Marx’s critique of Hegel’s Philosophy in General (his third Manuscript) clearly shows him to be an anti-humanist, or as Adrien prefers, a contrahumanist.

Best you stick with whatever Jane Austen novel is on your grade 12 english class curriculum.

Longer term, the fundraising techniques used by Obama’s campaign (not that they came out of nowhere by any means) might help reduce the stranglehold corporates have on the Democratic Party. This might improve the chances for social democracy more than anything else he does.

Maybe not Kim, but one comment in a mainstream publication from a well-known mainstream columnist is enough to make me angry and conclude that she thinks that just because one way of life works for her, that it should work for every other woman too. It is hard to combine work and family and the reality of many women’s lives who have children is that they work part time. I’ve read that some stats indicate they are quite happy doing that - actually happier than the groups who either stayed home altogether or worked full time. I guess it depends on how one defines feminism. If it means the right for women to get a decent education and to make a decent living, then I’m all for it. And if it also means that men should be taking an equal responsibility in bringing up the children then I’m all for it too. And if Coontz’s stats are right - it works. How women achieve all that equilibrium of happily combining work and family responsibilities however is none of anybody’s goddamn business.

Go on Robert, spill the Sauerkraut. Sounds interesting.

Have hangover…

Leinad at 6, there can be dumb cynicism as well as smart cynicism.

Sorry, too tired today to respond to the rest!

Check out any public opinion survey on what the great majority of Americans think about universal healthcare, employee rights, minimum wage, etc.

Then check the polls for government control of healthcare, unions, and government control of wages.

Kim’s got a point though. For once I’d like an unreconstructed socialist run on what they really believe in, rather than tack to the centre after the primaries. Then once they’ve failed with about 10% of the vote they might stop whining about “the system” repressing their message.

In that sense it’s refreshing they’ve picked Barry. He’s as close to what they really want as they’ll ever get. Gore was just an incumbent, and Kerry was a contrived pick (they really wanted Dean but thought Herman Munster was more electable), but this time their ideas will get a run - even if the GOP run them on behalf of Barry.

And spend a year making personal appearances in Barrow, Fairbanks, Nome and Anchorage, Paulus? You’ve got to be kidding.

Scene: Obama’s campaign headquarters.

CHIEF OF STAFF: Sir, we’ve just put the latest public opinion survey data through the mainframe, and matched it with the distribution of electoral college votes.

There’s no question about it. The regressions show that you’d win in a landslide in November, if you constructed your platform around universal healthcare, employee rights, and the minimum wage.

OBAMA: But, Waylon, it would annoy the business community if I did that. And where would that get me?

COS: To the White House, Sir.

OBAMA: Well, you know, I don’t want to be President that badly. Senator McCain seems a decent guy, and it wouldn’t bother me at all if he got up in November.

No, although having a progressive platform is such an obvious route to electoral success, in the interests of a level playing field with the Republicans, I’ll forego it.

…and when it becomes hip to encourage a youth culture aspiring after role models like Corey Worthington, 50 Cent, and the big brother inmates, then I think logically speaking that is a culture reverting too much into the private and the social symptoms no doubt become evident.

There’s a well known notion of cultural fluctuation which presents three stages - the primitive, the classical and the decadent. The latter usually overlaps the first. That is when one ethos has run aground there’s another fresh ethos somewhere emerging to replace it.
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The whole gangsta rap, fame for fame type shit that Wothington and Fiddy represent is the result of the liberation from stifling values first emerging in the 50s with youth culture. This phenomena is inherently materialistic and hedonistic. Nothing wrong with that inherently. However when you overthrow a set of mores you’ll tend to need to replace it with something. This replacement process takes time. In the meantime you get venality.
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It’s becoming increasingly obvious to people that, for example, there’s a widespread lack of manners in society today. When there is such a lack the need to fill it becomes acute. And the result is that it gets filled.
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In terms of community I think you have to understand that communities are changing drastically. This blog is a community of sorts yes? One that would’ve been impossible, inconceivable just 20 years ago. On the other hand the traditional notion of community involving people who live and work in the same place is mostly a thing of the past. Many of us live in apartment buildings, most of us don’t know our neighbours. And don’t want to.
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I tend to think that community service is a good thing but that it won’t be well served by insistence. How do you effectively insist that children be raised in a two parent home? What morals do you teach at school? Some parents might insist on Judeao-Christian lore, some may strenuously object to that? See the problem? How do you insist on community service?
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There is a political philosophy that addresses these concerns. Unfortunately it’s not much in vogue these days.

Turns out the next V.P., Sarah, is an avid blogger, as well.
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