[PEN-L:2895] More on vampirism
===> A casual addendum from my Deep South correspondent. valis I was just thinking, looking at the pattern over the past 40 years, that "vampire" behavior is predictable. The next victim is almost always in the low-key buzz of the right-wing think tanks today. While the assault on SS is taking all the publicity, the mind of the public is quietly and gently being prepared for the next assault. Consider the preparation for the SS battle. We'd been hearing for a decade how "people 30 years old won't ever get their benefits." Most people have come to believe that. Facts and figures seem not to have much effect in the face of that kind of indoctrination. The interesting part is that it's not a conspiracy, at least not as far as I can tell. As Sam Smith once wrote, "You don't need a conspiracy when you have a culture." Social Security, BTW, is THE big battle, in my opinion. Lose SS and Hobbes comes to mind. The Optimist
[PEN-L:2894] Re: hate crimes
Quoth Jim D, in full: > In my e-mail inbox, I have a petition that my sister sent me, in favor of > strengthening US "hate crimes" laws to apply to crimes against gays and > lesbians. (BTW, she's a lesbian.) I'm in a quandary. This is not because > I'm against gay and lesbian rights (quite the contrary). Rather, the > problem is that I have a visceral reaction against the idea of "hate > crimes" legislation. > > The problem with hate crime legislation for me is that it puts much too > much stress on people's intentions. Too much of this gets into thought > control. And prosecutors are already too strong in the US, as Alex > Cockburn's column in today's L.A. TIMES reminds us. And what about hate > crimes by the police themselves? > > It seems to me that what we need is stronger laws against _torture_. I > think that this would catch almost all of the hate crimes, like that > against Matthew Shepard. It also could be used against the prosecutors and > police some times. I think it also allows us to have simpler laws and > simpler law enforcement, since it's much easier to pin down torture than > hate. (Many of the haters have great facades.) > > any thoughts? Jim is right on target here, but I'd extend the position's logic. Hate crime is a spurious category reified in the minds of those, like blacks and gays, who have grown up with much hate present (including spells of self-hatred), but _all_ acts of violence are articulations of hate. Doesn't a mugger need to hate anyone with a few more bucks, hence considered "rich?" Doesn't a rapist need to hate women as a general category? All that's necessary is an equitable enforcement of existing statutes, otherwise expect a balkanized welter of minutely defined groups, each with unique claims on the law and its applications. Such a society would be a walkover for fascists, too. valis
[PEN-L:2893] RE: Re: Re: Surrender, Dorothy.
> Don't forget the lyrics for the songs in the movie by Yip Harburg. > The story is told in the book: > > Who Put the Rainbow in the Wizard of Oz? : Yip Harburg, Lyricist > by Harold Meyerson, Ernie Harburg, Yip Harburg ISBN: 0472083120 There's a CD of Harburg's songs. Not to be missed is "Lydia the Tatooed Lady" (sung in one of the Marx Bros movies). mbs
[PEN-L:2892] Dead Russian Steelworkers
Dear Pen-L, Has anyone ever seen any biographies, writings or speechs of Russian Metalworkers union leaders Shlyapnikov, Medvedev or Lutovinov that are posted on the web. Your email pal, Tom L.
[PEN-L:2878] Electric Sheep
Bladerunner and Do Android's Dream of Electric Sheep? are pretty different kettles of fish. Electric Sheep like a lot of Dick's stuff is about the psychological construction of reality whose instability in turn destabilizes the psychic identity of the constructor (have you lived your life or are you an android with implanted memories? Can I tell the difference? More importantly, can you tell the difference?) It has a recurrent image of the material culture of the post apocalypse world crumbling into bits of trash, which Dick refers to as kibble (or is it kipple?) On the contrary, Bladerunner is about the material construction of psychology in a world where the most oppressed of the workforce have been literally commodified (produced for sale). Rather than crumbling into bits, the material culture has literally become monolithic dwarfing the humanity which moves within it. Only P.K. Dick purists would prefer the novel. Was Dekker an android? I thought his leaving with Rachel was a transfer of allegiance from the system to the oppressed, but my wife usually has to explain movies to me. Terry McDonough
[PEN-L:2890] Re: Surrender, Dorothy.
BTW, I stand corrected by Max S. Bryan was the Cowardly Lion. Barkley Rosser On Thu, 4 Feb 1999 18:10:04 -0500 (Eastern Standard Time) "Rosser Jr, John Barkley" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Louis, > None of this is inconsistent with Baum being a > populist. Although some were socialist or quasi-socialist, > many were pro-small business and entrepreneurship and also > not necessarily friendly to American Indians, as they > supported westward expansion and all that. > The interpretation suggesed about Scarecrow = farmer, > Tin Woodman = industrial worker, Wizard = W.J. Bryan, etc. > is well known and well established with much to support > that it was indeed on Baum's mind. > And it is the case that the slippers were changed from > silver to ruby between the book and the most famous movie > version. > Barkley Rosser > On Thu, 04 Feb 1999 17:01:35 -0500 Louis Proyect > <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > >From David Traxel's "1898," (A. Knopf, 1998): > > > > LYMAN FRANK BAUM grew up in a wealthy New York family, but had decided > > while still a teenager against following his father into the oil business. > > Instead he had been drawn to the theater, and in his early twenties wrote > > and produced his own plays, The Maid of Arran and The Queen of Killarney, > > starring in them with his wife as they toured through the East and Midwest. > > This was a wonderful creative experience, but less successful as a > > money-maker. While not completely giving up the theater, he worked as a > > traveling salesman, and then started an enterprise related to his father's: > > Baum's Castorine Company, producing an axle grease made from crude oil. > > > > In 1888, at the age of thirty-two, he opened a retail store, Baum's Bazaar. > > in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where his wife's brother and sisters had > > homesteaded a farm. A sudden downturn in the local economy put the Bazaar > > into bankruptcy, but Baum, displaying the optimistic adaptability of the > > American entrepreneur, then shifted to journalism, not only publishing the > > Aberdeen Saturdai Pioneer, but also writing and setting in type almost even > > word that went onto its pages, both news stories and advertising. To gain > > all the meat from the nut of life is the essence of wisdom,' he informed > > the readers of Aberdeen. 'therefore, eat, drink, and be merry--for tomorrow > > you die.' This emphasis on sensual pleasures must have been somewhat > > shocking to the conservative farmers of the region, but Baum saw himself as > > a revolutionary force for changing Americans from pinch-penny savers to > > consumers of the good things in life. Yes, you might "be forced to borrow a > > few dollars" in order to afford worldly comforts, but "who will be the > > gainer when Death calls him to the last account--the man who can say 'I > > have lived!' or the man who can say 'I have saved'?" > > > > Baum's view of the world had been formed in the wealthy surroundings of his > > childhood, but he was also influenced by his mother-in-law, Matilda Joslyn > > Cage, who was a leading feminist and the coauthor, along with Susan B. > > Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, of History of Woman Suffrage. Gage had > > found the Protestantism of her own youth too resistant to women's rights, > > and had instead turned to theosophy, a quirky blend of Eastern mysticism, > > the paranormal, and a respect for the "objectivity" of science put together > > by Madame Helena Blavatsky. > > > > One of the New Thought or Mind Cure philosophies that had arisen to fill > > needs brought about by Darwin's undermining of established religion, > > theosophy taught that happiness was something to be sought in this world, > > not postponed until Heaven. There was no Heaven, although theosophists did > > believe that the "spirits" of dead people were present in another > > dimension, which could only be reached through mediums and s6ances. Nor was > > there a God as traditionally worshipped, but "There is a latent power," one > > theosophist wrote, "a force of indestructible life, an immortal principle > > of health, in every individual, which if developed would heal all our > > wounds." If one developed this latent power, not only good health but money > > enough to provide comforts and luxuries would result. There was no need to > > defer happiness. > > > > This made eminent good sense to Baum, but he had a hard time living up to > > the model in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Continuing bad times sank the Saturday > > Pioneer, and booming, bustling Chicago pulled him to its busy streets, just > > as it did so many ambitious and penniless young men. He briefly worked as a > > reporter for the Chicago Evening News, then went on the road selling > > crockery and glassware. Salesmanship was a perfect calling for a man of his > > optimistic nature, and he was successful enough that soon he, his wife, and > > four children were able to afford a large house with modern conv
[PEN-L:2881] Surrender, Dorothy.
