A Bookish Life, Politics and Philosophy, Miscellany.

[tcpip]

On the topic of books, I'm well into the second chapter of writing the OpenFOAM book, although it will be about a week late. At around seven and a half-thousand words per chapter, it probably doesn't bode as well in sheer quantity as my friends participating in NaNoWriMo who have happily composed one hundred thousand words, this month. At the other end of the extreme visited a "book" launch last Sunday were the author's contribution was around fourteen thousand, and a good third of that as quotes. For reading material over the past week have compled Dostoyevsky's The Idiot (yes, amused that the main character is a philosopher named Lev, whose "idiocy" is not being interested in societal machinations) and Andrew Lang's Custom and Myth and the first volume of Myth, Ritual, and Religion. This is a fascinating collection of myths and writen in at the time of a disciplinary change from philology to structural anthropology where synchronic and diachronic analysis becomes paramount.

Isocracy Network last Sunday had a fair turnout, a great talk by Race Matthews and excellent dinner and drinks afterwards. Most recent post on the website is Syria: Peace with Justice, which looks at why some of the progressive left are more than a little wrong in supporting Assad's fascist government (mind you, this probably has a lot to do with the issue of left wing fascism). On a similar manner, very interested in Dean Edward's contribution to the Unitarian Philosophy Forum this Sunday on "Sexuality and Philosophy". In January will be presenting on the contribution of Unitarian-Universalists to Isocracy (yes, there is a contribution worth noting). On a related note, attended St Michael's on Sunday to hear Dr. McNab speak on having a "flourishing life"; also discovered that my joining "ceremony" at said institution has found its way to Youtube.

In animal life, Furfur the emo guinea pig has lost a lot of weight, due to a malocclusion. A visit to the excellent Dr Jack Zaks has set us back a tidy sum. In other animal improvements, have introduced an aquarium to the workspace I share with imajica_lj; with club chairs and a plasma lamp already in place, the cocktail bar can't be too far behind. Last Sunday played another session of Dark Heresy, although Redmond informs us that campaign is coming to an end, as is Michael's GURPS China/Korea, leaving us with consideration of "what's next?". I am tempted to run Earthdawn or Twilight 2000 (from the perspective of anarcho-syndicalists), however would like to finish the current Call of Cthulhu and/or Pendragon games that I'm running first.

Comments

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

I thought you named yourself "Lev" after Trotsky. Left wing fascism ? I don't see how that bastard in Syria could be considered "left wing" . To me he's just a fascist - period ! After all , Hitler claimed to be a national socialist. The world financial crisis bears remblances to the Wall Street crash that produced Hitler , Mussolini, the aborted Mosley,Miss Linton-Orman and Leese inter alia . At present I'm reading lots of books on the subject: the short but excellent "Hitler and Nazism" by Louis L. Snyder, "Hitler"in the "Le temps qui court"series and now the huge, legalistic "Behemoth" by Franz Neumann . It's the Left Book Club Edition which , it says ,"is not for sale to the public"(?). As Marx said,"History repeats itself first as tragedy and then as farce" - although the English Defence League and that Norwegian psychopath are by no means a farce. How about Australia?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I thought you named yourself "Lev" after Trotsky.

Or Tolstoy, or the Yiddish word for "heart", or the Bulgarian for "Lion" - hey I share the latter with Assad :)

I don't see how that bastard in Syria could be considered "left wing" .

Well, in the classic left-right spectrum, he does hold some left components i.e., he is mostly secular, the regime is technically a republic (although after the father to son transition it's looking something like a monarchy, and the Ba'athist ideology did include a component of class conflict as the basis of social organisation, although as a pan-Arabism, it was inevitably going to come across those limits.

Hitler claimed to be a national socialist.

Yes, and to the extent that he was a socialist, the Nazis did drag Germany out of their recession. The Ba'athist regimes were similar in this regard; they used socialism to modernise their countries without having a particularly strong concern with social equality, let alone human rights.

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

to the extent that he was a socialist, the Nazis did drag Germany out of their recession.

I feel a link to this review of Kershaw's "Hitler, 1889-1936" seems more or less apropos here. The book itself is quite worth taking a look at.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I think the review (and by proxy, Kershaw) is a somewhat unorthodox interpretation, understating the importance of the public works and infrastructure investment (and, as mentioned, deficit spending). It was essentially Keynesian in this regard. Of course, Kershaw is quite correct in pointing out that there was also (and also Keynesian) the substantial increase of expenditure in public rearmament and military expenditure. It is that latter half of the equation that obviously required their use in war (i.e., "military Keynesianism", an issue we have discussed in the past).

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

I'm somewhat inclined to disagree with you on this; however, I propose there's good ground to reconcile the essence of your criticism with what I believe to be the most important part of Kershaw's argument about the character of Hitler's recovery, namely that it was by and large built on unsustainable fiscal grounds. Assuming for the moment that the Silverman statistics are require no especial alteration, and that the dramatic reduction of unemployment coinciding with Hitler's deficit spending policies was approximately as substantial as it looks like, we still appear to be left with a Germany teetering on the edge of a public finances catastrophe towards the end of the thirties -- subsequently, of course, Hitler goes to war, and by turns forcibly exports his inflation to the west, pillages the east, and so forth, under a war-time economic basis.

