- Capitalism and Alternatives -

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Posted by: Lark on April 21, 1999 at 12:53:05:

In Reply to: ??????????? posted by Red Deathy on April 20, 1999 at 11:54:45:

: Odly, I also mentioned in that post that we ought to operate a general suspiscion against authority, guilty until proven innocent.

Fuckin' brilliant I'm making a note of that it's better than the palide anti-statism of anarchy.

: Do laws exist because parliament passes them, or because we obey them?
: Do leaders make followers, or followers make leaders.

That's good aswell. Very like Godwin.

: That is teh irridicble authority of society.

That's true but I was thinking of the society that is self-policing or self obsessed where every action and motive is considered and judged like say people being excluded from the Amish community because they disagree as to whether or not solid or inflatable tractor tires are a threat to their civilised way of life.

: And where, *IF* authority of some form is needed, then it ought to be the general democratic authority of society, not a king, nor a plutocrat.

Possibly but Amish societies etc. could be considered to be practicing a type of participatory democracy and conformity is pretty rough.

: No, against unjust discimination, social authority means self authorty.

I think your really fucking wrong here RD, first of why am I being accused of unjust discrimination I was merely giving air to the popular views of society (this debate maybe dont belong here though), aside form that authoritarian society as opposed to authoritarian institutions can exist.

For instance a Guardian journalist once wrote that when in Belfast he asked a bunch of youths about how they thought the peace process was going and since he was in a republic district if the republicans where taking the right line of thought. They reacted angrily and one showed how he had permanent scarring due to being shot in the legs (whether he desearved it or not aside) now later while asking other people the same journalist encountered the youths mother who when questioned about what had happened to her son related the standard "policing vacume", "Community's response etc." remarks associated with Sinn Fein.

No independence of though at all and I wouldnt call SF etc. and institute like the state etc. while they're behaving in the same manner.

Plus there are instances where the people who are going to receive a punishment beating are telephoned in advance to receive details of where they are to meet their punishers and they go, after drinking or taking drugs to try and sedate themselves, they go and get beat up or worse because they know they're no other avenue of action or escape.

Now if that's not authoritarian social attitudes I dont know what is.



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