Louis P. mentioned L. Frank Baum as an unalloyed defender of capitalism. I've always been under the impression that the Wizard of Oz (no, this is not about you, Rob S.) is a critical allegory about the populist movement[farmers - the scarecrow, industrial workers - the tin man, the AFL - the cowardly lion] being misled by William Jennings Bryan [the wizard/con man] who provides false brains, false heart and false courage and convinces Dorothy to put her faith in the silver slippers to get her home, against the opposition of the wicked witch of the east [banks] and the wicked witch of the west [railroads]. Or am I dreaming... Terry McDonough
[PEN-L:2889] Re: Surrender, Dorothy.
Louis, None of this is inconsistent with Baum being a populist. Although some were socialist or quasi-socialist, many were pro-small business and entrepreneurship and also not necessarily friendly to American Indians, as they supported westward expansion and all that. The interpretation suggesed about Scarecrow = farmer, Tin Woodman = industrial worker, Wizard = W.J. Bryan, etc. is well known and well established with much to support that it was indeed on Baum's mind. And it is the case that the slippers were changed from silver to ruby between the book and the most famous movie version. Barkley Rosser On Thu, 04 Feb 1999 17:01:35 -0500 Louis Proyect <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >From David Traxel's "1898," (A. Knopf, 1998): > > LYMAN FRANK BAUM grew up in a wealthy New York family, but had decided > while still a teenager against following his father into the oil business. > Instead he had been drawn to the theater, and in his early twenties wrote > and produced his own plays, The Maid of Arran and The Queen of Killarney, > starring in them with his wife as they toured through the East and Midwest. > This was a wonderful creative experience, but less successful as a > money-maker. While not completely giving up the theater, he worked as a > traveling salesman, and then started an enterprise related to his father's: > Baum's Castorine Company, producing an axle grease made from crude oil. > > In 1888, at the age of thirty-two, he opened a retail store, Baum's Bazaar. > in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where his wife's brother and sisters had > homesteaded a farm. A sudden downturn in the local economy put the Bazaar > into bankruptcy, but Baum, displaying the optimistic adaptability of the > American entrepreneur, then shifted to journalism, not only publishing the > Aberdeen Saturdai Pioneer, but also writing and setting in type almost even > word that went onto its pages, both news stories and advertising. To gain > all the meat from the nut of life is the essence of wisdom,' he informed > the readers of Aberdeen. 'therefore, eat, drink, and be merry--for tomorrow > you die.' This emphasis on sensual pleasures must have been somewhat > shocking to the conservative farmers of the region, but Baum saw himself as > a revolutionary force for changing Americans from pinch-penny savers to > consumers of the good things in life. Yes, you might "be forced to borrow a > few dollars" in order to afford worldly comforts, but "who will be the > gainer when Death calls him to the last account--the man who can say 'I > have lived!' or the man who can say 'I have saved'?" > > Baum's view of the world had been formed in the wealthy surroundings of his > childhood, but he was also influenced by his mother-in-law, Matilda Joslyn > Cage, who was a leading feminist and the coauthor, along with Susan B. > Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, of History of Woman Suffrage. Gage had > found the Protestantism of her own youth too resistant to women's rights, > and had instead turned to theosophy, a quirky blend of Eastern mysticism, > the paranormal, and a respect for the "objectivity" of science put together > by Madame Helena Blavatsky. > > One of the New Thought or Mind Cure philosophies that had arisen to fill > needs brought about by Darwin's undermining of established religion, > theosophy taught that happiness was something to be sought in this world, > not postponed until Heaven. There was no Heaven, although theosophists did > believe that the "spirits" of dead people were present in another > dimension, which could only be reached through mediums and s6ances. Nor was > there a God as traditionally worshipped, but "There is a latent power," one > theosophist wrote, "a force of indestructible life, an immortal principle > of health, in every individual, which if developed would heal all our > wounds." If one developed this latent power, not only good health but money > enough to provide comforts and luxuries would result. There was no need to > defer happiness. > > This made eminent good sense to Baum, but he had a hard time living up to > the model in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Continuing bad times sank the Saturday > Pioneer, and booming, bustling Chicago pulled him to its busy streets, just > as it did so many ambitious and penniless young men. He briefly worked as a > reporter for the Chicago Evening News, then went on the road selling > crockery and glassware. Salesmanship was a perfect calling for a man of his > optimistic nature, and he was successful enough that soon he, his wife, and > four children were able to afford a large house with modern conveniences > such as gaslight and a bathroom. But by the late 1890s he grew tired of > eating hotel food, traveling endless railroad miles and being away from his > family for long periods of time. > > In 1897 he published Mother Goose in Prose, illustrated by Maxfield > Parrish, and began writing down his own stories. 'wonder tales," as he > calle
[PEN-L:2877] Re: virtuous circles
The study concluded that the 14 cases where governments had been > the most draconian -- notably Denmark and Ireland in the mid-1980s -- > resulted in the fastest growth. "The simple 'Keynesian' view of fiscal > consolidation is that lower government purchases or higher taxes reduce > aggregate demand," the report said. Instead, it concluded, "there may be a > virtuous circle between economic growth and debt-ratio reduction." There are several sources of recent Irish growth. In no particular order. An investment by Intel in 1991 of about £1 billion. This was attracted through government subsidies of about £75,000 per job created. This set off a virtuous circle of the Myrdal sort. Government incentives have continued to be important in attracting foreign investment which accounts for the lion's share of the Celtic Tiger's growth. Access to EU markets has been important. While hardly illiberal, the EU has not been a bastion of free trade. Low corporate tax rates have been important. The Wall Street Journal recently tried to argue these were supply side cuts. Rather they are examples of social dumping, attracting employment which would have gone elsewhere, rather than incentivizing entrepreneurs, blah, blah, blah. Massive EU aid has already been mentioned. Wages are relatively low and have been restrained by tripartite national agreements which include negotiating around taxes and welfare policy as well as wages. Finally, Ireland has a well educated English speaking workforce, whose origins are ironically in British imperial experimentation with publicly funded education in the 19th century. In addition, Irish migrants provide a highly qualified reserve army of labour which can move back as employment expands. None of this has much to do with debt reduction except in the sense that a willingness to cut public spending in the 80's established the government's conservative credentials after a ballooning debt in the 70's. Most of the reduction has come from growth as government expenditure has been expanding recently. Terry McDonough
[PEN-L:2891] Re: Re: Surrender, Dorothy.
