Will F.
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I called him Commie Academia because the article is about a Communist academic and in my experience, there are a lot of them out there. I have friends and family in the College system in California and in parts east. California, especially Berkely is so far left that I begin to wonder if Stalin would be greeted as a hero, or if they would condemn him for being a sellout.
I will read your link. I like to learn new things and perspectives, often finding that I agree with the message but not the methodology to get there, nor do I agree with the politics they want to push. I don’t know about the Somali’s and their hardships but I do believe they live under a variation of a fuedal system where the warlord with the most guns and the most drugged up soldiers gets to make the rules; unless I am mistaken.
I do try to read news that is outside of the U.S. media arena but some of the best are in languages that I do not read and the interpretation often leaves something to be desired.
I generalize because those are my life experiences. If you want to talk about professors starving, they are not where I live. The University up the road from me pays such ridiculous sums that they have priced themselves out of the reach of many in the working classes and they are considered affordable.
I would agree with regulation of the real estate ownership situation that would limit or prevent overseas investors from purchasing anything related to residential real estate and limit the holdings of large investment funds or banks from buying residential real estate but I absolutely do not support any ownership of residential housing by the “State.” I also adamantly oppose instituting a total taxation of rental income for the better good to redistribute that wealth to the poor or to make land ownership for rentals so onerous and costly that nobody wants to do it anymore.
Although I have not read any of the books mentioned int he article, I would agree if they support regulation to prevent monopolization. Competition breeds efficiency and innovation but it cannot be government subsidized competition since that relies upon the money of the citizens to attack the rights those same citizens are entitled to.
If V. Arnold wants to educate me, then feel free. There is no propaganda in my thinking, it is all born of hard work and making good decisions. I don’t subscribe to the theories of the rich trickling money down when it comes to many aspects of society but I also realize that Communism and the other ism’s all espouse destroying personal freedoms and inalienable rights for the greater good of the “Party” meaning those who control the Police and the Military, if there is even a distinction between them in most totalitarian nations.
The history of Russia and China are very good teachers when it comes to the success you get when the State takes over the markets. You get rationing, in some cases mass starvation, occasionally genocide, and in the case of Russia and China, the totally unnecessary destruction of the environment.
I have lived through enough and studied enough to know that Communism doesn’t work. It is based upon the false premise that only the Government can be perfect. I have family and friends that have lived under a military state rule and know all to well how that works out for people who don’t live on the right end of the machine gun.
Rather than have a nation of hard working entrepreneurs who reach for the limits of their potential, you get a population of mediocrity and equal poverty among all where hard work and knowledge are often punished. Have you all forgotten the burning and outlawing of books and speech that does not conform to the Party line that come with totalitarianism? What about the Gulag’s and the death camps? The bread lines? Are they o.k. because they would be applied only to those in America that you do not like? The “unwashed masses” who still believe in personal freedom and those who cannot afford to attend your University?
As far as the “intelligent” ones that are part of academia, do you really believe the Universities will be allowed to continue under Communism? I believe history has some pretty good stories of the purges of intellectuals that various Governments held once they took over and the takeover of learning institutions that became subservient to the various government personnel who oversaw them.
I will be glad to listen to your responses, I always welcome a differing point of view, right up until you try to force me at the end of a rope or gun to accept your viewpoint.
I sure hope that the majority of the Automatic Earth contributors and founders do not believe the same way that Mr. Hudson espouses.
He talks about landlords as though we are all part of the 1% who should be taxed of all our income for the greater public good. He seems to believe that the landlord does not contribute to society or the general welfare of a society since they do not “work” for their money from the rental. He seems to believe that the “State” is the only justified landowner / landlord. I guess he doesn’t want those who read his works and are too gullible to ask hard questions to know about the failures of the Communist societies that provided housing based upon your willingness to bribe public officials and live among the rats and raw sewage in state owned buildings. Buildings often built by the contractors who would pay the biggest kickbacks to the Government stooges or connected to the halls of the Government officials who were appointed by a Dictator, not elected by the citizens.
He claims that the rent paid to landlords is “wasted” from society and is not reflected in GDP or other methods of measuring output and productivity. What about all the work that it took to get the money to buy the rental? Not everyone inherits a rental from their family, many are bought as first homes then rented out after the financial ability of the buyer improves. What about the goods and services bought with the money the landlord “earns” from his or her rental? Does he think they squirrel it away under a rock? I imagine most of it is turned back into circulation to buy things such as education for their children or goods for their households. Even the uber-rich buy things and employ people. They don’t live in a tent in the park and bury their money in coffee cans.
