From news.itd.umich.edu!destroyer!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!ames!sgi!cdp!pnews Sat Oct 16 11:45:05 EDT 1993 Article: 1255 of alt.society.revolution Path: news.itd.umich.edu!destroyer!sol.ctr.columbia.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!agate!ames!sgi!cdp!pnews From: Hank Roth Newsgroups: alt.society.revolution Date: 12 Oct 93 01:41 PDT Subject: PNEWS ONLINE [October 11] Message-ID: <1858200012@igc.apc.org> Sender: Notesfile to Usenet Gateway Lines: 506 /* Written 6:24 pm Oct 11, 1993 by odin@netlink.nix.com in igc:p.news */ /* ---------- "PNEWS ONLINE [October 11]" ---------- */ Subject: PNEWS ONLINE [October 11] From: odin@netlink.nix.com (Hank Roth) Reply-To: odin@netlink.nix.com PNEWS ONLINE [October 11, 1993] _ _ ________|_|_________________________|_|________ | | | PNEWS ONLINE/a compilation of excerpts | | from various pnews conferences. | | There are 5 pnews conferences, P_news | | on FidoNet [2 years on the zone 1 backbone. | | Ask your sysop to get it for you.], | | pnews-L and pnews.d-L on InterNet [To | | subscribe, send request to: | | , and there is | | p.news and p.news.discuss on PeaceNet. | | [To subscribe to PeaceNet, call: | | (415) 442-0220] | |_______________________________________________| | | | | | | | | _| |__ _| |__ / |_| /| / |_| /| |~~~~~|/` |~~~~~|/` `~~~~~` `~~~~~` These conferences provide an alternative for those interested in a *LEFT* perspective and "PROGRESSIVE" issues. The objectives of pnews conferences are to provide a cross-fertilization of "ALTERNATIVE" progressive and dissident views---to propose and discuss new world visions, to present ideas that CHALLENGE PREVAILING DOMINANT VIEWS; and to advance the cause of PEACEFUL RESOLUTION of matters that greatly concern us. The primary emphasis for the conferences shall continue to be the presentation of "PROGRESSIVE" NEWS, VIEWS, and occasionally some POETRY. "Progressive," meaning that which tends to improve society, the advancement of knowledge and visions for a better future. Hank Roth, Moderator/facilitator [pnews conferences] & PNEWS ONLINE ################################################### From: zodiac@io.org (Zodiac) [Excerpted] ..... the Iron Law of Wages is like gravity. Wages under capitalism, when stripped of constant exertion on the part of the wage-slaves to lift them, fall. Toward some subsistence level. Toward a minimum enough to keep the worker alive and able to come back again tomorrow and replicate her work. ... Endlessly. [...] Henry Ford, for instance, understood that it helps to pay workers a bit more because they can _buy_ a bit more. And this faster circulation of money results in a multiplier effect -- it creates jobs to service the increased demand, etc. Ford anticipated Keynes. But, when his security of property/profit was threatened, Ford was just another brutal, conservative, capitalist. So, for that matter, was John Maynard Keynes. Neither thought twice about the need to use political machines to coerce workers into submission, to quash any sacreligious attitudes they might harbor in their hearts toward the holy edifice of private property. [..] The great bourgeois revolutions of 1776 and 1789 sought to finally put an end to "class co-operation". If you read Adam Smith (now the beloved economist-philosopher of the terminally-stupid Libertarian Party right), you find lots of passages that reflect this attitude. One of my favorite passages deals with a discussion of where social wealth comes from. Smith argued that all "higher culture" comes from leisure, and all leisure comes from wealth, and all wealth comes from the possession of value, and all value comes either from agricultural or manufacturing. So, he noted, society has the bizarre structure wherein the leisure-rich ruling class doesn't actually produce anything to create its own leisure. The labor of some of the most respectable orders of society is like that of menial servants, unproductive of any value, and does not fix or realize itself in any permanent subject, or vendible commodity.... The sovereign, for example, with all the officers of justice and war who are under him, the whole army and navy are unproductive laborers. They are _servants_ of the public, and are maintained by a part of the annual produce of the industry of other people.... In the same class must be ranked... churchmen, lawyers, physicians, men of letters of all kinds; players, buffoons, musicians, opera-singers, opera-dancers, etc. (Wealth of Nations) The aristocratic class most certainly hated Smith for putting kings in the same class as clowns. (I thought it was hilarious, myself. I chuckled quietly for a good twenty minutes after reading that.:) But Smith was unrepentent. He had set himself the task of analyzing the _economic_ foundation of society, and how the surplus product of society's labor was apportioned. He found that all the bloated parasitical elites did was _consume_. They belched occassionally and