possible, it wouldn't change our position one jot.
The contemporary state of affairs and overall scenario you refer to are a direct result of class monopoly. Either you are part of the rich elite who own and control, or you are part of the vast majority who don't. This is the reality that pervades just about all aspects of our everyday lives. The "class struggle" encompasses the conflicts which arise through this basic division – to put it crudely, the haves versus the have-nots.The solution is not to chip away piecemeal at the inequalities this class division engenders, and then move on the next "good cause", in the belief that this is practical socialism. At best, all such activity can do is to slow the encroachments of capitalism onto our living standards. It generally fails miserably. As do attempts to foster love, peace and other things which matter without seeing the broader picture.Socialism should certainly not be limited to thoretical discussion. But because the number of real socialists in the world is at present tiny, the practical things to be doing all concern education and propaganda with the aim of spreading socialist ideas.
Looks as if the poor bloke in the photo you posted could do with a few of the material comforts of life you seem to be decrying.I think you are confusing materialism with commercialism, the world of the market and the brand, where side by side with the message "look at all these nice goodies" is the message "can't pay, can't have".We don't need a system to curb materialism. We need to abolish the class division which allows a small minority to own and control the world's wealth to the exclusion of the majority. The world's resources need to be held in common. Then there will be no rich, no poor and nobody worshipping the brand.
