June 17_2007 - An Interesting Review of an Interesting Book

I saw this customer review on the Amazon.com webpage for a book I am currently reading. How Nonviolence Protects the State, by Peter Gelderloos.

Both are worth a look.

June 04_2007 – Some Communist Criticism of Anarchism and Anarchists

I've been reading through these articles because I've often criticized the CP over the years for their statism, illogic, for resorting to violence, their hypocrisy and for their shamefully poor record of advancing liberty and equality among human beings. But I'll let these guys' words speak for themselves. Look through 'em if you care to. (So here ya go, Jerry.)

Left-wing Neo-Conservatives: The reflection of neo-conservatism in socialist thinking – Part One

Left-wing Neo-Conservatives: The mailed fist behind the anti-authoritarian phrase – Part Two

Anarchism and the Marketplace

The Anarchist Dead End – A series of articles from the (Detroit) Communist Voice .

Technorati Tags: Communist, Communist_Party, anarchy, anarchism, politics

May 13, 2007 - Wall Street Journal Now Featuring Commentary from Anarcho-Capitalists? Yes, Indeed!

No, dear readers, that's not a tag line or a teaser designed to lure you in. Bryan Caplan, an economics professor at George Mason University and the maintainer and host of the Anarchy FAQ website was featured in Saturday's edition (both print and on line ) of the Wall Street Journal with a short guest column on why the majority of people in America actively support (or at least don't actively oppose), government actions and policies that are against their own interests. (Bottom Line: Heart over head; meaning sentiment over reason. Sorry for the spoiler. And I highly recommend you follow the link and read Caplan's article.)

“Behind every policy that does more harm than good,” says Caplan, “there's a special interest that favors it anyway. The [2003] steel tariff was bad for consumers, steel-using industries and foreign steel producers, but the steel lobby still pushed for it. Farm subsidies are bad for both taxpayers and unsubsidized farmers, but in 2002 the American farm lobby got a 70% increase in government support. The minimum wage is bad for consumers, employers and low-skill workers who get priced out of their jobs, but unions are hard at work to raise it again.”

Caplan has written a new book (which I've ordered but not read yet) on the same general theme (see pic) that shows the public as a herd of marching sheep of all things. Talk about anarcho-libertarian themes, eh? We've been using that one for years.

Technorati Tags: economics, political_economy, laissez-faire, anarchism, Bryan_Caplan, tariffs

A reader wrote me to say that you can get access to the full article from the WSJ by signing up a for a free "netpass" here: http://www.congoo.com/netpass/install

03.30.07 - Emma Goldman Had a Pretty Smile

Emma Goldman, age 21.

Why is it I wonder that whenever Emma Goldman's pic appears in an article the author always uses images of her as a very old woman? They don't usually do this with men do they? Maybe it just bothers me more because it seems to most eyes that men age better. Is this unconscious sexism on my part or some unnamed aspect of human psycho-biology. Who knows? Anyhow, I like this pic of EG better.

01.01.07- "The Complete Letters of Insurgents" in Podcast

Anarchists being real; what a concept, eh? For once, they speak in their own voices and talk about poverty, jail, repression, internecine squabbling within the movement, the price of cigarettes and groceries, or arguments with their wives; how much they love, and fear for, their kids. I’ve only listened to few of the theses podcasts so far, but if the first few are any indicator, they’re going to be a great listen.

From the moxieO blog.

”After three months of reading aloud to each-other on late nights, Freddy Perlman's Letters of Insurgents has now been recorded in its entirety for Audio Anarchy. The book is a long collection of fictional letters between two eastern European workers who were separated after a failed revolution 20 year prior. It presents anarchist ideas in a way that only a story about relationships could, and the reader is left with a set of questions that are subtle, nuanced, and infinitely complex. While this book explores so much (from Platformism to Situationism, from Hungary '56 to May '68, from Council Communism to Stalinism, from the Watts Riots to Spain '36), it ultimately serves to sketch a line; the line between those who are seeking to realize their own potentialities among others doing the same, and those who are building the crystal palaces which always become barracks.

Reading these 850 pages aloud took us through delirium, laughing fits, and lucid conversations. The 31 hours of recorded audio mean a lot to us, and we will be making merit badges for those who listen to all of it. We hope those who do listen will get as much out of it as we did by recording it.”

Technorati Tags: anarchy, anarchist, anarchism, labor_movement, politics, class_struggle

Icerocket Tag: anarchy, anarchist, anarchism, labor_movement, politics, class_struggle