Appropriate title, the aim is total domestication and control. That Ursula woman is the very embodiment of a controlling “mother knows best”. I am sure the permit to kill the wolf was her doing and backdated a day before the pony killing to make it look that she wasn’t responsible. Though I don’t have an intrinsic aversion to killing wolves as humanity is meant to be the planet’s wise and discerning alpha predator and we are to wield death appropriately. But wisdom snd discernment is unfortunately in short supply.
It's thanks to writers like you that I have a remarkably different perspective now on organizations like the EU, compared to my understanding of Euro politics circa Brexit--the first time in my memory when Americans were pretending to have opinions about the EU. Granted that on both ends of the spectrum my grasp of the relevant issues was (still is!) surface-level, but I like being to be able to look back on that time and finally understand the side of the story that wasn't being treated as serious or reasonable by the likes of, uh... John Oliver and Steven Colbert. (Very serious journalists, ofc.)
Yeah I used to think Colbert and Oliver were profound until I moved to Europe. There’s also an interesting tendency of American liberals to identify themselves as having a European mindset, but that’s really just a French centrist political outlook quite fashionable among east coast liberal urbanites.
As ever full of stuff to think about. However, Rhyd, I find your use of the term 'Utopian Socialism' unhelpful. I'm now past my mid-70s converted to Marxism in its Trotskyist variant over fifty years ago but never at one with its authoritarianism. Like many I sought naively to reform the Labour Party and failed - faced with its social democratic reformism. Thus for nearly 30 years I have sought to pursue an autonomous journey in alliance with libertarian socialists/communists.liberals. Across those years I have often been criticised for being utopian. In this context I find it bizarre that you define opportunist, careerist social democrats utterly wedded to the capitalist state as utopian. You are correct that this top-down ideology is at odds with any notion of liberation from below. Their technocratic future is surely one of dystopia, Best as ever and solidarity.
There’s most definitely a difference from Utopianism and Utopian Socialism. The latter is a specific political movement which predates Marx by about 30-50 years and started primarily with Fourier. That movement is specially a rival movement to Marxism, and Democratic Socialism is technically a branch of Utopian Socialism also.
Like Tony Taylor, I was confused by the use pf the term Utopian Socialism. I've only heard that term used to describe pre-Marxian socialists like Owen and Fourier. It sounds like what you're describing is reformist liberalism - attacking social problems from the top-down, as matters of individual morality rather than social structure.
Come to think of it, isn't it a weird coincidence that the "Wolf-Killer" is called Ursula?
I also knew the term "utopian socialism" only as a sort of pre-marxist socialism. Also, didn't many (if not most) communist revolutions end up putting in place utopian socialist regimes? Anyway, the title is very accurate, in that the whole political situation here in Europe seems to be in a deadlock, and sometimes it is hard to find hope. That's why it is nice to read at least an accurate analysis of the situation.
On the utopian socialist approach: "No amount of (re-)education, preferential hiring, or moralistic browbeating would actually fix the problem...."
On the other hand, historically the Communists have given a rather deadly meaning to re-education. Browbeating has been done by blunt instrument. It's not clear if problems were fixed, but at least millions of worrisome folks were eliminated.
I consider the EU one of the greatest institutions in modern history. It's has eradicated war within its borders, and that alone is a prize worth fighting for. NATO, on the other hand, I would be delighted to see scrapped. Incidentally the UK's bedroom tax proposal was scrapped years ago.
Do you think the French Revolution substantively changed anything? It sounds to me like the EU isn't really much different than any monarchy.
Appropriate title, the aim is total domestication and control. That Ursula woman is the very embodiment of a controlling “mother knows best”. I am sure the permit to kill the wolf was her doing and backdated a day before the pony killing to make it look that she wasn’t responsible. Though I don’t have an intrinsic aversion to killing wolves as humanity is meant to be the planet’s wise and discerning alpha predator and we are to wield death appropriately. But wisdom snd discernment is unfortunately in short supply.
Yeah the revenge over the pony thing is really really wild…
It's thanks to writers like you that I have a remarkably different perspective now on organizations like the EU, compared to my understanding of Euro politics circa Brexit--the first time in my memory when Americans were pretending to have opinions about the EU. Granted that on both ends of the spectrum my grasp of the relevant issues was (still is!) surface-level, but I like being to be able to look back on that time and finally understand the side of the story that wasn't being treated as serious or reasonable by the likes of, uh... John Oliver and Steven Colbert. (Very serious journalists, ofc.)
Appreciate the work you do, Rhyd.
Yeah I used to think Colbert and Oliver were profound until I moved to Europe. There’s also an interesting tendency of American liberals to identify themselves as having a European mindset, but that’s really just a French centrist political outlook quite fashionable among east coast liberal urbanites.
As ever full of stuff to think about. However, Rhyd, I find your use of the term 'Utopian Socialism' unhelpful. I'm now past my mid-70s converted to Marxism in its Trotskyist variant over fifty years ago but never at one with its authoritarianism. Like many I sought naively to reform the Labour Party and failed - faced with its social democratic reformism. Thus for nearly 30 years I have sought to pursue an autonomous journey in alliance with libertarian socialists/communists.liberals. Across those years I have often been criticised for being utopian. In this context I find it bizarre that you define opportunist, careerist social democrats utterly wedded to the capitalist state as utopian. You are correct that this top-down ideology is at odds with any notion of liberation from below. Their technocratic future is surely one of dystopia, Best as ever and solidarity.
There’s most definitely a difference from Utopianism and Utopian Socialism. The latter is a specific political movement which predates Marx by about 30-50 years and started primarily with Fourier. That movement is specially a rival movement to Marxism, and Democratic Socialism is technically a branch of Utopian Socialism also.
This has given me so much to digest and think about. Thank you very much.
This was so good I had a cigarette afterward. Sharing.
haha awesome!
Good analysis.
Like Tony Taylor, I was confused by the use pf the term Utopian Socialism. I've only heard that term used to describe pre-Marxian socialists like Owen and Fourier. It sounds like what you're describing is reformist liberalism - attacking social problems from the top-down, as matters of individual morality rather than social structure.
Come to think of it, isn't it a weird coincidence that the "Wolf-Killer" is called Ursula?
I also knew the term "utopian socialism" only as a sort of pre-marxist socialism. Also, didn't many (if not most) communist revolutions end up putting in place utopian socialist regimes? Anyway, the title is very accurate, in that the whole political situation here in Europe seems to be in a deadlock, and sometimes it is hard to find hope. That's why it is nice to read at least an accurate analysis of the situation.
On the utopian socialist approach: "No amount of (re-)education, preferential hiring, or moralistic browbeating would actually fix the problem...."
On the other hand, historically the Communists have given a rather deadly meaning to re-education. Browbeating has been done by blunt instrument. It's not clear if problems were fixed, but at least millions of worrisome folks were eliminated.
Sorry late to the game!
I consider the EU one of the greatest institutions in modern history. It's has eradicated war within its borders, and that alone is a prize worth fighting for. NATO, on the other hand, I would be delighted to see scrapped. Incidentally the UK's bedroom tax proposal was scrapped years ago.