Thomas_More

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  • in reply to: Anti-Zionism is not anti-semitic #251612
    Thomas_More
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    But these elements of the superstructure do not force states into war. They do, however, serve to hoodwink the workers into taking part.
    The second world war had nothing to do with Nazi ideology, although Nazi ideology served German capitalism’s purposes at the time. Hitler was instructed to eliminate the most fanatical believers in Nazi ideology, which he did, because they were an obstacle to the state’s requirements. However, once the war had broken out (for economic reasons), it facilitated the Holocaust, which catered both to ideology and to profit (the exploitation of prisoners for slave labour).
    But ideology does not CAUSE war. The most it does is facilitate the atrocities war produces.

    in reply to: New Music Thread #251610
    Thomas_More
    Participant

    Billy the Kid.

    in reply to: Anti-Zionism is not anti-semitic #251605
    Thomas_More
    Participant

    I thought capitalist economics produced war, not religion or ideology.
    I think we all know too that no Middle Eastern state can “smash Israel.”

    in reply to: New Music Thread #251594
    Thomas_More
    Participant


    Woody Guthrie, Slipknot.

    in reply to: A dumbed-down populace. #251572
    Thomas_More
    Participant

    You both win a Knickerbocker Glory.

    in reply to: A dumbed-down populace. #251566
    Thomas_More
    Participant

    Yes. Party members poo poo my bibliophiliac anti-digitalism and anti-lumpenism on one hand, but are highly intellectual and traditional in their framing of our political message.

    in reply to: A Darwin precursor. #251560
    Thomas_More
    Participant

    https://phys.org/news/2024-04-evolving-attitudes-gen-evolution.html

    21st century and Darwin still controversial as very hard for many humans to accept.

    in reply to: A dumbed-down populace. #251559
    Thomas_More
    Participant

    Well, who would want books when you can have video games?

    in reply to: A dumbed-down populace. #251551
    Thomas_More
    Participant

    In Carlisle my mother and i asked several people about Hadrian’s Wall. They had never heard of it, including a policeman.

    in reply to: A dumbed-down populace. #251547
    Thomas_More
    Participant

    Real conversation. Hungarian waitress i knew decided to treat ignorance as it deserved.

    Customer: “You’re foreign, aint ya?”
    Waitress: “Yes, from Hungary.”
    C: “Not erd o that. Wherezat then?”
    W: “It’s an island near Japan ”
    C: “Blimey. Far away then?”

    in reply to: A dumbed-down populace. #251544
    Thomas_More
    Participant

    Thanks, Bijou.

    What about the people asked to point to regions of the world?

    When i started school (after Kindergarten) every boy was given an atlas. One seldom hears of atlases any more and i doubt they are handed out in school any more.

    The advantages of printed books, including atlases, is that the child is free to peruse them in comfort, unlike skimming things on a screen.

    We also had regular geography class, in which there was a wealth of books to delve into, and where boys could pick what they liked for personal projects, including drawing. Thus, by the time i was 12, i could draw a map of China and its principal cities and its provinces by memory. I could also write its 19th & 20th century history from memory of my juvenile reading. My town, like most, had a wealth of secondhand bookshops where worlds could be encountered. And for 2/6 a hardback classic could be had every Saturday, as well as library and school library books.
    Toys and games, too, were often history and geography based.

    • This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by Thomas_More.
    • This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by Thomas_More.
    in reply to: A dumbed-down populace. #251534
    Thomas_More
    Participant

    Sagan on books.

    in reply to: A Darwin precursor. #251533
    Thomas_More
    Participant
    in reply to: A dumbed-down populace. #251531
    Thomas_More
    Participant
    in reply to: A dumbed-down populace. #251529
    Thomas_More
    Participant

    And it’s because people are unlettered and ahistorical that they fall prey to conspiracy theories and and other absurdities, and have short memories (“That’s before my time” – the commonly heard wail that negates history).

Viewing 15 posts - 916 through 930 (of 2,366 total)