On Thu, 4 Feb 1999, Michael Perelman wrote: > We discussed this on pen-l some time ago. There is a literature on the > subject beginning with Littlefield, Henry. reprinted in 1983. "The Wizard > of Oz: Parable on Populism." in Michael Patrick Hearn, ed. The Wizard of > Oz (New York: Schocken Books). > One article was even published in the Journal of Political Economy: > Rockoff, Hugh. 1990. "The Wizard of Oz as a Monetary Allegory." Journal > of Political Economy, 98: 4 (August): pp. 739-60. > > Jim Devine even led us to the Baum Bugle, a paper devoted to Baum's work. > Don't forget the lyrics for the songs in the movie by Yip Harburg. The story is told in the book: Who Put the Rainbow in the Wizard of Oz? : Yip Harburg, Lyricist by Harold Meyerson, Ernie Harburg, Yip Harburg ISBN: 0472083120 I heard Amy Goodman interview Ernie Harburg (his son) about this book and his father. -- Joseph Noonan [EMAIL PROTECTED]
[PEN-L:2885] Re: Surrender, Dorothy.
>From David Traxel's "1898," (A. Knopf, 1998): LYMAN FRANK BAUM grew up in a wealthy New York family, but had decided while still a teenager against following his father into the oil business. Instead he had been drawn to the theater, and in his early twenties wrote and produced his own plays, The Maid of Arran and The Queen of Killarney, starring in them with his wife as they toured through the East and Midwest. This was a wonderful creative experience, but less successful as a money-maker. While not completely giving up the theater, he worked as a traveling salesman, and then started an enterprise related to his father's: Baum's Castorine Company, producing an axle grease made from crude oil. In 1888, at the age of thirty-two, he opened a retail store, Baum's Bazaar. in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where his wife's brother and sisters had homesteaded a farm. A sudden downturn in the local economy put the Bazaar into bankruptcy, but Baum, displaying the optimistic adaptability of the American entrepreneur, then shifted to journalism, not only publishing the Aberdeen Saturdai Pioneer, but also writing and setting in type almost even word that went onto its pages, both news stories and advertising. To gain all the meat from the nut of life is the essence of wisdom,' he informed the readers of Aberdeen. 'therefore, eat, drink, and be merry--for tomorrow you die.' This emphasis on sensual pleasures must have been somewhat shocking to the conservative farmers of the region, but Baum saw himself as a revolutionary force for changing Americans from pinch-penny savers to consumers of the good things in life. Yes, you might "be forced to borrow a few dollars" in order to afford worldly comforts, but "who will be the gainer when Death calls him to the last account--the man who can say 'I have lived!' or the man who can say 'I have saved'?" Baum's view of the world had been formed in the wealthy surroundings of his childhood, but he was also influenced by his mother-in-law, Matilda Joslyn Cage, who was a leading feminist and the coauthor, along with Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, of History of Woman Suffrage. Gage had found the Protestantism of her own youth too resistant to women's rights, and had instead turned to theosophy, a quirky blend of Eastern mysticism, the paranormal, and a respect for the "objectivity" of science put together by Madame Helena Blavatsky. One of the New Thought or Mind Cure philosophies that had arisen to fill needs brought about by Darwin's undermining of established religion, theosophy taught that happiness was something to be sought in this world, not postponed until Heaven. There was no Heaven, although theosophists did believe that the "spirits" of dead people were present in another dimension, which could only be reached through mediums and s6ances. Nor was there a God as traditionally worshipped, but "There is a latent power," one theosophist wrote, "a force of indestructible life, an immortal principle of health, in every individual, which if developed would heal all our wounds." If one developed this latent power, not only good health but money enough to provide comforts and luxuries would result. There was no need to defer happiness. This made eminent good sense to Baum, but he had a hard time living up to the model in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Continuing bad times sank the Saturday Pioneer, and booming, bustling Chicago pulled him to its busy streets, just as it did so many ambitious and penniless young men. He briefly worked as a reporter for the Chicago Evening News, then went on the road selling crockery and glassware. Salesmanship was a perfect calling for a man of his optimistic nature, and he was successful enough that soon he, his wife, and four children were able to afford a large house with modern conveniences such as gaslight and a bathroom. But by the late 1890s he grew tired of eating hotel food, traveling endless railroad miles and being away from his family for long periods of time. In 1897 he published Mother Goose in Prose, illustrated by Maxfield Parrish, and began writing down his own stories. 'wonder tales," as he called them. Another avenue, however, offered more immediate financial reward while also allowing him to creatively preach his philosophy of living, and consuming, in the here and now. America had some of the world's largest department stores, jammed full of goods produced by the new industrial order, an abundance that often seemed too much of a good thing. There were challenges in profitably selling such an enormous flow of goods, especially since the retail market not only suffered from labor problems but also was savagely competitive. Baum was confident he could teach department store owners how to move their merchandise more effectively. At the end of 1897 he began publishing a trade journal promulgating his ideas, The Show Window, and in February 1898 he organized the National Association of Window Trimmers, whose goal was "the upl
[PEN-L:2887] Re: Re: Surrender, Dorothy.
On Thu, February 4, 1999 at 16:40:18 (-0500) Max Sawicky writes: > And the silver slippers,... Silver slippers? Were they changed to ruby in the movie? Bill
[PEN-L:2883] RE: Surrender, Dorothy.