What about the money that went into the tax coffers when the property was bought? The real estate agents and brokers that complete the documents, the Title company that checks to be sure the property can be legally sold? The property inspectors, the government inspections and recordings? The contractors who come in and renovate a run down property back from the brink of demolition so a family can live in it safely? What about the property management companies that assist absentee owners properly manage and maintain the property and collect the rents, which are often overdue?
All of these things cost money and create jobs. Money that is paid for by the owner of the property, often at a loss for the first several years while the debts from fixing up the property which is often ready to be condemned, are paid. These things all add jobs to the community, pay taxes that provide for public infrastructure and public jobs like school teachers, police and firefighters. They also give money to public universities where many of the “Commie” academia enjoy lives of ease with paychecks that put them very near the top 2-5% of the population.
He talks about bankers as though they are responsible for all of society’s problems. This is definitely a two-way street. Bankers only exist because people want to buy things they cannot afford. Buyers make the choice of financing things. They don’t have to spend money on new cars, fancy clothes, new appliances or vacations. These are often choices they make to feel good, or have luxuries not to survive.
People can choose to live frugally and pay cash. That’s how things were once. I can agree with him that real estate values are ridiculous based upon cheap financing and the gullible people that buy more than they will ever be able to pay back on the hope that they will get rich but that is the way our system works. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to participate in many of the debts that society piles up and you don’t have to live where real estate prices are ridiculously high.
I can agree that the Capitalist society we live in where the Government has been meddling in the free market and screwing things up is bad but one look only as far as the purges of citizens into mass graves under Stalin and Mao to understand our system, no matter its flaws is far superior to the one where the State gets to decide if you live or die at the end of a machine gun.
I sure hope more people wake up to the truth about Socialism and Communism because there are enough of us out here that will not allow it to happen here that blood will run in the streets if they try to pull the same thing here that Mao did in his country. That is why our Founders established the 1st and 2nd amendments to our Constitution. They believed strongly that the power of the citizens to choose their own destiny should never be hindered by a Government that would take away the basic human rights based upon the whims of unelected despots.
Unwanted immigration, whether it is in Europe or the U.S. is going to be a divisive issue for certain but throughout history the cases of allowing a soft heart to make security decisions have always wound up with the home country destabilized and changed forever. Although some cases of change are not all bad, you don’t increase the prosperity of a nation by allowing people with no useful skills and no desire to adopt the culture of their new homeland come in and get freebies that the citizens have to pay for out of their own labor. I do not wish to see families torn apart and I know the poverty of Mexico is nearly unbearable but allowing them to bring their poverty over here and giving them free housing, food and low paying unreported jobs does nothing to prevent the downward spiral of living conditions and wages we are already experiencing. Healthy societies are based upon the foundation that everyone contributes something. Robbing from the workers with the power of the governments to give to those who will not or cannot work legally will turn the feelings of anger toward not only the government but the immigrants who came here on the promises of politicians that only use them to destroy societies or gain power through taxing the workers to give to the new voters, no matter their legal ability to vote.
Anger of the voters was demonstrated by the election of Trump. Despite all of his negative traits, he understands the premise of a strong border and a lawful society. It will not take much for that anger to transfer over into the streets if the Democrat party and all their useful minions push too hard. Once that happens, as they say, it is all downhill from there. One need look no farther than our history books to see that Civil Disobedience can quickly become Civil War when the have’s get tired of the have-not’s trying to steal; either directly, or through their elected stooges.
For those that wish for a Civil War to start, I advise you that there is nothing “Civil” about War. Genocide is usually the result and at least in the U.S. the citizens still possess the armament to overthrow the immigrants and the politicians who pander to them, no matter how many gang members you recruit because those who have families to defend and support will fight much harder than those who are merely looking for a free handout or to destroy that which they have not earned.
Unfortunately, the citizens of European countries long ago gave up their ability to determine whether they fight back against a corrupt government, beating their weapons into plowshares, then selling or giving those away to have the easy life of living like a wage slave serf.
Life is full of choices.
Anonymous writes about the loss of hope and the realization that one’s social status and income level will never change. I feel sorry for those who truly believe that.
I will agree that our Governments are corrupt but they have always been so. Perhaps they are more blatant in their lies now than before but that is a symptom not a cause. They are blatant because millions of citizens choose to be sheep because it is easy to do so. Voting for a Government to steal for you, so that you do not take the risk is much easier than stealing for yourself. Submitting your freedoms for a slice of the Gov’t cheese that is handed out with your pills is an easy way to coast through life. Allowing jealousy and envy to justify your actions is much easier than picking up a shovel and finding someone to pay you to use it.