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

Do you consider the nazis as sociaists,albeit perverted?

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

I don't involve myself in that discussion. I selected that quote from tcpip to establish context for the link I plugged in. (I.e. the 1930s economic recovery.)

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

My apologies .I was tired and overwhelmed . I didn't mean to contact you .I simply clicked in the wrong place .

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

Not at all. And sorry if I came across as curt; I've a bit of a tendency to get into this funny robot mode when I talk about some topics.

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

Bless you ! You didn't come across as curt . I realized that , underneath those plates of brass , beat a Buddhist heart of gold .
: )

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

Are you joking or do you really consider fascism a form of socialism ?

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

My definition of socialism is "The public ownership AND DEMOCRATIC CONTROL of the means of production,distribution and exchange".
: )

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Ah well, that would be democratic socialism, as opposed to the other varieties :)

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

With extreme reluctance I suppose I must concede your point , as I myself have been a member of the Communist Party and a Trotskyist outfit .
I forgot to mention the very important Anarcha-Feminism among the 57 varieties of
(A)narchism.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I understand your reluctance, and certainly I approach it with the same feeling. However, when viewed dispassionately, any form of public ownership (whether by the state, government, or cooperatives) is a form of "socialism", and this must include the "national collective" (e.g., Volksgemeinschaft) variety, as well as the democratic, libertarian, and internationalist. Which is why I rate political rights as having priority over economic models, and ensure to prefix the socialism I support with those labels, rather than "generic" socialism.

Although, the latter - as we've looked at in this conversation - can be analysed independently.

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

Yes , I take your point , though none of the several books on fascism that I'm currently reading concede it .

[wylde-writer.livejournal.com]

That work by Andrew Lang sounds like something I must read. Very relevant to some stuff I'm working on right now. Is that not the same Andrew Lang who authored the ever so delightful Blue Fairy book, and it's related 'colored fairy' books?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Yes, the very same man. Project Gutenberg looks like it has a pretty comprehensive collection of his works.

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

Please forgive this afterthought . Wouldn't it be possible to use my definition of Socialism i.e. couple social ownership with democratic control for socialism in contrast to authoritarian state dictatorship ?Morover, it seems to me that almost no so-called Socialist parties worldwide actually ever bring it about . - the post -war Labour government of Clement Attlee , who led a brigade in the Spanish Civil War ,being at least partially an exception .The rapist ex-leader of the Parti Socialiste in France can , under no circumstances ,be considered a socialist .Incidentally, here is my tentative definition of Anarchism -
The fundamentals of (A)narchism-direct action for a stateless society,based on decentralization and federation,common ownership and self-management,where all will be free and equal.This entails direct,participatory democracy by all-inclusive workers' councils in administering the social ownership and control of the means of production,distribution and exchange.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Except that democracy refers to a form of decision making whereas socialism refers to a type of ownership.

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

With all due respect, I feel that you are being rather semantically pedantic .Real Socialism - especially in its highest Anarchist form-incorporates both.

[zenicurean.livejournal.com]

I don't have a horse in this race, but in defence of tcpip's commitment to specificity I should probably say that that particular expression also refers to a stock concept, and would thus be taken by many in that sense of the phrase. Which I suppose goes to show it's never wasted effort to elaborate.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Well, being semantically pedantic is certainly a means to ensure that the one is also pedantic in practise. I am especially wary of claims to "real" socialism (we may recall Marx and Engel's criticism of "True Socialism" in the Manifesto. After all, I am sure that the Stalinists think that they provide "real socialsm", just as I am sure the Nazis claimed the same.

As for anarchism, my favourite quote on the subject is that the anarchists provide a liberal critique of socialism and a socialist critique of liberalism!

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

I heartily applaud that ! I can't remember where it comes from though....

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

"anarchism combines a socialist critique of liberalism and a liberal critique of socialism"
Nathan J. Jun, Shane Wahl, New Perspectives on Anarchism, Lexington, 2010, p294

One of the most pithy statements of anarchism I've encountered.

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

Thanks-an excellent quotation !
I've just this moment thrown in the towel with "Behemoth".It's unbelievably turgid and written by a German .I think the cover is candid in proclaiming , "Not for sale to the public".Ich kann Deutsch nicht verstehen -and I've not the slightest desire to learn it . ¡Viva el Anarquismo y la lengua española !

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

I'm bowing out now before i end up voting Conservative ...
: D

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

If you're even in the situation where you have to choose between a Stalinist that offers socialism, but not democracy and personal freedoms and a conservative that offers (with a grimace) democracy and personal freedom, but not socialism, I think the choice is pretty clear.

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

It is NOW but not when I was in the Communist Party with its Marxist-Leninist dialectical apologism.Thank goodnress I'm now a straightforward (A)narchist !

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Britain

[fluffyblanket.livejournal.com]

To come full circle - hardly had I turned on Aljazeera just now than there was a report on the horrifying growth of Golden Dawn and the massive support and collaboration of the Greek Police . I started reading my books on fascism because the crisis in the Euro-zone closely resembles the conditions in the thirties ....