> > Louis P. mentioned L. Frank Baum as an unalloyed defender of > capitalism. I've always been under the impression that the Wizard of > Oz (no, this is not about you, Rob S.) is a critical allegory about > the populist movement[farmers - the scarecrow, industrial workers - > the tin man, the AFL - the cowardly lion] being misled by William > Jennings Bryan [the wizard/con man] who provides false brains, false > heart and false courage and convinces Dorothy to put her faith in the > silver slippers to get her home, against the opposition of the wicked > witch of the east [banks] and the wicked witch of the west > [railroads]. You're slightly mixed up here. Bryan was the cowardly lion. The wizard was Mark Hanna or somebody like that. And the silver slippers, connoting a more elastic money supply, actually did get Dorothy back home. Silver was the answer (and it was there all the time). The yellow brick road (e.g., the gold standard) led Dorothy in the wrong, dangerous direction, to the Wizard. The flyin monkeys were probably the Pinkertons, and the munchkins were, of course, the little people. The Lollypop Kid
[PEN-L:2882] BLS Daily Report
This message is in MIME format. Since your mail reader does not understand this format, some or all of this message may not be legible. --_=_NextPart_000_01BE5083.5A632830 BLS DAILY REPORT, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1999 RELEASED TODAY: In December, 212 metropolitan areas recorded unemployment rates below the U.S. average (4.0 percent, not seasonally adjusted), while 110 areas had higher rates. Of the 27 metropolitan areas with rates below 2.0 percent, 13 were located in the Midwest, 10 in the South, and 4 in the Northeast. Of the 13 areas with jobless rates above 9.0 percent, 8 were in California, and 4 others were along the Mexican border in other states. ... The index of leading economic indicators increased 0.3 percent in December, indicating that the economy is showing no signs of a slowdown, the Conference Board reports. The leading index showed the third increase in as many months. ... (Daily Labor Report, page D-1). New home sales eased in December from a record high but kept up a scorching pace to make 1998 the strongest year ever for the U.S. housing market, the Commerce Department said. The December figure for new single-family homes sold in the United States slipped 3.6 percent, down from November's all-time high. In 1998 overall, 888,000 homes were sold, the most ever. That broke the previous home sales record set in 1977, when 819,000 homes were sold (Washington Post, page E4; Wall Street Journal, page A2)_Sales of new homes surged to a record last year, fueled by job gains, rising consumer confidence, and low interest rates that should carry the economy well into the ninth year of expansion. Sales were up 10.4 percent from a year earlier. ... (New York Times, page C2). Auto companies reported big increases in U.S. unit sales in January, buoyed by continuing low interest rates, low fuel prices, and low unemployment. Trucks, again, were the hottest sellers, but several foreign manufacturers also reported record January passenger-car sales. ... (Wall Street Journal, page A2; New York Times, page C1). The "Economic Indicators" feature of USA Today (page 4B) indicates that the estimated unemployment rate for January, due out Feb. 5, will be 4.4 percent, as compared with the December figure of 4.3 percent. Average hourly earnings for January are expected to rise 0.3 percent, compared with 0.4 percent for December. --_=_NextPart_000_01BE5083.5A632830 b3NvZnQgTWFpbC5Ob3RlADEIAQWAAwAOzwcCAAQAEAAOACoABAAoAQEggAMADgAAAM8HAgAE ABAADgAeAAQAHAEBCYABACEAAABFNTkyQzIyMDI1QkNEMjExODg4RTAwQzA0RjhDNzgzMQAIBwEE gAEAEQAAAEJMUyBEYWlseSBSZXBvcnQAkAUBDYAEAAICAAIAAQOQBgDQCAAAHEAAOQDg 5bxhg1C+AR4AcAABEQAAAEJMUyBEYWlseSBSZXBvcnQAAgFxAAEWAb5Qg2FV IMKS5rwlEdKIjgDAT4x4MQAAHgAxQAENUklDSEFSRFNPTl9EAAMAGkAAHgAw QAENUklDSEFSRFNPTl9EAAMAGUAAAgEJEAEPBgAACwYAAMQJAABMWkZ1 mt6Muv8ACgEPAhUCpAPkBesCgwBQEwNUAgBjaArAc2V0bjIGAAbDAoMyA8UCAHDccnESIAcTAoB9 CoAIzx8J2QKACoENsQtgbmcxODAzMwr7EvIB0CBCgkwF8ERBSUxZB/AARVBPUlQsIFegRURORVMY wFkZgIBGRUJSVUFSGQDyMxmAMTkbIAqFCoUZIBBMRUFTGbAgVE+hGgE6ICBJA6BEBZDOZQbQBJAZ gDIxEiAHgOp0A2BwBvBpAZADoArAPGVhBCAVMAWhDbBkIOx1bh2gC1BvBsAJ8AVAeHJhdAeRHcAU wAfgdIBoZSBVLlMuHxASdgSQYWchwCg0Lj0YYHAEkB2QAjAZgG5vnwVAEfAfUAIgB0BseR8QkGRq dXMhAGQpGYDsd2gDECHAMRcAHxURwHsf8CVAZyGwBcAg4yIQIORPZiGTMjceTx9RA/DLIaAg2zIi 2jEzJSAEkHshwBTAYyDxH/ALgCGTTXxpZCtAJMAa8RhgLBVTXwhgIaAZgABwH/A0LAZOdxTRIbAf UHQnOCsRKNlqvm8CYAeQH2Eg8wGgbyJAtCA5Ito4KzQsEUMHQPcGkAWwAwBhLgYjoCahKREXK1IH QAIgZyw0ZXhp/yuwA6AG4B/BBcAsETTTI8C7AZAnAy44MB0gG1xUIbH7C4ANsHg0wCdwJWAkgAuA dzXQBZEjkG02YDmSNmF0PwWwBCALgAUAH0Ef4TAu/ysgIwUsAh14O0U6ciGgIPDfIZM6tCRgBAAj wGghcDpy3yOQI8AmgAYxOgFhI8AhYTpkIXBuGYAhoghQbmbnK1E8ACHAQm8LER9xHqD/ACAnIjli OjY5pEASH+Ehov0hoGlDMTv2LAIfUQOBJGDLBGACMGg4BihEC3AkUX5MMeEcEUNzGYAKsCKBRPAt MSkuG1wHwkAgB4DfI8AHQAeRPDQ9WSADUkFBzx+EJmMhMC3QIGtDcAVA/HVwQUIFoRGwOnIKsELR IyEdYQqx/nQgk0ugLJBD1UyYJoAIcD8hwFJyICAH4FNyJWAtZn5hOwAkUUtSP/EG8Cv3VfsDACvS UzfDQWEFICMAH/D4My42IvhBsk0ULvAiQO0dsicxwSRALT6AS3Emcv8nMR1BUKMyASDgJEAy8V+A /CwwX8BYxStDWTJB9ARg71GhUiJD0z7xYgNgUHEhovsTkFIgaVNRS0pNlRHxLAL5GxA3NyUSCfAz ABsQX795WUIoVx9QT4I7oAOgUONhYUl1RTQ7GZAkMVpROwnRBUBKCGEkIUl1QTL8KV9q0gYQS8I6 AVeyWNX/CHAigEVxQKBNdwtgUaUZgG5mClAlYB/wYiRgMQEg+mcLcXMZgAUQU3M6wWxQ/1Sxb+JX CrB/AIECICcxayQrQ07hFwAu/y5gPNZNJVHUCsAewGHCR/R1B8JZBbBrHLAHckl1Q/dqsCIQG1xB LdBAoAWgIED/AHAIkB9iQ4JuciaAO+c70l8h1CAQHtBLlSwRSgBwdf0KwHkZgE5QIHBudDrBPoH+ dTpycY9vUSFibjJi8TZgD3sycUYgGkPScnVja/+Esm8SJRErUiGiQCACQFGSfxHwJEA1AYEiI7Jf A1JiZctA0UcSdVhgY3RXMTUR/wdAJAB92E2VgLVJgQQQCfD5IoByLXNxS5RH1mkPahmfaOB6f3uD Sg85YiJFOsb7HUA7ZiJNEB9AipI58iHQrFNBHLAEcGEkYChJk/g0Qik7NnKGPyMkwAdw7yvDIB9S Y4C3ZApQNMBOYehGZWIiEDUlEQMQAyD/HcAuUHgYLgEEIH1DFTEpJL8holZ+OgEiwDy3JzFBIkXf U0F5oCRgUeF1cWcEIJlp/x8SdkIFkCvSUCFvgSHAPJn/GYCcvHgLBbEddjhYF08YUQum1RRRAKkw AAMA8T8JBwD9P+QEAAADACYAAAMANgAAAgFHAAEwYz1VUzthPSA7cD1C TFM7bD1EQ1BDU01BSUwxLTk5MDIwNDIxMTQ0MlotMzMzOTgAHgA4QAENUklDSEFSRFNP Tl9EAB4AOUAB
[PEN-L:2879] Re: Electric Sheep
Terrence Mc Donough wrote:
>On the contrary, Bladerunner is about the material construction of
>psychology in a world where the most oppressed of the workforce have
>been literally commodified (produced for sale). Rather than
>crumbling into bits, the material culture has literally become
>monolithic dwarfing the humanity which moves within it.
