I'm sure many of you wonder why his movement hasn't already destroyed industrial society and blown up half the life on earth. After all, let's face it: Blowing things up isn't exactly rocket science.
The answer, I think, lies here:
Hopefully this doesn’t make you pat yourself on the back if you do more, hopefully it makes you realize how much harder those of us who are doing something need to attack.Who does he hate? Sure, he hates the businesspeople who run the businesses that spew pollutants in the air, and the government officials who let him get away with it.
But he hates his own followers just as much! Those folks who go out into the country and try to form their own ideal environmentally sensitive society? Cowards. Those people who only spike trees on weekends? Wimps.
Nobody can work for long in such an environment. Leftist gurus Michael Albert of Z Magazine pointed this out in an essay(1) I've always found interesting. He says that people get attracted to the left by the high principles, but few stick, because it winds up being absolutely no fun at all, a total downer, and - just as bad - a whole ton of problems with no solutions in sight.
Because of this, he has developed a complex economic system where brain surgeons will be required to spend part of their day cleaning toilets. He says that's a powerful inspiring vision that people can sign up on, but I have to admit that I'm not looking forward to toilet cleaning duty any time soon.
On the other hand, I have to give him credit for at least trying. Most people on the left don't go any further than indicting this horrible system we have, without suggesting their ideas would create anything better. Critter's writings are very much a part of this school, and very revealing in terms of their utter bankruptcy of ideas.
Okay, our society is lousy; tell us what's better and how it would work. The left can't, and that's why they're not a great deal more effective than they are.
D
(1) Why protest the conventions?. For the specific reference, go about 1/3 of the way down to the section labelled "What form and focus for protest?".
Try to find essays and ruminations much less proposals about how events, projects, and demos should be funded; much less how the funds that do come in should be redistributed among efforts. Mostly, you can’t. There is a gigantic silence. Here’s but one current example: There is endless talk on the left about using the internet constructively, which is good, but there is almost no talk about how to have left internet operations generate revenues...
They don't like to talk about how to make money because to engage in that discussion would point out the glaringly obvious- capitalism/profit motive is necessary, leftist economic schemes don't work. They can't use their own methods to make any money because it doesn't work. They'll sit about and complain that their system of justice can't exist side by side with a system of exploitation and that's why the current system needs to be destroyed first- they'll "seize the assets available to them and create a just system with it" yadda yadda yadda. Snake oil salesmen.
Also, that bit you mentioned about the brain surgeon having to spend a certain amount of time cleaning toilets everyday- is that referred to as "participatory economics"? I heard that one mentioned at DemUnderground but the other lefties shot it down pretty effectively before many specifics were posted. If the leftist extremists can't even get other lefties to think a thing is good- I don't see much hope in it.
Do you have a link to more on this economic scheme? I'd like to find out a little more about it. It seemed to hinge around letting the janitor spend a certain amount of time every day in a management slot so he would feel "empowered". If you have a link I would appreciate it.
That should be an essay type question on the driver's liscence exam. The applicant would read about participatory economics and then be asked if he/she thought that sounded like a workable system. If they answer yes they fail and aren't allowed to vote until they're in their thirties.
It's actually kind of humorous to read through that bilge and try to imagine a factory run effectively where every morning the workers sit down and discuss for a few hours what needs to get done and who's going to be doing it.