When you absolve yourself of personal responsibility for your status in life it is a much easier existence. It is much easier to place blame and play the victim than it is to get up every day and turn over rocks looking for something to eat or a new opportunity to improve your status. Standing on your own feet and facing life is much harder than cowering behind the skirts of victimhood.
The history if our world is full of graveyards of people who have given up their rights and their opportunities for a little slumber, a little sloth and the deference of hard decisions to someone else. Lest we think that laziness and the “entitlement mentality” is a new thing, I suggest reading something from the time of Christ walking the earth to refresh one’s perspective of the human condition.
Much is said about the “Have’s” and their fear of losing their possessions. This has been true since the first caveman hit another one over the head with a rock to protect his dinner. For every “Have” that worries at night, there is a “Taker” that would take what is not theirs because he/she is not willing to put in the long hours necessary to “earn” whatever it is that he/she covets. Although I am not old enough to have witnessed the formation of the first army, I’m pretty sure one of those sides came up with the idea to either protect something they needed, or take something from someone else.
There is insinuation from many that protecting your things is bad, either money or food, or shelter. Why wouldn’t you protect what you have worked for? Does wanting to improve the social status of yourself or your children, and their children, make you bad or does it ensure that your progeny will be at the upper levels of the food chain just as the animal kingdom requires the teaching of strength and skill in hunting/foraging? Tell me, when was the last time you saw a beggar who had nothing provide a job or opportunity for someone?
I’m not saying life is fair and everyone gets a piece of the pie; that is foolishness and something that is only preached by the Left in classrooms, to those who are not smart enough to reject their lies. In the animal kingdom those that hunt the hardest and watch over their kill get to live another day. Those that will not work, will starve or are driven out of the family/societal unit to fend for themselves. Some learn and create their own family, others go rogue and are eventually killed trying to steal from stronger, smarter animals. Humans are the same. We are all animals who got to this point in history by fighting for what we have, whether that means learning to read and write so we can get into a good school and learn the ropes that will pay us rewards in life, or learning a skill so we can earn a living with our hands.
Anonymous talks about escapism. Whether you like or hate the progress that it brought, it is a fact that Iron was not invented by someone who was smoking dope to escape reality and wanted to kill time between episodes of Survivor and Big Brother. It was invented because Copper and Bronze were soft and wore out too soon when used to plow the earth or broke when used as a sword or spear much like gunpowder was not invented to celebrate the 4th of July as some useful idiots might believe, it was invented to repel attackers or destroy defenders. Again, the have’s vs. the have-not’s well before there was ever a stock market / casino which seems to pervade everyone’s thinking in modern times.
Speaking to the hopelessness realization that anonymous talks about; that their societal status is stalled and they will never be more than what they are, I say failing to take action to improve your situation is your fault, not the fault of “them.” By making bad choices, failing to educate yourself to the “sucker’s game” and other ways you are fleeced of your potential. Being stupid at the game of life allows you to play directly into the hands of those who would choose to victimize or violently oppress you.
Choosing to escape by mindless sex or chemical means is exactly what the Left would love for you to do. They justify their existence by catering to those who would subjugate themselves for a little piece of food and the false security that comes with totalitarianism. They are elated that you have given up on freedom and opportunity because with self sufficiency and personal determination you have no use for the hand that feeds you but beats you down and enslaves you. Likewise choosing to blindly believe in regulated Capitalism without skepticism of the long term consequences is just as bad as well.
Lest you think I come from the land of the silver spoon and fine linens, I do not. I have walked down the streets of poverty most of my life. I chose to leave those streets behind. I abstained from mindless unprotected sex, drugs and alcohol to pursue wisdom and skills. With the assistance of a God that you may deny exists, and the help of others of like mind, I have propelled myself from the place I was born to a place my children will be lucky to call home. I have walked away from all those who would drag me back down to the poverty of my youth and made friends with those who can help me as I help them, to become better and do our best to ensure that our children will never have to wonder what a hot meal every day feels like. I avoid those who express hopelessness and victimization because of their skin color or their zip code because surrounding yourself with those people ensures your failure in life.
Anonymous mentioned educational lies.
Notice that I did not say formal education was something I sought out? It only took me two semesters of College to figure out what they were trying to peddle and I wasn’t buying any of it, so my grades reflected my disdain for the “victim” role and my rejection of the “hive” mentality. The majority of my Professors were not open minded when I mentioned that environmental extremism was the same as robbery / murder that Communism was evil and that treachery and deceit were things that should not be looked up to.