>
>Only P.K. Dick purists would prefer the novel.
>
>Was Dekker an android? I thought his leaving with Rachel was a
>transfer of allegiance from the system to the oppressed, but my wife
>usually has to explain movies to me.
Here's what my current intellectual hero, Slavoj Zizek, has to say about
the movie, in his book Tarrying With the Negative. Reading this was the
reason I rented the video the other night. Sadly, it wasn't the director's
cut.
Doug
What, then, do Blade Runner and Angel Heart have in common? Both films deal
with memory and subverted personal identity: the hero, the hardboiled
investigator, is sent on a quest whose final outcome involves discovering
that he himself was from the very beginning implicated in the object of his
quest. In Angel Heart, he ascertains that the dead singer he was looking
for is none other than himself (in an occult ritual performed long ago, he
exchanged hearts and souls with an ex-soldier, who he now thinks he is). In
Blade Runner, he is after a group of replicants at large in L.A. of 2012;
upon accomplishing his mission, he is told that he is himself a replicant.
The outcome of the quest is therefore in both cases the radical undermining
of self-identity masterminded by a mysterious, all-powerful agency, in the
first case the Devil himself ("Louis Cipher"), in the second case the
Tyrell corporation, which succeeded in fabricating replicants unaware of
their replicant status, i.e., replicants misperceiving themselves as
humans.' The world depicted in both films is the world in which the
corporate Capital succeeded in penetrating and dominating the very
fantasykernel of our being: none of our features is really "ours"; even our
memories and fantasies are artificially planted, it is as if Fredric
Jameson's thesis on postmodernism as the epoch in which Capital colonizes
the last resorts hitherto excluded from its circuit is here brought to its
hyperbolic conclusion: the fusion of Capital and Knowledge brings about a
new type of proletarian, as it were the absolute proletarian bereft of the
last pockets of private resistance; everything, up to the most intimate
memories, is planted, so that what remains is now literally the void of
pure substanceless subjectivity (substanzlose Sub ektivitact- Marx's
definition of the proletarian). Ironically, one might say that Blade Runner
is a film about the emergence of class consciousness.
This truth is concealed, in one film metaphorically, in the other
metonymically: in Angel Heart, corporate Capital is substituted by the
metaphorical figure of the Devil, whereas in Blade Runner, a metonymical
impediment prevents the film from carrying out its inherent logic. That is
to say, the director's cut of Blade Runner differs in two crucial features
from the version released in 1982: there is no voiceover, and at the end,
Deckard (Harrison Ford) discovers that be also is a replicant. But even in
the two released versions, especially in the version released in 1992, a
whole series of features points toward Deckard's true status: strong accent
falls on the visual parallelism between Deckard and Leon Kowalski, a
replicant questioned in the Tyrell building at the beginning of the film;
after Deckard proves to Rachael (Sean Young) that she is a replicant by
quoting her most intimate child-recollections she did not share with
anyone, the camera provides a brief survey of his personal mythologies (old
childhood pictures an the piano, his dream-recollection of a unicorn), with
a clear implication that they also are fabricated, not "true" memories or
dreams, so that when Rachael mockingly asks him if he also underwent the
replicant test, the question resounds with ominous undertones; the
patronizing-cynical attitude of the policeman who serves as Deckard's
contact to the police chief, as well as the fact that be makes small paper
models of unicorns, clearly indicates his awareness that Deckard is a
replicant (and we can safety surmise that in the true director's cut he
viciously informs Deckard of this fact). The paradox here is that the
subversive effect (the blurring of the line of distinction between humans
and androids) hinges on the narrative closure, on the loop by means of
which the beginning metaphorically augurs the end (when, at the beginning
of the film, Deckard replays the tape of Kowalski's interrogation, he is
yet unaware that at the end he will himself occupy Kowalski's place),
whereas the evasion of the narrative closure (in the 1982 version, the
hints of Deckard's replicant status are barely perceptible) functions as a
conformist compromise which cuts off the subversive edge.
[PEN-L:2864] Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: AIDS and the blow back
G'day Wojtek, Whilst looking at our world through Marxist eyes can not but fill one with furious indignation (I'm sure Marxists have shorter life expectancies than others - I tend to swing between stomach-acid producing, blood-pressure-increasing fury and vitality-draining sadness), I do feel you might have overshot the mark somewhat here. As one who got the hell out of town (albeit not very far - we gotta work) because the virtues of the city have long been waning (less sociability, less convenient infrastructure, more malls [which I loathe with pathological intensity], more public surveillance - although the spectre of less physical safety is not yet writ large in the antipodean milieu), I can rightly be charged with taking an individualist route and thus contributing to social decline. The reasoning went thus; I'm not happy; something has to be done; no matter how much we try to add our little bit to cohere and promote that enormous well of similar feeling (it's in all the polls) in the city (I couldn't use the word 'community'), it never happens; I'm getting the hell outa here. I even prattle on and on to cyber-pals I'll never meet. Definitely a partial response to this sort of alienation, and definitely a middle-class option (computers are dear here). So we are responding to alienation in alienated ways. That's what one would expect of alienated people, no? How else would we respond? And we're not sitting somewhere above all this - we're part of it. And this ratfucker knows well enough where this is all heading: the aggregate of individually rational responses does not add up to the rational end overall. I'm reminded of Frank, Gilovich & Regan's games, in which economics students kept behaving as they had been trained to do (ie. as, er, ratfuckers) and consequently deprived both themselves and the group of optimal well-being at best, and any well-being at all at worst (great stuff; take a peek at Ormerod's *Death of Economics* pp 34-5). So my position is that we ratfuckers have no conceivable option other than the ones we're demonstrably taking. We don't need warning. Most of us know we're all fucked, and if we can speak of human nature at all here, we can certainly speak of the oft-remarked tendency of people to try to put off the minute of their own dissolution as long as possible, especially if they have kiddies to love and protect. I remember one erstwhile SS officer theorising thusly about all the people he'd been ordered to kill during WW2 - they'd all behave impeccably as they marched to their place of execution, outnumbering their executioners by mebbe twenty to one all the while, because they'd thus guarantee themselves the few extra minutes of life it took to get to the machine guns and the trench-graves. If we tend to behave like this in situations as certain as that, where, to the disengaged rational mind, 'nothing' is to be lost, and everything is up for grabs - well, we've a political problem of formidable magnitude, eh? Dropping infested corpses on us won't help much. And anyway, I thought it was the workers who lived in the burbs these days? You'd written: >This suggests that the individualistic response to crisis suggested in your >posting is the response conditined by bourgeois society. When the crisis >finally comes, bourgeoisie is more likely to use individualistic responses >to it which, in a long run, decreases their chance of survival. That is >good, no? Why would any decent Marxist want to warn the ratfuckers that >they are an endangered species? Why not dropping some infested corpses in >the burbs instead? Cheers, Rob.
