No! Not the dog! OK.OK. No lurking allowed!

What's your take on the creation of a Department of Peace? I think this is a step in the right direction, something to consider- I know you are abroad. (not a broad, with dresses...overseas)

"They" always say that we yell about what we want but we don't know what that looks like or how to get there. THIS perception of the left needs to change. There are some practical things. National health care. Participation in collaborations to reduce greenhouse gasses...there are plenty of tangible things we can point to and we can point to greed and reckless foreign policy for the obstacles.

Dammit I keep forgetting to link you. I lost it when I changed the blogroll. Have to put you back.

 

Am I a socialist insofar as I support socialistic solutions to the gross problems facing our country that allow for the creation of a baseline standard of living that prevents the smallest possible number of people from falling below it?

In other words, am I a socialist if I fail to believe that socialism is a panacaea to be applied to every single little ill, as opposed to merely, in conjunction with representative democracy, a better alternative to lassaiz-faire capitalism and rule-by-plutocrat?

 

Hmmm... "Intriguing" approach to increasing your comment traffic.

I couldn't think of anything beyond the obvious platitudes to say about the piece you posted. (If you insist it proves once again that Orwell was one of the world's most incisive essayists and a much underrated socialist thinker.)

The Ministry of Peace thing is another matter. One can see the attraction of the idea. it seems so "nice," rather like Rosemarie Jackowski's war reparations tax. Nobody gets hurt and there's minimal antagonism.

There are a whole host of issues which would be faced by such a department if it were brought into existence, but it's the logic behind the campaign which most interests me.

The powers that be will always try and co-opt radical movements and in the UK they've been very succesful at doing so. (Recall that the Labour Party now organising British capitalism originally emerged out of working class radicalism.) A movement which has co-option as its reason d'etre seems a strange proposition therefore. Why set out to be co-opted and rendered ineffective?

Let's get on with the real task. Challenging and ultimately (hopefully) getting rid of the whole stinking edifice.

 

What's your take on the creation of a Department of Peace? I think this is a step in the right direction, something to consider...

It's an interesting idea, but isn't that the function of the State Department. In maintaining our relations with other nations, peace would seem to be a component of their mission.

Hmmm...but for the Tubthumper's site, shouldn't we be talking about a Ministry of Peace?

 

NO not the Dog..not the lovely dog...okay I hope the lovely dog took a crap on the shooters foot...But hey that is the most creative way to get comments that I have ever seen....It is amazing how accurate Orwell is ...was...no IS....scary actually....Here in the States Kucinich ( rep from Ohio) he did promote a Dept of Peace when he ran for Prez..I thought it was great idea...but alas it didn't catch on to the nascar-slurping-burping-narrowminded idiots in the US....

( there is no nascar in scotland right???please tell me there isn't....)

 

If it's good enough for Senator Palpatine, it's good enough for me. Once our enemies are crushed there will be peace.

 

I don't mean the state department, I mean a Dept of Peace as outlined by the proposed bill.

Go to Peace Alliance website to read the description.

Kvatch, its on Lose The Noose, a button.

 

No experience of peace? Hell, peace will only be achieved when all the other guys (warmongering fuckers that they are) are dead.

 

Careful who you point that gun at. My dog learns by imitation. She dances, sings, worries, answers the phone, slept thru Bush's SOTU, barks at Rumsfeld & just recently figured out how to open locked doors. Can world dominion be bar behind? And I don't know what A peaceful world would be like, but MY peaceful world would be populated with a 100 to 1 dog to human ratio. D.K.

 

i hadn't seen this dept of peace stuff so will have to give it a closer look before i say something.

there is no nascar in scotland. there is rallying though.

DK - my solution for global warming has always been that everyone gets two huskies and a skateboard. this could lead to problems at a certain time of year when all the dogs hits the traffic lights though.

 

oh and i stole the dog picture from another site but for the life of me i can't remember which one.

for any animal rights people here.... i don't even own a dog

no dogs were harmed in the posting of this comment

 

Kucinich proposed---back before he was even considering a bid for the presidency---that "peace" should be an "organizing principle" in society. This would be a huge cultural leap.

Still, one could go further. I am intrigued by parecon as far as the "what do we want" thing goes.

 

Orwell never ceases to amaze me. Nice post Michael

 

Just dropping by to say, "hello".
I am an Anti-capitalist but I'm not so sure that I am a Socialist...though, I must confess that I do carry one of those little red cards.

 

hello rosemarie. funny you ended up at this post - this was months ago!