called it culture, to be sure, but they actually produced nothing for the physical betterment of humanity. Marx admired this "fuck you" attitude toward one's so-called superiors and the social relations which keep them in that lofty position. He called Smith's words the "language of the still- revolutionary bourgeoisie". And so Smith was -- revolutionary. Such bourgeoisie revolutionaries did not call for piddling, if not outright demeaning, bullshit -- like asking the ruling aristocratic class to please just lower taxes a little... (or maybe extend the health plan to include chiropractors; or give us an extra 15-minute break in the afternoon). Smith pulled no punches: the ruling elite are unnecessary; getting rid of them makes society richer. (NOTE: Of course, once the bourgeoisie took command of the machine of state, it became decidedly less revolutionary. It became outright conservative -- sometimes social-democratic and "yielding" to worker demands, sometimes police-state fascist in determination to "break" unions, depending on the bourgeois sense of security. But it always operates with an eye to preserving its "legal" property possessions. To help it do this, it now _needs_ those legions of unproductive bureaucrats it once spat at venomously. As the ruling class, the bourgeosie discarded Smith's ruthless economic analysis and embraced all the lawyers, academics, economists, hereditary rich, etc. This supporting cast had once provided the kings with their apologia. As true mercenaries, they could continue to produce arguments for their new masters. Elaborate expositions on why capitalism is so darn good for everyone. Excuses to abuse other human beings. Moral rationales for oppression and misery.) The Revolutionary Proletariat Marx grew up in the social wake of the great bourgeois revolutions, with the high-sounding talk of complete liberation, of the end of classes and despot. In that environment, Marx's idea seems pretty logical: why stop there? Why stop at kings? Should we not keep the revolution going? We got rid of the useless warts on the ass of society, the aristocratic class. But that apparently didn't go far enough. Look what was (is) happening now: the accumulation of capital in the hands of a select few created a brand NEW parasitic class. >From this perspective, the conclusion is obvious. Just as the revolutionary bourgeoisie was right to fucking well take possession of the means and relations of production from the aristocratic parasite... So the workers, who actually produce the wealth, should fucking well take possession of the means of production for themselves. Is that the attitude of the working class? Apparently not. And maybe......the working class ain't all that revolutionary. It sure isn't at this juncture. The attitude of "class co-operation" in many workers today is akin to those bourgeois types who felt they "couldn't make it on their own". Frightened, they swore allegience to their beloved King. They needed the King and his Ministers to administer affairs, they were mere commoners, what did they know about running countries, etc. Luckily, some elements of the bourgeoisie didn't accept such bullshit. Unfortunately, today, the proletariat seems willing to accept its humbled position. It seems content to work hard to help its masters make more money... so that they might be swept a few more crumbs from table. It's the "House Nigger Syndrome". "House Niggers" Plantation slaves (as Malcolm X pointed out) came in two types: house niggers and field niggers. The field niggers worked hard and lived in oppression and turned to religion, and music, etc., whatever diversion they could muster to mask the daily misery they lived in -- while opulence loomed a few hundred yards away. But the house nigger is a different case. The house nigger encourages his master. When the house nigger's master succeeds, the house nigger feels himself successful. "We's doing good, ain't we boss?!" Or if things go bad for the master, "Lawdy! We's in trouble now!" Indeed. For if the plantation master is turfed out, the house nigger gets thrown back into the ranks of the field niggers. Now, since things "go bad" for their masters when the field niggers act up, the house niggers disapprove. The house niggers scold the field niggers. The house niggers counsel the field niggers to just work that much harder and make their master richer, then they'll all benefit. But some field niggers just never listened. They ran away, or acted up. They were just too damn stupid to understand the highly intelligent world of "economics". Damn fools. And whadda we got today? [...] ..... By supporting the capitalist system, you also support the "gravitational" Iron Law of Wages. You commit yourself, as the working class, to engage in some Atlas-like struggle to keep the roof from falling in on your collective head. Adam Smith and the revolutionary bourgeoisie finally overthrew the entire stinking feudal system, along with the