dagblog - Comments for "Violence Is Not The Only Authority"

Ah yes, John's better known

Anonymous PP — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 07:10:49 +0000

In reply to I'm quite certain he meant

Ah yes, John's better known brother James. Oopsie...

To respond to both VA &

Anonymous PP — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 07:08:09 +0000

In reply to As much as I love Orwell and

To respond to both VA & Michael:

Orwell acknowledges "WE" and other dystopian novels in the essay I mentioned.

And while Orwell has been clichéd, most of it is based on 2 books (even 1), whereas Orwell's essays and other books are a trove of excellent reading, especially for a historic look at a keen-sighted socialist who parsed the contradictions and fallacies of his chosen tribe real-time during a period of great confusion, while others were unwitting fans of wholesale genocide.

I also don't think it difficult for 1984 to make the transition to 3 corporate entities divvying it up (this was rougly the theme of the already aged Rollerball, with a kind of Brave New World/soma/party hardy mix with the corporate puppet masters pulling the strings)

Here here. And unlike Orwell,

Michael Wolraich — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 01:28:23 +0000

In reply to As much as I love Orwell and

Here here. And unlike Orwell, Huxley hasn't been cliched to death.

I'm quite certain he meant

Verified Atheist — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 00:08:04 +0000

In reply to I googled "second thoughts on

I'm quite certain he meant Second Thoughts on James Burnham.

Thanks, you do a pretty good

NCD — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:44:51 +0000

In reply to Wish I'd been able to express

Thanks, you do a pretty good job coming up with topics, analyzing and expressing yourself about them.

I googled "second thoughts on

NCD — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 23:42:32 +0000

In reply to Google "second thoughts on

I googled "second thoughts on John Burnham" and only got 2 results, one a reference, one from 2010 about the quickest way to end a war is to lose it...

Looking up Orwell's book 'Shooting an Elephant' , Amazon review quoted a passage:

"I was young and ill-educated and I had had to think out my problems in the utter silence that is imposed on every Englishman in the East. I did not even know that the British Empire is dying, still less did I know that it is a great deal better than the younger empires that are going to supplant it.."

Orwell described his experiences in the Spanish War in Homage to Catalonia, available at Gutenberg Au. Orwell fought for a workers militia, was wounded severely with a neck shot, then had to dodge Spanish Stalinist goons who were killing off unionist leaders to cement control of the rebellion, losing the war of course eventually. If you read to the end, Orwell's easy going and fearless demeanor is shown by his calm acceptance that his exit alive from Spain was threatened not by the fascists, but by the ruthless but inept Stalinist faction of the rebel government.

As much as I love Orwell and

Verified Atheist — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:58:22 +0000

In reply to Google "second thoughts on

As much as I love Orwell and think he was an excellent writer, I think one has to give props to Aldous Huxley and his Brave New World. "Praise Ford", indeed. Those who have not read this book (written in 1931, more than a decade before 1984!) owe it to themselves to do so.

Google "second thoughts on

Anonymous PP — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:46:54 +0000

In reply to As you have pointed out,

Google "second thoughts on John Burnham" for an Orwell response to the managerial class/international corporatism.

Considering Orwell's time in Burma, and one of the largest oligarchs, the East India Tea Company, it's hard to imagine Orwell didn't appreciate this, and of course Machiavelli comes out of the great Venetian oligarchic merchant community.

Orwell's assessment of American 'power worship' is worth considering - we do seem to fall for the big idea, in whatever form.

Wish I'd been able to express

Michael Maiello — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:20:00 +0000

In reply to As you have pointed out,

Wish I'd been able to express that so clearly, NCD.

As you have pointed out,

NCD — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:07:53 +0000

In reply to Violence Is Not The Only Authority

As you have pointed out, employers can make or break you by invading your privacy or investigating your actions as a private citizen and/or your political persuasions. They can hire or fire you with almost no accountability. Don't count on Rand Paul to protect you from corporate malfeasance or from corporate crimes.

Corporations are the 21st century Orwellian Big Brother that Eric Blair didn't envision or live to witness. They can control government by providing the flow of money to win elections, and by employing politicians after their 'public service' with fat sinecures. They are too big to prosecute or too big to fail, our courts call them 'people' and their money 'speech': an example of Orwellian doublespeak. Corporations are not people of course, they do not have the impermanent existence of real persons.

The goal: divide the public from control of the government, not with wars between Eastasia and Oceania, but by creating lack of faith in, and fear of government, so it cannot be used against the big moneyed corporate interests.

Raising that distrust of government was what Rand Paul was up to, not protecting liberty.