[PEN-L:2888] hate crimes
In my e-mail inbox, I have a petition that my sister sent me, in favor of strengthening US "hate crimes" laws to apply to crimes against gays and lesbians. (BTW, she's a lesbian.) I'm in a quandary. This is not because I'm against gay and lesbian rights (quite the contrary). Rather, the problem is that I have a visceral reaction against the idea of "hate crimes" legislation. The problem with hate crime legislation for me is that it puts much too much stress on people's intentions. Too much of this gets into thought control. And prosecutors are already too strong in the US, as Alex Cockburn's column in today's L.A. TIMES reminds us. And what about hate crimes by the police themselves? It seems to me that what we need is stronger laws against _torture_. I think that this would catch almost all of the hate crimes, like that against Matthew Shepard. It also could be used against the prosecutors and police some times. I think it also allows us to have simpler laws and simpler law enforcement, since it's much easier to pin down torture than hate. (Many of the haters have great facades.) any thoughts? Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://clawww.lmu.edu/Faculty/JDevine/jdevine.html
[PEN-L:2886] shaihk's statements
Doug, several times on pen-l you have made reference to statements by Anwar where he feels that we may be starting to climb the "boom phase" of a long wave. If he has put these comments down in any publications, could you provide me with the cite? Thanks very much. Jeff Thompson
[PEN-L:2884] Re: Surrender, Dorothy.
We discussed this on pen-l some time ago. There is a literature on the subject beginning with Littlefield, Henry. reprinted in 1983. "The Wizard of Oz: Parable on Populism." in Michael Patrick Hearn, ed. The Wizard of Oz (New York: Schocken Books). One article was even published in the Journal of Political Economy: Rockoff, Hugh. 1990. "The Wizard of Oz as a Monetary Allegory." Journal of Political Economy, 98: 4 (August): pp. 739-60. Jim Devine even led us to the Baum Bugle, a paper devoted to Baum's work. Terrence Mc Donough wrote: > Louis P. mentioned L. Frank Baum as an unalloyed defender of > capitalism. I've always been under the impression that the Wizard of > Oz (no, this is not about you, Rob S.) is a critical allegory about > the populist movement[farmers - the scarecrow, industrial workers - > the tin man, the AFL - the cowardly lion] being misled by William > Jennings Bryan [the wizard/con man] who provides false brains, false > heart and false courage and convinces Dorothy to put her faith in the > silver slippers to get her home, against the opposition of the wicked > witch of the east [banks] and the wicked witch of the west > [railroads]. > > Or am I dreaming... > > Terry McDonough -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
[PEN-L:2876] Fathoming Russia
>From Mark Jones: Primakov no longer wants power: he needs it and for the same reason everyone else who is a player in Russian politics does: just to survive. He has already frightened too many people to be able to retire into quiet obscurity if his present power-play goes pear-shaped. It isn't just Yeltsin and Berezovsky who need an amnesty, it's Primakov. Unlike the fallen oligarchs he has no reserves in Swiss numbered accounts, no chalets in the Cote d'Azur to set against a rainy day. Secret policemen cannot afford to retire, especially when they have begun to use their files in the grandiose way Primakov has. Now that he has come down from Olympus and entered the same swamp as everyone else, Primakov can be seen for what he is: a centrist in the tradition of Abalkin, trying to give perestroika a makeover. It cannot work. The situation in the country no longer permits experiments. The absurdity of his position ought to be self-evident: here we have the inheritor of the pontificate of Dzerzhinsky, Yezhov, Yagoda, Beria and Andropov, using their means, or threatening to, to install a social-market economy in a place where there is neither society nor economy to begin with. He is clever - it was clever to have someone like Roy Medvedev of all people try to invest him with the aura of power which all secret policemen need. But the task is hopeless, in fact he is entering the swamp in its deepest place, in the centre. He is doomed. The best he can hope for is that Berezovsky and Yeltsin will be sucked down with him, which seems quite likely. Russia is careening on course for its fourth revolution. Primakov has made his play and it is already clear that he has lost. He did not have enough: enough time, because it takes more than six months for the kind of creeping coup he initiated to roll through the apparatus against so much entrenched resistance; enough programme, because his goals seem meaningful only among the tinkling silver service of Davos and they have no meaning at all in Russia, indeed to speak of a 'social-market economy' simply abstracts from meaning and deepens the general night, imperilling still more thousands of his hapless citizens with extinction from cold, disease and hunger. Crucially, he did not have enough support: Primakov was left untouched only as long as he did nothing and appeared no more sinister than the smile on a Cheshire cat. The instant he showed signs of movement in any particular direction, people united to tear him apart. So what next? As usual, the chorus of comment almost entirely misses the real point about what is going on. It is like watching Hamlet without the prince: talk as you will of Luzhkov, Lebed (who he?) or anyone else in the thinning list of aspirants, until you start to talk seriously about (a) the Duma and (b) Zyuganov, you are wasting your breath. That, incidentally, was the point Chikin and Prokhanov were making -- because even Zyuganov, these days, seems to forget about Zyuganov (incidentally, there was a time when David Johnson was ruthlessly criticised by the denizens of Carnegieland, who have mostly gone back into lurk-mode on this list, for even publishing the outrageous and fascistic opinions of Taibbi, Zavtra/Sovetskaya Rossiya and even of yours truly: but who now dares to deny the simple truth repeated by Chikin/Prokhanov (JRL 3041) that "The "hunters for extremists" are those who have robbed the people and do not want to return the spoils. The "social peacekeepers" are those who shot at us from tanks in October 1993. The fighters against "Russian fascism" are those who are to blame for the disappearance of 4,000 of the Russian population a day." Who?). Without Zyuganov (who made him) Primakov can do nothing, is paralysed and helpless: but Zyuganov cannot help create a 'social-market economy' however much he'd like to try: the people won't let him, and so far the people have not been abolished in sufficient numbers to ignore totally. So Primakov cannot abolish Zyuganov and the Duma either, he can only send them pathetic letters asking them to tie their own hands. Nor, come to that, can Zyuganov abolish himself even if he wants to, even if Mad Allbright wants him to. The people wouldn't let him, and that is really the point: the Fourth Estate has made its appearance at last. You only don't notice the masses shuffling into the room because they are, well, so quiet and kind of, you know, grubby. The people will not let this despised rabid dog, the Duma, be put down. The people still have power in their hands. Squirm as much as you want around that fact, but it is so, otherwise the Duma would have been abolished long ago. In fact, the plain truth is that nowadays only Zyuganov and the KPRF stands between the wrath of the people and their tormentors: Berezovsky, Yeltsin, even Primakov, need him more than they dare admit. The imminent disappearance of Yeltsin threatens final chaos at the centre; the hoped-for orderly transition to the P
[PEN-L:2874] Frank's new world-system theory
Lear, Thanks for sending Jim Blaut's review. I was tempted to discuss that review but that would have broken the logic of my planned detailed review here in pen-l, which am doing as part of a conference paper and future work. Besides I think I already substantiated my views on Weber and rationality against Blaut in the world history list. Although here in pen-l I would like to concentrate on the economics, I do hope to indicate, if only briefly, that one of the weakest links in Frank's Re-Orient is his rather limited appreciation of Weber (and Marx). Little time I have today may be enough to map Frank's own position within world-system theory. In 1974 Wallerstein argued that a modern capitalist world-economy, characterized by a new international division of labor, emerged in the 16th century. Before that, world-systems like ancient Rome existed but they were based on political/military domination, not economic/market domination. In 1989 Janet Abu-Lughod 's Before European Hegemony argued that a world-economic system was already evident through much of the eastern hemisphere in the period 1250-1350. This system, which Abu-Lughod viewed as a forerunner of Wallerstein's system, was in decline just as the modern one began to rise. Soon after, 1994, Frank and Gills published a book, The World System: Five Hundred Years or Five Thousand? in which they daringly contended the world has seen only one world system which originated 5000 years ago, one that has gone through long "A-phases" of expansion and "B-phases" of contraction, expanding in size and scale with each cycle. Re-Orient takes off from here. It praises Abu-Lughod as correctly suggesting that Asia was the center of the world economy before Wallerstein's modern one, that Europe was a "late runner" of an already formed world economy. But Frank rejects Abu-Lughod's claim that this Asian dominated system of the 13th century was in decline after 1350 to be superseded by Wallerstein's really wordly modern system. Rather, Frank sees the modern (wrongly assumed to be European dominated) as a mere continuation of a long-dominated Asian system. What was new about the 16th century was merely the fact that Europe finally, thanks to the "discovery" ot the Americas, came to join, still as a marginal player, this Asian system. (You can imagine that Wallerstein was not too happy being relegated to such a marginal position! In "Hold the Tiller Firm" he asks Frank `Why stop at 3000 BC (5000 BP)? Why not go back to Australopithecus, or to prehominids?"). In Re-Orient, however, Frank does not press this 5000 BP claim. His entire effort is in demonstrating that Asia was the key player in the world economy from 1400 to 1800, which is to say that Wallerstein's vision of a newly formed world capitalist expanding out of Europe to conquer the rest of the globe is fundamentally flawed. And so is Amin, Arrighi, Blaut, Braudel, and Chase-Dunn insofar as they still hold that Europe overtook the rest of the world either because it exploited the Americas or because a true capitalistmode emerged there first.
