tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5902857965429630827.post556803178640469239..comments2023-06-05T04:26:27.437-07:00Comments on Forty Shades Of Grey: A small FAQ on anarchismForty Shades Of Greyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070982468518425595noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5902857965429630827.post-83342189570384383932013-03-18T12:01:46.087-07:002013-03-18T12:01:46.087-07:00Hi Naoko,
I don't know if you use Twitter, bu...Hi Naoko,<br /><br />I don't know if you use Twitter, but if you do the best way to contact me would be there (@TheNatFantastic) so I could privately message you my email address. Alternatively, you could leave a comment here with your email address - it will be emailed to alert me but won't be published.Forty Shades Of Greyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07070982468518425595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5902857965429630827.post-52836809128063185482013-03-18T11:55:00.300-07:002013-03-18T11:55:00.300-07:00Hi, I'm not sure of another way to contact you...Hi, I'm not sure of another way to contact you, so here goes:<br />I saw your piece on the F Word Blog about anarcha-feminism and I was wondering whether I could interview you? I'm looking to interview some fellow anarcha-feminists for my senior capstone project (college, not high-school). In this project I'll be comparing liberal feminism and anarcha-feminism and attempting to prove that anarcha-feminism is the more inclusive, effective, truly liberatory choice. I'll also be talking about some of the problems that may be found in the movement today, however, like manarchists or the privileging of white voices. Anyway, if this sounds like something you'd be interested in, that's awesome. If not, that's cool, too! <br />Thanks! Naokohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10828723215003477087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5902857965429630827.post-10495309841073193882012-07-31T12:06:27.981-07:002012-07-31T12:06:27.981-07:00Richard decided to comment again to assure me that...Richard decided to comment again to assure me that fascism is totes awesome. I'm really not sure why he thought that the comments section of an avowed anti-racist, anti-fascist blog would be the place to ply his particular brand of xenophobic conspiracy theorising, but none of it is getting published.Forty Shades Of Greyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07070982468518425595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5902857965429630827.post-39278005834506414942012-07-31T11:21:12.473-07:002012-07-31T11:21:12.473-07:00Just to let people know I'm debating about whe...Just to let people know I'm debating about whether to publish a 1000-word long conspiracy theory screed from some dude called Richard Watkins, who has apparently taken a wonderfully enlightened viewpoint that anything that he deems bad in the world may be blamed on members of the Jewish faith. In part, he claims that "Racism is healthy.<br />Adolf Hitler was the greatest leader/philosopher Europe has ever produced. <br />The Queen, Obama, Cameron, Churchill, FDR, Eisenhower, Lenin, (and John Lennon) are/ were all Jews". It continues in that vein and manages to be even more hideous as it goes along.<br /><br />Since I have a 'no racism' clause in the comments section, I won't be publishing it. However this is not, as Richard claims, proof that he is telling 'the truth' (and I quote: "The fact that you don't recognize any of this; the fact that I have transgressed into the Taboo; the that this reply will certainly not be published, (disappear down memory hole), is the proof itself.").<br /><br />So yeah, wow. I've had some painful idiots on this site, but this is the first time I've ever felt violently ill at quite how disgusting and wrong someone has been.Forty Shades Of Greyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07070982468518425595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5902857965429630827.post-11286509164620349232012-06-27T08:55:24.166-07:002012-06-27T08:55:24.166-07:00Actually I think capitalisms answer to the arsehol...Actually I think capitalisms answer to the arsehole factor is usually a big car, a big house and a position at the head of a large corporation.Spudman101https://www.blogger.com/profile/16569182720618639952noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5902857965429630827.post-22788640401298614452012-06-21T10:09:50.226-07:002012-06-21T10:09:50.226-07:00The "arsehole factor" is present, and it...The "arsehole factor" is present, and it may be one that doesn't have pleasant answers, but it's also present in capitalism, where the answer tends to be "starvation or prison". <br /><br />On a large enough scale, I imagine we'd elect specialists to handle tasks that cannot be reasonably done on a small scale. They'd be tasked with carrying out tasks that need doing based on broad consensus, and would be recallable if they screw around with our faith in them.<br /><br />They wouldn't necesarily have any significant governing power or decision making ability invested in their roles. It'd be the societal equivalent of calling the plumber.Weaselhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05873440251698488032noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5902857965429630827.post-29516690423658845992012-06-19T04:50:09.257-07:002012-06-19T04:50:09.257-07:00Thanks for the response.
