Norman Finkelstein, the former Depaul University professor, is whining about how horrible his life has been since he was denied tenure by the university: http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/41838/.
Don't you feel sorry for him? I sure do...............
Showing posts with label Socialism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Socialism. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Canadian Byelections
There were three byelections in the Province/Planet of Quebec yesterday, with devastating results for the Liberal Party. The Liberals lost all three byelections handily, and in the riding of Outremont, their star candidate, Jocelyn Coulon, was thrashed by the leftist NDP's candidate, Thomas Mulcair. The other ridings were captured by the governing Conservative Party and the separatist Bloc Quebecois, respectively, though the Bloc was hard-pressed to hold onto its seat: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/09/17/qc-byelections0917.html.
The most interesting element to me is the NDP victory. While I agree with virtually nothing for which the party stands, it has always been a mystery to me that the NDP has never done better in Quebec. It is generally soft on Quebec nationalism, and its socialist policies seem to dovetail nicely with the general "weltenschauung" of Quebecers. Yet, every election, the NDP would get shut out (or close to it) in Quebec. Maybe this is the start of something bigger for the party (and let's hope not, given that the NDP's dream scenario is a situation akin to that which exists in France or Sweden.
The most interesting element to me is the NDP victory. While I agree with virtually nothing for which the party stands, it has always been a mystery to me that the NDP has never done better in Quebec. It is generally soft on Quebec nationalism, and its socialist policies seem to dovetail nicely with the general "weltenschauung" of Quebecers. Yet, every election, the NDP would get shut out (or close to it) in Quebec. Maybe this is the start of something bigger for the party (and let's hope not, given that the NDP's dream scenario is a situation akin to that which exists in France or Sweden.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
The Left and The Angry Left
There are left wing people in this country, and then there is The Angry Left. I have no problem with left wing people. I don't agree with them. I'll debate them. I don't want them running the country, but I have no problem with them personally.
The Angry Left, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish. There is no discussing anything with its "members", because they start off with a few basic assumptions which will never change no matter what you say:
1) They know better than you do what is good for you.
2) They are smarter than you.
3) Conservatives/Republicans, by definition, don't care about anyone other than themselves.
There are other, more specific assumptions that they make (the U.N. is a force for good in the world, the U.S. is a force for evil; Arab autocracies are good, democratic Israel is bad, etc., etc.), but those are too numerous to mention.
I have blogged about him before, but to me, the ultimate example of an Angry Left "thinker" is Ted Rall. His latest piece is essentially an homage to socialism: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucru/20070905/cm_ucru/killthepoor;_ylt=AgZzXtLJ7NF4w8UKWGeHBpwE1vAI.
If anyone can find me a country where socialism has done anything other than make everyone poorer, I'll listen to your argument. However, I don't think that North Koreans, Cubans and (soon) Venezuelans, Bolivians and Peruvians would necessarily agree.
The Angry Left, on the other hand, is a different kettle of fish. There is no discussing anything with its "members", because they start off with a few basic assumptions which will never change no matter what you say:
1) They know better than you do what is good for you.
2) They are smarter than you.
3) Conservatives/Republicans, by definition, don't care about anyone other than themselves.
There are other, more specific assumptions that they make (the U.N. is a force for good in the world, the U.S. is a force for evil; Arab autocracies are good, democratic Israel is bad, etc., etc.), but those are too numerous to mention.
I have blogged about him before, but to me, the ultimate example of an Angry Left "thinker" is Ted Rall. His latest piece is essentially an homage to socialism: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ucru/20070905/cm_ucru/killthepoor;_ylt=AgZzXtLJ7NF4w8UKWGeHBpwE1vAI.
If anyone can find me a country where socialism has done anything other than make everyone poorer, I'll listen to your argument. However, I don't think that North Koreans, Cubans and (soon) Venezuelans, Bolivians and Peruvians would necessarily agree.
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