[PEN-L:2880] warning
If you receive an email entitled "Badtimes," delete it immediately. Do not open it. Apparently this one is pretty nasty. It will not only erase everything on your hard drive, but it will also delete anything on disks within 20 feet of your computer. It demagnetizes the stripes on ALL of your credit card. It reprograms your ATM access code, screws up the tracking on your VCR and uses subspace field harmonics to scratch any CD's you attempt to play. It will re-calibrate your refrigerator's temperature settings so all your ice cream melts while your milk boils. It will program your phone auto dial to call only your mother-in-law's number. This virus will mix antifreeze into your fish tank. It will drink all your beer, leaving only the Coors you have in the back that you're ashamed you bought. It will leave dirty socks on the coffee table (and convert your gourmet coffee into decaf Folger's) when you are expecting company. It will replace your shampoo with Nair and your Nair with Rogaine, all while dating your current non-spousal lover behind your back and billing their hotel rendezvous to your Visa card. (It knows about your lover, even though your spouse doesn't.) It will cause you to run with scissors and throw things in a way that is only fun until someone loses an eye. It will rewrite your text files, changing all your active verbs to passive voice until your prose resembles that of Judith Butler and incorporating undetectable misspellings which grossly change the interpretations of key sentences. If the "Badtimes" message is opened in a Windows95/98 environment, it will leave the toilet seat up and leave your hair dryer plugged in dangerously close to a full bathtub. It will not only remove the forbidden tags from your mattresses and pillows, but it will also refill your skim milk with whole milk (or vice-versa). It will molecularly rearrange your cologne or perfume, causing it to smell like dill pickles. Jim Devine [EMAIL PROTECTED] & http://clawww.lmu.edu/Faculty/JDevine/jdevine.html
[PEN-L:2873] Two cultures?
Verbatim program documentation from the machine I work on: "Everything in the unix directories which is cleaned up is put into a subdirectory 'junk', so it's still there if it was important." "move the files to the backup directory so that the reconciliation process cannot run again." Louis Proyect (http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)
[PEN-L:2872] Comments from Brazil
Since after a previous stall the lat tuesday the U$ has continued to rise yesterday and today,previous hints I had received from generally well-informed people that Arminio Fraga's nomination as head of the Central Bank was to be only the beggining of a grand scheme of harnessing the fate of Brazil's economy to the financial health of Soros's fund, and also to the finantial health of American pension funds, that, supposedly, being only part the said grand scheme of future dollarization and fast entry of Brazil into the FTAA - must now be taken with a grain of salt- at least for the time being. It does not appear that Fraga (who is, after all, a private person who has spent something between the last 5 to 10 years of his life in NYC- and he is only 41) has any preconceived scheme,and his nomination seems to be-at least, I repeat, for the time being- only a dramatic gesture in order to calm down speculators. In fact, the letharghy of the Cardoso government - and, above all, of Cardoso himself- reminds one very much of the behaviour of both Nicholas the 2nd. and Louis the XVIth at the eve of revolution- a point dwelt upon by Trotsky in the Hist. of the Russian Revolution - "before a scratch, each one behaves differently; before a white-hot iron, all do the same" Carlos Rebello (posted to [EMAIL PROTECTED]) Louis Proyect (http://www.panix.com/~lnp3/marxism.html)
[PEN-L:2870] Re: transcending walls
What is the point? The first biological warefare in history? Henry C.K. Liu Michael Perelman wrote: > Fischer, David Hackett. 1996. The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm > of History (NY: Oxford University Press). > 41: "In 1346 a Tartar army besieged the Genoese town of Caffa (now Feodosia) in > the Crimea. The attackers were stricken by plague, and converted their > misfortune into a weapon of war -- catapulting their dead into the city in a > deliberate attempt to spread the infection. This tactic succeeded so well that > the Genoese abandoned the city and fled in their galleys through the Black Sea, > the Aegean and the Mediterranean, carrying with them the plague that came to be > called the Black Death." > -- > > Michael Perelman > Economics Department > California State University > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Chico, CA 95929 > 530-898-5321 > fax 530-898-5901
[PEN-L:2867] illusions of rat-choice (was: AIDS and the blow back)
Rob: "Dropping contaminated corpses" was - of course - a historical metaphor showing the illusion of safet provided by walls, wasn't it Constantinople that not only fell to the "bacteriological warfare" but whose refugees also spread the disease across Europe? For that matter, the film "Safe" - arguably one of the best American motion pictures in the last quarter of the century -- beautifully shows the illusory safety offerred by new age "refuge communities" (no wonder why liberals and new agers hated the film). As far as responses to crises are concerned, I am really far away from rat-choice and game theories, beacuse they try to explain behaviour from omniscient hindsight assumed by the viewer. These theories assume that the actors think what the viewer does - indeed, an example of the arrogance of (social) philosophy - without trying to investigate into the actors' actual thinking, motives, definitions of the situation etc. I am much more inclined to accept a situationist point of view claiming that people re-eneac certain role that come with the definition of the situation, even if that means being harmed in the end. That point is well argued by Jack Katz in _ Seductions of crime : moral and sensual attractions in doing evil_ New York: Basic Books, 1988 -- where he shows how crime requires a ceratin cooperation between the perpetrator and the victim, each one playing the appropriate to the situation and predictable role. He furrther argues that defining the sitiuation as a certain type of crime by the perpetrator is a prerequisite of a success, for otherwise the behavior of the victim is not predictable. I am pretty sure that such is the explanation of the apparent cooperation of nazi victims - the victims simply succumbed to the definition of the situation imposed by the nazis and duly played their victims roles (cf. Richard Rubinstein, _The Cunning of History_ ). I sincerely doubt that any rat-choice calculation, e.g. "compliance will prolong my life by a few minutes" took place. I am pretty sure that had someone transgressed the nazi-imposed script and, like that proverbial child souting "the emperor has no clothes" -- the people quietly marching to the gas chamber would ceased so doing and behaved "unpredictably." That illusrates the powerful influence of collective norms on individual behavior. "Keeping up with the Jonses" may not stand up to the standards of rat-choice, but certainly reduces uncertainty. That I think may explain much of the behavior associated with capitalism - people go shopping sprees, vote & answer opinion polls in a predictable way, scapegoat the poor, flee to the burbs etc. not because of some rationally (mis)calculated risks, but because they have been lead to believe that everyone does so and hence it is the "right thing to do." They simply play out the roles they think are expected of them. That view, BTW, offers some hints about the possible scenearios for a revolution in the US Doug asked about a few days ago. Here is one. Have a few truckloads of dynamite to blow up TV stations and newspaper printing facilities and a few crates of ammo to shoot the celebrities and pundits - or find some other way to shut the tube up so people will not know anymore what is being expected of them, what script to follow. Chaos will result, but chaos is a prelude to a revolution. Best regards, Wojtek