They called me racist and homophobic when I told them the color of a person’s skin should not allot them privilege that they have not earned and that I did not want to see a rainbow flag flown above the stars and stripes. I was called a misogynist when I opened doors for women and a cave man when I mentioned my love for a good steak. I was ostracized by the women who wanted a feminine man who shaved all of his body hair off and spoke with a fake lisp; right up to the moment their car needed a tire changed and their “man” was incapable of the job. I was told that heterosexual sex was rape and lesbians were the way nature intended humanity to aspire to because in nature the males are often loners and the females live in groups absent a male to do anything for them.
I was called a warmonger when I said that someone who chant’s their allegiance to a religion created by a seventh century man, right before they blow up a school bus full of kids should be hunted down to the last dirty little hut and removed from this earth in the same fashion he treated his victims. I was called a dirty capitalist when I said “no poor man ever provided anyone a paying job” and a brown shirted thug when I said lying, cheating and stealing should be punished by imprisonment and repayment of the debt.
None of the things I was called were true then, nor are they now. What they were, was deflection and attack of the truth that the world is not a nice, kind, gentle, loving place to live which promises prosperity to all, regardless of the effort that they put forth.
The world is a dirty, dangerous place. Without strong willed people who stand up to Evil, it wins every time. Without the blood of patriots, tyranny rules and without the occasional spanking, not to be confused with “beating” most children will eventually turn into disrespectful little spoiled brats who grow up to be disrespectful spoiled adults.
Wherever you have humans, strength is always preferable to weakness. Wisdom and hard work are always preferable to foolishness and laziness; which will always lead to poverty. Although many will disagree with me, every child should be taught that any free lunch probably has a hook hidden within it somewhere and idle hands and minds are the path to personal destruction; that people are capable of making their own decisions but sometimes you have to let them drown a little before they learn to swim and appreciate air.
I will not apologize for writing so much here. I believe strongly that the argument so many make, that our fates are hopeless and our position as serf’s is assured and out of our control must be countered with the fundamental ideas that changed the world and led to the five-thousand year leap. Self respect, hard work, wisdom and perseverance were once practiced by men such as our founding fathers and led to the creation of one of the greatest ideas ever put forth by man. The idea that a wise and watchful populace could self govern without the need for burdensome Government and that a moral and just society could prosper in the face of a world filled with tyranny and oppression, to the point that it would become the most prosperous and influential Nation on the face of the earth.
If they did it once,with black powder and quill pens, just think how good we could do if we do not forget the lessons of the last two hundred odd years and we reinvigorated the ideas of freedom. If we took a stand against Evil and taught every child, regardless of religious beliefs, that morality matters, that self reliance equals self respect; that community does not equal the right to let others do all your work for you and that life is not easy but it should be free.
I believe that the smart ones are following your model.
My foolish friends are still amassing debt like tomorrow will be sunshine and lollipops for everyone, never realizing they have not had a raise in 5 years, nor will they likely get one any time soon. Like many, I believe they have reached the “exhaustion” phase of austerity. They don’t have the mental stamina to live within their means, always wanting to “one-up” the Jones’ or get the latest and greatest thing. When the dollar finally adjusts for what we have done to it, they will be right back where they were in 2008 when they had to give back their homes, cars etc, just to buy food and gas was $4-5 / Gallon.
I think the smart ones are saving, but like most humans a small percentage are planning for hard times like the fable of the ant and the grasshopper. The remainder are the grasshoppers waiting to freeze or starve if the Gov’t doesn’t come in and take from the Ants to feed them and save them again.
Whether one side or the other comes out ahead, I guess we will see but I would rather have a car I can fix myself, a little food and fuel saved up and some currency that Uncle Sap doesn’t know about, than a line of credit that it maxed out and a bunch of new stuff that will cost $$$ to fix when it breaks.
As for the $80K F150. No thanks. They are nice, but I can get from point a to point b in my $10K car just as well, it runs just fine, has airbags and abs, and is paid for.When it breaks I use my $1k car to get the parts to fix it and live on without owing anything to a bank or the Gov’t for the privilege of being in debt.
As for savings….I don’t have any in a bank since I like to have the ability to do what I want, when I want, not wait for a banker to allow me the pleasure of using my own money at their whim. The real savings in life is passing knowledge on to others and learning to live without the things that drain our energies without returning anything more than depreciation.