oppressive classes it created to maintain it continual reproduction. Sure, many believed the feudal system, with all its obligations and duties, couldn't be overthrown because only chaos would result. After all! It was ordained by "God"! Today, non-revolutionary, social-democratic workers seem to think there is also nothing possible to replace the current economic system. That without a hierachical system of ownership, there will be chaos. After all! It is ordained by "nature"! The "free" market! So... they seem content to plead for little "gifts" from the bosses in return for which they pledge their undying allegience. [...] When will American workers finish the job the revolutionary American bourgoeisie started? ************************************** Civil Disobedience [Excerpt] by Henry David Thoreau "I heartily accept the motto, "That government is best which governs least"; and I should like to see it acted up to more rapidly and systematically. Carried out, it finally amounts to this, which also I believe--"That government is best which governs not at all"; and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which the will have. Government is at best but an expedient; but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient. The objections which have been brought against a standing army, and they are many and weighty, and deserve to prevail, may also at last be brought against a standing government. The standing army is only an arm of the standing government. The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it. Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure." "This American government--what is it but a tradition, though a recent one, endeavoring to transmit itself unimpaired to posterity, but each instant losing some of its integrity? It has not the vitality and force of a single living man; for a single man can bend it to his will. It is a sort of wooden gun to the people themselves. But it is not the less necessary for this; for the people must have some complicated machinery or other, and hear its din, to satisfy that idea of government which they have. Governments show thus how successfully men can be imposed upon, even impose on themselves, for their own advantage. It is excellent, we must all allow. Yet this government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way. It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate. The character inherent in the American people has done all that has been accomplished; and it would have done somewhat more, if the government had not sometimes got in its way. For government is an expedient, by which men would fain succeed in letting one another alone; and, as has been said, when it is most expedient, the governed are most let alone by it. Trade and commerce, if they were not made of india-rubber, would never manage to bounce over obstacles which legislators are continually putting in their way; and if one were to judge these men wholly by the effects of their actions and not partly by their intentions, they would deserve to be classed and punished with those mischievious persons who put obstructions on the railroads." "But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at one no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it." ********************************************** "We are obliged not to take life -- we should not take the attitude that we are doing the animals a favour by not eating them. They have a right to live just as much as we have a right to live." -- Isaac Bashevis Singer "Until he extends his circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace" -- Albert Schweitzer ********************************************** From: Xavier Crement, M.D. [posted to pnews-L] "Like almost everyone else, I have been dealing with assholes all my life. For most of this time, however, I have been, like most of society, trapped in our age-old concepts of assholism. Failing to recognize it as a disease, I simply accepted it as a character flaw that could be modified or eliminated at will." "I have now come to understand the true nature of assholism. It is an addiction as bad as alcoholism, chemical dependency, or codependency. It afflicts major portions of the population---yet most assholes are not the least bit aware that they are assholes!" **** "I'm OK, but you're an asshole" Cardinal Pushing ********************************************** "Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees." -David Letterman ********************************************** "I tried to get a drink in the terminal bar. The bartender asked to see ID.... I was living a nightmare. I was stranded in a happy paranoid land where the only people allowed to drink are people who drive." - Kyle Baker, _Why I Hate Saturn_ ********************************************** Just recently in Indiana, a man suspected of swallowing a bag of cocaine was refused medical help because he wouldn't sign a confession. Other inmates called for help as he suffered hallucinations and seizures and, finally, died. The state trouper who arrested him is quoted as saying: "If Mr. Antecki was really and truly serious about what he had swallowed or ate and he was concerned about his health, then he would've gone ahead [and signed the confession]". The county prosecuter agreed that there was no wrong doing on the part of authorities, and declined to press any charges. ********************************************** From: Ribaud Camus speaks of this fate of man being the quest which forever eludes him in Sysphus and this view is expressed in the works of Franz Kafka and Kierkegaard, as in "shit happens." ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ********************************************** PLAYING BY THE RULES BY Hank Roth Failed businesses, foreclosures, bankcrupcies, powerlessness of the poor, The newly homeless, locked out generations, and much, much more. Dispossessed, disenfranchised, call this a recession. To the affected, this kind of anguish is a full fledged depression. Where is compassion, empathy, concern for humanity?. This morrass and distorted morality is more than a calamity. How can we call ourselves an enlightened, civilized nation, When even basic rights, like medical care, have been the subject of abrogation. The news about the economy is discouraging, no way to escape it. Makes living feel like drowning or falling down a bottomless pit, Listen, they say this is America where consumerism rules, All you need do is go to school and get your mighty tools. Well, listen to me; it takes plenty of luck and chances are thin, This is really a crap shoot and you'll probably not win. Free enterprise, play by the rules, and you'll ultimately loose. Don't be a snook, in the end, you'll realize its all been a ruse. ********************************************** From: charless@sco.COM (charles stross) The UK government's justifications for its imperialist presence in Northern Ireland bear a striking similarity to the US government's attitude to Central America. "It's our back yard, our interests will be harmed if we get out, they'll go communist if we ignore them, and anyway they aren't competent to run their own affairs." It's a complex mixture of chauvanism, racism and economic cynicism that dictates a profit motive for hanging on to the occupied territories and denying that anything is wrong. Next time you feel inclined to ask why the UK doesn't get the hell out of Northern Ireland, just think about the last thing you heard a State Department spokesperson say about why there are US troops in Panama. Imagine that you are Irish, and that the State Department is the Northern Ireland office, and that they're talking about where you live. Now try to figure out a reasoned response. Better still, try to imagine you're a Panamanian ... In the same way that the stupidity and futility of the UK occupation of Northern Ireland is a lot clearer outside the UK -- where I happen to live -- the idiocy and brutality of US policy in Central America is a lot more obvious if you don't live in Missouri. But listening to what the bastards say, then thinking yourself into the shoes of the people they're talking about is a good way of defeating the programming. ========================================================================== ===== "What's so funny 'bout peace, love and understanding?" - Nick Lowe ========================================================================== ==== Anyway the Left wind blows ... //\ /\\ || * \ . . / * || \\____\X/____// / * /O\ * \ \__/ " \__/ ========================================================================== ==== "Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us." -- _Calvin and Hobbes_ ========================================================================== ==== "I live my life in growing orbits which move out over the things of the world. .....and I have been circling for a thousand years, and I still don't know if I am a falcon, or a storm, or a great song." (Rainer Maria Rilke) --------------------------------------------------- ## De Omnibus Est Dubatandum ## There are 5 -*pnews conferences*- [P_news on FidoNet], [p.news and p.news.discuss on PeaceNet], [pnews.d and pnews-L on InterNet], ----------------------------------------------------------------- If you have access to InterNet and wish to subscribe to a pnews conference there, send request to: ----------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe to PeaceNet's worldwide network by calling: (415) 442-0220. Tell them Hank from "pnews" sent you. [There are 2 pnews conferences on PeaceNet]. ------------------------------------------------------------- odin@world.std.com pnews@igc.apc.org. (On Fidonets at 151/101) ################################################### PEOPLE BEFORE PROFITS! -- INTERNET: odin@netlink.nix.com (Hank Roth) UUCP: ...!ryptyde!netlink!odin Network Information eXchange * Public Access in San Diego, CA (619) 453-1115