[PEN-L:2866] John Service
The purge of John Service from the US State Department caused a blindness in US policy on China for four decades that altered the course of history. The impact is still being felt by young State officiers who continue to think twice before filing reports that conflicts with the official line. His story is one of personal courage and tragedy. His loyal service to his country was the only reason for his downfall. Service was highly respected in China. Henry C.K. Liu February 4, 1999 John Service, Purged 'China Hand,' Dies at 89 By JOHN KIFNER John Service, the first of the "old China hands" purged from the State Department in the McCarthy era, died Wednesday in Oakland, Calif. He was 89. As a young Foreign Service officer in World War II he filed prescient reports on the rival forces battling the occupying Japanese -- Chiang Kai-Shek's nationalists and Mao Tse-tung's Communists, and observed the corruption and weakness of the former. But after the war, as what became known as the China lobby swung U.S. policy strongly behind the failing Chiang government -- the Communists gained full control of the mainland in 1949, driving the remaining nationalists to Taiwan -- much of the blame fell on what was said at the time to be a pro-Soviet conspiracy in the State Department. "Who lost China?" became a major election slogan that shaped U.S. political life for many years. It helped make the careers of Joseph McCarthy and Richard Nixon and, according to some historians, helped shape U.S. involvement in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He once predicted wryly that although he never used his middle name, only the initial, his obituary would identify him not only as an official once accused of espionage, but as ''John Stewart Service." The accusers of those men spelled out their full names, and so they went down in history: John Stewart Service, John Carter Vincent, John Paton Davies, Oliver Edmund Clubb. All were forced out of the Foreign Service. All were eventually vindicated but neither they nor, some thought, the Foreign Service itself, ever fully recovered. Their ordeal actually began during World War II in the efforts of a U.S. mission led by Gen. Joseph "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell to expand the Chinese war effort against Japan. The China experts traveling through the areas controlled by various warlords reported that Chiang's Nationalist party, the Kuomintang, was dragging its feet, reserving its U.S.-supplied arms for an eventual showdown with the Communists. The old China hands predicted that in such a fight, the Communists would win. They called instead for American pressure on Chiang to reform his government and direct his forces against the Japanese, in cooperation with the Communists and under American command. "Selfish and corrupt, incapable and obstructive," were a few of the words Service used to describe the Chiang government in a 1944 memo to Stilwell that urged that the United States insist the general be appointed to lead all the Chinese forces. Like many of his generation of China hands, Service was born in China of missionary parents. His had founded a YMCA branch in Chengdu, where he was born on Aug. 8, 1909. He grew up in Sichuan province, attended high school in Shanghai and studied art history at Oberlin College in Ohio, where he also was captain of the track team. Returning to China in 1932, he married an Oberlin classmate, Caroline Schulz, the daughter of an Army officer. After a brief stint in a bank, Service joined the Foreign Service, and when the Japanese entered Beijing, he escorted American refugees through the lines to safety. He was assigned to the new Nationalist capital at Chongqing as a political officer in 1941. His job was to gather information from all factions and parties, including the Communists. As political officers do today, he gave briefings to visiting American journalists, including Theodore White and Eric Sevareid. Those activities were later cast in a controversial light. A lifelong amateur runner, Service hiked around China with a sleeping bag, eating as well as he could off the land. E.J. Khan Jr. in his book "The China Hands," quotes a State Department colleague as saying: "Jack had uncanny instincts. He could walk along a Chinese street and by the kind of matches sold or the clothing worn or the food being cooked could analyze the structure of the local society." As the war progressed, Service warned that a civil war was widely regarded as inevitable, under conditions that would lead to an undemocratic, probably pro-Soviet Communist government. In July 1944, assigned as a State Department adviser to Stilwell, he finally managed to get to Mao's headquarters in Yanan. He wrote that he felt he had "come into a different country," one marked by hard wo
[PEN-L:2875] Re: Re: transcending walls
This was just a note responding to Wojeck's discussion of people hiding behind walls. Today, I do not think that we need to hurl the bodies, but rather the diseases of the poor will come back to haunt the affluent. I just saw Laurie Garrett on the Lehrer show disucssing some of the points the Louis made about what happens when we upset sensitive ecological balances. Henry C.K. Liu wrote: > What is the point? > The first biological warefare in history? > > Henry C.K. Liu > > Michael Perelman wrote: > > > Fischer, David Hackett. 1996. The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm > > of History (NY: Oxford University Press). > > 41: "In 1346 a Tartar army besieged the Genoese town of Caffa (now Feodosia) in > > the Crimea. The attackers were stricken by plague, and converted their > > misfortune into a weapon of war -- catapulting their dead into the city in a > > deliberate attempt to spread the infection. This tactic succeeded so well that > > the Genoese abandoned the city and fled in their galleys through the Black Sea, > > the Aegean and the Mediterranean, carrying with them the plague that came to be > > called the Black Death." > > -- > > > > Michael Perelman > > Economics Department > > California State University > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Chico, CA 95929 > > 530-898-5321 > > fax 530-898-5901 -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
[PEN-L:2868] transcending walls
Fischer, David Hackett. 1996. The Great Wave: Price Revolutions and the Rhythm of History (NY: Oxford University Press). 41: "In 1346 a Tartar army besieged the Genoese town of Caffa (now Feodosia) in the Crimea. The attackers were stricken by plague, and converted their misfortune into a weapon of war -- catapulting their dead into the city in a deliberate attempt to spread the infection. This tactic succeeded so well that the Genoese abandoned the city and fled in their galleys through the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean, carrying with them the plague that came to be called the Black Death." -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University [EMAIL PROTECTED] Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901
