Comments on: A “Center-Right Nation”?

By: fekkkkog geoooore

fekkkkog geoooore — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 06:11:36 +0000

Great article.

And to RodD: Remove yourself from the gene pool, you dolt.

By: RodD

RodD — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 04:56:14 +0000

Maybe the US should not have saved Europe from Hitler. Considering that Europeons feel more superior to the US. It might be a good idea for the US to pull its military operations out of Europe and let Europe solve their own problems. Im sure Russia, China and the Middle East will show their respect to Europe as Europe “knows” what is best for the “inferior Americans.

By: Max Shields

Max Shields — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:06:18 +0000

Mr. Koontz I would agree that “capital” is and will always continue to be a component of human economic systems. I would, however, hesitate, to go so far as to say that “capitalism” as we’ve known it is going to stay with us. The difficulty is the re-framing of the lexicon. A word, whether, left, right or capitalism can be framed and re-framed without retaining what we originally understood. Our mental models are temporal but the words stay the same.

So, I think it’s wise to strip away the word usage and get to the core. We don’t need to play the game set up by the power elite, as powerful as that elite is. The conversation can move on. In fact, it is absolutely it does.

By: bozhidar bob balkas

bozhidar bob balkas — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 16:04:16 +0000

brian,
yes, u’r correct.
meaning of the word “capitalism” cannot be elucidated if we try to define it.
however, the meaning of the sentences “payer-payee”, or “master-serf relationship” is clear.
natch, the masters: the ‘illuminati’, generals, editors, media owners, cars salesmen, ceos, cfos, billionaires, shareholders, entertainers avoid like a plague any elucidation.
instead, the simplicity of all this is arrayed as freedoms, justice, lawfulness, right to defend one’s interests, free speech, etcetc.
eg, take my wife? she knew nothing ab these issues. she assumed that she’s incapable of understanding the ‘profound’ issues since childhood she’ been inculculated w. obnoxious propaganda.
but after i explain to her certain relationships btwn us and them, she obtains knowledge; she can see. thnx

By: Brian Koontz

Brian Koontz — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 07:35:25 +0000

Capitalism is not on it’s “last legs”. Ask the Chinese, Indians, Venezuelans, or South Koreans how capitalism is doing. Capitalism is merely private ownership (control) of matter, and everything that springs from that. However destructive and horrible capitalism is, it will only be on it’s last legs when a force rises which is powerful enough to destroy it. Nothing like that is going to happen in the near future, and anything beyond that is almost impossible to predict.

Capitalism might be gone in 40 years. It might still be here in 400. But it’s not going away in 4.

By: gui r.

gui r. — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 13:39:49 +0000

there are a lot of very angry people about, but basically what obama is asked to do is to salvage capitalism. but that is on its last legs and ready for the junkyard so despite all the present tortured efforts to keep it ticking on by ripping off the public funds and promising both ends of the spectrum, the moneyed powers and the general duped public to do his level best, obama is pretty much lost. outside benighted america, this is quite well understood by the western european countries, who are bolstering what is left of their economies, hoping that something will give to get them out of the nefarious wall street influence. but folks,
capitalism is on its last rotten legs, long live what may come. but all the angry people should unite and channel their revulsion into productive
resistance and mutual support for helping along this demise and give the system a decent burial without allowing it to harm too many victims…

By: JN

JN — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:58:31 +0000

Corylus,
YOU are full of shit. Humans are not “cancer” in any context, you pretentious Nietzche wannabe. The “cancer” here is capitalism.

“Who gives a flying fuck about the American political spectrum?” How about the Afghans & Iraqis, for a fucking start? Or the Syrians, Pakistanis, Somalis, Palestinians, Iranians, Cubans, Venezualans, Haitians, & Bolivians? Or the British, Germans, Japanese, Russians, Chinese, etc, etc? The whole world in short, because America affects all of us; economicaly, militarily, culturaly to varying degrees.

Certainly, talking is meaningless IF you don’t do anything about it.
“Philosophers have only interpreted the world in various different ways. The point is to change it.” Karl Marx

By: JN

JN — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:29:59 +0000

Small problem with this article: the ‘Democratic’ party isn’t left wing (or indeed Democratic). The US is not just centre-right but in many respects is FAR right, at least as far as the political consensus of the 2 main parties is concerned.

