>>> "Julien Pierrehumbert" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 08/13 11:10
PM >>>
Julien, both sides in the Spanish conflict had some
assistance from outside, but this is not the point. The
point is that the ruling class were threatened by the
instability under the 2nd republic and intervened to
'stabilise' the situation. It is well known that many on the
Nationalist side were in fact quite staunch republicans,
such as Queipo de Llano, but they were not prepared to put
up with anarchy and so gravitated towards the nationalist
camp without being at all monarchists or fascists. Why is
this relevant to the present discussion? Because so much of
the talk on this list has been about economic solutions that
take very little account of the limit of democratic
politics. Spain 1936 was a particularly stark example of the
failure of Parliamentary reformism (but it is not the only
example I have cited, just a particularly clear one). People
here talk about "we" could do this and "we" could do that.
In Spain the "we" were badly organised and extremely divided
about how the country should be modernised (or indeed
whether that was even the main question), while "they" were
determined and well organised. Yes the coup turned into a
protracted war, but this does not detract from the fact that
in many ways the "better side" eventually won.
Now we have a discussion here about the fate of our planet
and what is wrong with the society that is ruining it. A
babble of voices, a motley crew we are. But the opposition
is never that. Those who defend the status quo are clear
about what it is they want to hang on to and the means that
they have at their disposal to do that. That's why many
people gravitate towards the side of law, order and
stability. Any movement to change things starts at a
disadvantage and has to become a viable political movement
at some point, not just a bunch of (nice) people who are
enthusiastic about a bunch of diverse ideas that range from
the weird to the wonderful.
But I'm happy to leave politics and ideology out of it if
that is the way that this must go. It is a worthwhile list
anyway and the politico-ideological debate can happen
elsewhere.
Tahir
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