Tue, 14 May 2002, Lawrence DeBivort <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>Indeed, I take the opposite view: humankind is entering into a period of
>extraordinary hope and responsibility. It is a period that is not defined
>by the 'old' argumentations of socialism vs capitalism, or East vs West,
>or religion vs secularism, or 'work.'.
>
>It is a period that will see played out the issues of management, systems
>design and dominance, globalization (broadly defined), and a reshaping of
>the roles and powers of the individual.
>
>Of course, we don't know how all of this is going to end up -- but we can
>know that all this matters are up for grabs, and that it is those who do
>form attractive answers who will influence the great shape of things to
>come. What could be more positive than having before us such
>opportunity?
This may be the case at some level of the discussion, but it will be
a long long time before discussions of the structure of society are
not cast into the mould of socialism vs capitalism. There are generations
of rightwing idealogue zealots, trained by the american propaganda
mills, who wrap themselves in an american flag glazed over with dollar
bills, and spout the most egregious market supremacy nonsense, whenever
the faintest whiff of a discussion of equity or social justice is
detected. You can find them all over the usenet newsgroups, riding
out every day tyo accrue their patriotic brownie points by tilting
their keyboards against the dread socialist menace, in all its
malignant forms, from land reform to health care. "Commie!!", they
cry: "You are apostate! You must be renounced from all the high
places, you have denied the benificence of the milk of competition
flowing from the teat of Our Divine Mother Free Enterprise!!"
These depressing little gnomes make it their business, their patriotic
duty, to see to it that their left-bad/right-good stamps are firmly
affixed to every issue, to ensure that the faith is kept pure. In
previous lives, they probably worked for Torquemada... What prompts
this comment is that I recently had to wade through a nest of them
on the space newsgroups while looking for indications of systems
engineering work on space colony social structures (so far, no luck).
They are particularly sanguine since the demise of the Soviet Union,
which they seem to regard as the Great Faith-Confirming Miracle, to
be cited at every opportunity. There will be no secular conversion
epiphanies for these hordes. We will be afflicted by their remonstrations
'til the last one finally dies of old age, and as they appear to be
indoctrinating their young, that may be a long long time.
-Pete Vincent