What you have in the US is a state/corporate dictatorship (what would you call such a thing, in 1 word?!) with a ‘democratic’ facade. The difference between ‘liberals’ & ‘neo-cons’ is really not that great. The ‘Democrats’ have as much blood on their hands as the ‘Republicans.’ They are part of the problem; not the solution. A vote for Obama is a vote for minor strategic reajustments, but basically a continuation of the same capitalist/imperialist policies as those of Bush, Clinton, Bush Snr, Reagan, etc, etc.

If you “want to see fundamental social change,” certainly you need to organise, but to build committed, radical INDEPENDENT mass movements, to fight BOTH parties. Fuck Obama! Now that the “lesser evil” has been elected, even that (false) argument for supporting him is gone.

ORGANISE! ACT! ESCALATE!
END THE WARS!
END CAPITALISM & IMPERIALISM!

By: corylus

corylus — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 04:07:11 +0000

In consideration of the havoc wreaked by capitalism on the earth’s environment and its indigenous and self-sustaining cultures, and the fact that virtually every American lives at the behest of an imperialist corporate-government alliance that betroths consumption to our illusions of “liberty,” no one will ever convince me that this nation is anything but greedy, stupid, immoral, narcissistic, and destructive. All the discussions about “left,” “right,” “center,” are vacuous ministrations from self-aggrandized myopic morons who fail to see the irrelevance of their labels and their “arguments” about political constituencies. None of this drivel even matters as the earth and the environment upon which life depends shifts to accommodate human excesses: humans are cancer and earth’s ecology is reacting to the poisons unleashed by human ignorance. Who gives a flying ^%&(* about the American political spectrum – a mote of excrement soon to be obliterated against the universal windshield.

By: DavidG.

DavidG. — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 01:02:44 +0000

America a center-right country!!!!! When has it ever been right? Not in the last sixty years anyway.

And when has it ever been center? During the last eight years it has been to the right of Hitler.

Hopefully better times are coming. Who would know? America might lurch to a far-left-left-sometimes-right position!

Anything is possible.

By: Brian

Brian — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:27:16 +0000

Good article. These people are propagandists. It is annoying to turn on cable and see the same talking heads.

There really hasn’t been much change in the mainstream media, even with the addition of Olberman and Maddow who basically function as PR people for the national Democratic Party, which, at that level, isn’t very liberal.

By: Timber

Timber — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:41:28 +0000

I’m shocked to find myself even more cynical than outright socialists or communists, but I find these claims of a liberal/left mandate arising from Obama’s election absolutely ludicrous.

While I celebrate the fact that we can overcome decades of entrenched racism to elect a person of color to the presidency, I think to assume that most of Obama’s supporters hold a left or liberal political perspective practically delusional. I think the fact that I see the same kind of comments coming from both the right and the Socialist Worker and the Revolutionary Communist Party bears this out. Do more poor kids and teens admire Che Guevara or some corporate pimp like Michael Jordan? Malcolm X or Shakira? If there is overwhelming discontent with “the system,” why does the culture that provides the propaganda and false narrative in support of that system enjoy so much popularity? Does the religious fundamentalism and anti-intellectualism in poor communities (like the one I live in) lend itself to revolution, or to submission and worship of those with power, wealth and influence?

We already hear Obama, his entourage, and his supporters demanding that we on the left lower our expectations. Again, if this isn’t a center-right nation (as I believe it is), why would a Democratic candidate feel the need to pander to a minority who likely wouldn’t vote for him anyway?

My fear is that the establishment has simply chosen a friendlier face for the same corporatism, militarism and imperialism we’ve been criticizing under Bush. Are Rahm Emmanuel, Lawrence Summers, Robert Rubin and other Clinton cronies going to be a force for “change?” American liberals were fooled once by Clinton; I can’t help but think they’ve just been fooled again.

By: gui r.

gui r. — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:59:16 +0000

exactly correct, but the present political structure prevents a free choice nor can we hope for a Bolivarian Obama. the establishment
is fully prepared (and becoming even more so) for containing protest.
Bush cum suis exposed the executive, the bailout will deal with the
legislative, but neither will be an epiphany for dealing with the failures of the state. reform is a stop gap, but serious thought and planning should make use of the gamble that the establishment took with Obama.
he will appease many, but at the same time an almost invisble rift has
appeared in the power holding pattern and that needs to be widened.