Just to make it clear, I...Thanks for the response.<br /><br />Just to make it clear, I'm not defending capitalism and certainly not drugs companies. I'm not simple talking about capitalism funding research, since in a capitalism society that's just where the money comes from. In communist societies, the resources came from elsewhere. Also, I'm not talking about medical research in general, which from what I can gather is overwhelming academic in nature. Again, what I'm really talking about is the development of drugs. <br /><br />I chose this example not because it proves how wonderful capitalism is for scientific research, but because drug development (like space exploration) seems to be an exception to most other forms of research in that it requires a vast, centralised source of funding and resources. I don't see how anarchism can provide that, and I'm yet to see somebody really explain how it might*.<br /><br />* that said, I haven't exactly gone out of my way to find out either :-)Jon Brittonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18306309364852307361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5902857965429630827.post-72284148358309988552012-06-18T05:10:42.721-07:002012-06-18T05:10:42.721-07:00Hi Jon,
Yeah, it's something I've given s...Hi Jon,<br /><br />Yeah, it's something I've given some thought to, but being neither a scientist nor an astronaut* not a disproportionate amount.<br /><br />It's interesting what you say about capitalism funding medical research and other things and this being a positive. There's a couple of points that I'd make on that matter: Firstly, humans have always been spontaneously doing medical research with no financial incentive, as there's always been a much better incentive - the survival of the human race and indeed the researchers themselves. I don't expect scientists to be purely altruistic, but non-financial rewards have been motivating people since the dawn of time. <br /><br />Secondly, capitalism may fund research, but researchers have been forced into that by capitalism, and it shapes what research we're allowed to do. You need to get funding in order to research, otherwise you can't do it at all. You need money to access previous research, you need to be in an academic setting which you have to pay for entry to, and so on. How many brilliant researchers have been forced into alternate careers just so they can keep a roof over their head? How many of them were denied the entry into education in the first place?<br /><br />I think what I'm trying to say is that - and this isn't a criticism of you, it's a criticism of capitalism - if the best example you can come up with is companies paying for medical research so they can line their pockets by patenting drugs, that's not a very positive picture to paint, and I'm not sure why you think there'd be <i>less</i> research done if financial restrictions and limitations to access were lifted.<br /><br />(*sorry 5 year old Nat, I know you had your heart set on it)Forty Shades Of Greyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07070982468518425595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5902857965429630827.post-11006457247281976042012-06-18T04:52:22.878-07:002012-06-18T04:52:22.878-07:00I'm glad you brought up the perceived problem ...I'm glad you brought up the perceived problem regarding scientific progress in an anarchistic society, as it's something I've always wanted to ask a self-described anarchist about. While your post does explain your position to some degree, I'm still not convinced.<br /><br />In many ways, science is run in a distributed way similar to the way you describe an anarchist society. There are small groups of researchers working on specific problems. However, in some fields (medical science being one), capitalism has played a positive role. For example, drug development is almost entirely paid for by provide companies. Ok, so they parent and charge for access to these drugs - but the fact is they save lives (and not just rich lives).<br /><br />Another field I would bring up is space exploration, which is something I'm pretty interested in. It strikes me that such a thing would be impossible in an anarchist society, as it would be too decentralised.<br /><br />I'm just wondering whether you've thought about this kind of thing.<br /><br />Cheers,<br /><br />JonJon Brittonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18306309364852307361noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5902857965429630827.post-19061732570295443212012-06-18T03:27:23.124-07:002012-06-18T03:27:23.124-07:00RE: 'the arsehole factor' (good name by th...RE: 'the arsehole factor' (good name by the way!):<br /><br />Interesting question, and not one I'm sure I have much of an answer for, except to say that when we look at anarcho-communism in comparison to the society we live in now, I'd expect an actual lowering in the number of arseholes/arseholic incidents. In a capitalist society it's actually encouraged and applauded to live a life of being a certain kind of arsehole, and when you're not being a societally-approved arsehole, there's societal sanctions in place. One has to weigh up the personal benefit of being an unapproved-arsehole v the risk of sanction. Contrast with (e.g.) an anarcho-communist society where it's not condoned to be any kind of arsehole, and the short-term benefits of arseholeism wouldn't outweigh the long-term benefits of living in a mutual society. As for what those sanctions should be, that's a whole other debate that I couldn't comment on without serious thought and debate with others.Forty Shades Of Greyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07070982468518425595noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5902857965429630827.post-16158890744517013202012-06-18T03:01:13.319-07:002012-06-18T03:01:13.319-07:00I can see that anarcho-communism can be an effecti...I can see that anarcho-communism can be an effective way of organising and managing a group or community on a small scale, especially as these groups tend to attract people who see the value in it and want it to work.<br /><br />The problem I have with Anarchism is that, when it is expanded to encompass an entire society, I don't see how it deals with the arsehole factor. By arsehole I mean people who don't necessarily break the rules but who work against the spirit of the system for their own ends (I think that's basically the definition of capitalism).<br /><br />I know that you mention ostracising people from the community who consistently fail to meet the expectations placed on them, but when you are talking about an entire society where do they go? Do they lose the right to take part in any decision making process and we end up with a new arsehole subclass? Do they just get ostracised from the group where they were causing a problem but allowed to join other groups or form their own arsehole centric group?<br /><br />I'm not saying that I have a better solution, I can see very similar problems in many political systems, I'm just looking for a system that can deal with these problems.Spudman101https://www.blogger.com/profile/16569182720618639952noreply@blogger.com