|
|||||||||
Posted December 31, 2001
Seductive Clichés of the Empire
[Regarding Nebojsa Malic's column of December 29, "Argentina: Statism Triumphant":]
...Your piece on Argentina is too schematic. Curiously, it appears that you unconsciously bought into the seductive clichés of the Empire. While, yes, the danger of fascism is there, you apparently fail to understand that capitalism (the system of the Empire and for the Empire, dictated by the IMF) might be sheltered by "free market" rhetoric, but it is not "free market." What happened in Argentina is ... one of the latest more-or-less spontaneous revolts against the Empire, against the IMF, against its capitalism, against globalization. But, yes, indeed, as with many other spontaneous revolts from the masses, the danger is that this too will be kidnapped by some revolutionary "avant-garde" that would lead it back into the fold of imperial globalization or the global empire. You also need to understand that what you call "Statism" is indeed the ideology of the Leviathan – the Empire. Thus, what you derogatively call "mob" is the people of Argentina. They might be deceived or misled, but their grievances are real and sincere. With your article on Argentina, you shoot yourself in the foot – unwittingly joining the ranks of the imperial oracles who sing virtually the same tune: Refusing to pay the racket to the IMF and the globalists! What a crime! Pay and obey is the imperial imperative; no one is expected or allowed to do anything else. Yes, the Peronist party is not a solution, it is part of the problem; but fascism is ever hardly coming from below. Only the idea of freedom (not the rhetoric borrowed from the imperial apologists) would save Serbia and other Slavs and the West from itself.
Nebojsa Malic replies:
Contrary to your impression, I very much realize that "capitalism" of today is "statist capitalism" – or, as I called it in another venue, "the unholy alliance between corporations and the government in which both profit at the expense of the general populace." It has been an accepted fact among Libertarians that there is no free market economy in the world today; all has been corrupted and subverted by the Empire. I am glad we agree on this. Yes, the people of Argentina rose up against an injustice of pillage by foreigners. But in doing so, I maintain, they simply handed the power to the statists (fascists, communists, doesn't matter!) who intend to pillage them domestically. Instead of demanding economic liberty from both their government and the IMF-WB-Empire, they are trying to hide from them behind their government – which is part and parcel of the Unholy Alliance! My entire point was that the Argentines, in an effort to free themselves from Imperial slavery, brought themselves into the fold of domestic slavery instead.
Bravo!
[Regarding Justin Raimondo's column of December 28, "Strange Symbiosis – Israel & Anti-Semitism":]
Bravo!
Bravo! – and Bravo! I often don't
agree with you, being, as I am, a free-market
Socialist of the Swedish variety, but
your courage and style need to be commended.
I am constantly called an anti-Semite
for expressing exactly the same opinions.
Keep up the good work.
~ Max C.
Tolkien Society
[Regarding Justin Raimondo's column of December 24, "Sauron in Washington":]
I would caution against taking up this story [Lord of the Rings] as some kind of Libertarian staff. All the races are ruled by kings: Dwarves, Elves and Men. Only the Hobbits elect their leadership. They had a "Thain" (the equivalent of a king) once, but since they are a peaceful people, and were protected by the Rangers from the evil outside their borders, the need for a strong central leader had not presented itself in recent memory (for a Hobbit that amounts to at least a century). The rightful Thain had not claimed his heritage in quite some time.
What I am getting at is that the societal structure is predictably feudal in organization. Not what I would think of as a "Libertarian" society. Tolkien makes some very telling points concerning power, as Mr. Raimondo points out, but I would hesitate to take it farther than that. The movie series might successfully focus on the overriding theme, but the background of feudalism will always be there for anyone who digs beneath the surface. I prefer Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlien when it comes to libertarian Science Fiction/Fantasy. Kampus makes a few interesting points. Perhaps "The Marching Morons," "MYOB" and "The Midas Plague" as short stories make a few valuable points as well.
A link for those interested in Tolkien: TolkienSociety.org.
Israel's Motivation
[Regarding Justin Raimondo's column of December 21, "The Secret War":]
I fail to see what Israel's motivation would have been for failing to notify the United States Government of the September 11th attacks, if indeed Israel had foreknowledge of those attacks. Terrorism will probably prove to be a disaster for Israel, given the fact that as the cost of defending Israel keeps going up, more and more voices in the USA are demanding that their government dump Israel as an ally. It is in the interest of Israel that it help the USA combat terrorism. The greater the problem of terrorism for America, the more Americans will demand that their government withdraw support for Israel.
Worth A Try
Many of the faithful in all religions look to the arrival of a Messiah, as the answer to all our conflicts. Well, the Bible states we had a Messiah, and yet he was rejected by those for whom he was sent. Now we have 3 main groups of believers, not one as before. So, if a new Messiah comes, what are the chances He will be accepted then? Probably little chance again: perhaps even smaller than before. For some faithful, historical events are very important: for others, seemingly unimportant. The only clear, objective assessment of history is that God did not create all the wars, nor did he perform the killing. Since Abel and Caine, humans in all countries taken as groups are guilty of killing. Killing leads only to hatred and revenge. Our strife is created by ourselves. So, clearly, if we will likely not accept the second Messiah, as we did not the first, and since our strife is created by ourselves, then the resolution to our strife can come only from ourselves. Given the fallibility of humans, a resolution seems ever more remote. Yet, all may not be lost. In each of the Holy books, there are passages that may help us to crawl out of our abyss, if we could only embrace the teachings. I can sum them up into one word: forgive. If somehow each of us could recognize the sins of ourselves and each other, and forgive each other, perhaps this could start us on the right path. At the least, its worth a try.
~ Ronald Gorthuis